USA > Arkansas > Faulkner County > Biographical and historical memoirs of Pulaski, Jefferson, Lonoke, Faulkner, Grant, Saline, Perry, Garland and Hot Spring counties, Arkansas, comprising a condensed history of the statebiographies of distinguished citizens...[etc.] > Part 7
USA > Arkansas > Garland County > Biographical and historical memoirs of Pulaski, Jefferson, Lonoke, Faulkner, Grant, Saline, Perry, Garland and Hot Spring counties, Arkansas, comprising a condensed history of the statebiographies of distinguished citizens...[etc.] > Part 7
USA > Arkansas > Grant County > Biographical and historical memoirs of Pulaski, Jefferson, Lonoke, Faulkner, Grant, Saline, Perry, Garland and Hot Spring counties, Arkansas, comprising a condensed history of the statebiographies of distinguished citizens...[etc.] > Part 7
USA > Arkansas > Hot Spring County > Biographical and historical memoirs of Pulaski, Jefferson, Lonoke, Faulkner, Grant, Saline, Perry, Garland and Hot Spring counties, Arkansas, comprising a condensed history of the statebiographies of distinguished citizens...[etc.] > Part 7
USA > Arkansas > Jefferson County > Biographical and historical memoirs of Pulaski, Jefferson, Lonoke, Faulkner, Grant, Saline, Perry, Garland and Hot Spring counties, Arkansas, comprising a condensed history of the statebiographies of distinguished citizens...[etc.] > Part 7
USA > Arkansas > Lonoke County > Biographical and historical memoirs of Pulaski, Jefferson, Lonoke, Faulkner, Grant, Saline, Perry, Garland and Hot Spring counties, Arkansas, comprising a condensed history of the statebiographies of distinguished citizens...[etc.] > Part 7
USA > Arkansas > Perry County > Biographical and historical memoirs of Pulaski, Jefferson, Lonoke, Faulkner, Grant, Saline, Perry, Garland and Hot Spring counties, Arkansas, comprising a condensed history of the statebiographies of distinguished citizens...[etc.] > Part 7
USA > Arkansas > Pulaski County > Biographical and historical memoirs of Pulaski, Jefferson, Lonoke, Faulkner, Grant, Saline, Perry, Garland and Hot Spring counties, Arkansas, comprising a condensed history of the statebiographies of distinguished citizens...[etc.] > Part 7
USA > Arkansas > Saline County > Biographical and historical memoirs of Pulaski, Jefferson, Lonoke, Faulkner, Grant, Saline, Perry, Garland and Hot Spring counties, Arkansas, comprising a condensed history of the statebiographies of distinguished citizens...[etc.] > Part 7
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Samuel Adams.
Acting
Apr. 29 ta Nov. 9, 1844
T. S. Drew
1844
November 5, 1844 5 yrs.
Dem. 1,731 P
17,387
J. Williamson.
Acting
Apr. 9 to May 7, 1846
J. S. Roane.
1849
R. C. Byrd
Acting
J. R. Hampton
Acting
E. N. Conway ..
1852
November 15, 1852 4 yrs. Dem.
3,027 27,857
E. N. Conway ..
1854
November 17, 1856,4 yrs.
Dem. 12,363 42,861
H. M. Rector ....
1860
November 15, 1860 2 yrs.
I. D. 2,461 61,198
T. Fletcher.
Acting
Nov. 4 to Nov. 15, 1862
Con. (no record)
H. Flannagin ..
1862
November 15, 1862 3 yrs.
Con. 10,012 26,266
I. Murphy.
1864
April 18, 1864
Fed. (no record ) Rep. (no record )
P. Clayton ..
1868
O. A. Hadley
Acting
E. Baxter.
1879
A. H. Garland.
1874
November 12, 1874 2 yrs.
Dem. 76,453
W. R. Miller ....
1876
January 11, 1877 2 yrs. Dem. 32,215 108,633
W. R. Miller ....
1878
January 17, 1879 2 yrs. Dem. 88,730
T. J. Churchill
1880
J. H. Berry ...
1882
B. T. Embry ...
Acting
S. P. Hughes ... 1884
45,236 156,310
J. W. Stayton ..
Acting
S. P. Hughes ...
1886
2 yrs. Dem. 17,411 163,889
D. E. Barker
Acting
J. P. Eagle ......
1888
2 yrs. Dem. 15,006 187,397
The secretaries of Arkansas Territory have been: Robert Crittenden, appointed March 3, 1819; William Fulton, appointed April 8, 1829; Lewis Randolph, appointed February 23, 1835.
Secretaries of State: Robert A. Watkins, September 10, 1836, to November 12, 1840; D. B. Greer, November 12, 1840, to May 9, 1842; John Winfrey, acting, May 9, to August 9, 1842; D. B. Greer, August 19, 1840, to September 3, 1859 (died); Alexander Boileau, September 3, 1829, to January 21, 1860; S. M. Weaver, January 21, 1860, to March 20, 1860; John I. Stirman, March 24, 1860, to November 13, 1862; O. H. Oates, November 13, 1862, to April 18, 1864; Robert J. T. White, Provisional, from January 24, to January 6, 1873; J. M. Johnson, January 6, 1873, to No- vember 12, 1874; B. B. Beavers, November 12, 1874, to January 17, 1879; Jacob Frolich, January 17, 1879, to January, 1885; E. B. Moore, January, 1885, to January, 1889; B. B. Chism (present in- cumbent).
Territorial auditors of Arkansas: George W. Scott, August 5, 1819, to November 20, 1829; Richard C. Byrd, November 20, 1829, to Novem- ber 5, 1831; Emzy Wilson, November 5, 1831, to November 12, 1833; William Pelham, November 12, 1833, to July 25, 1835; Elias N. Conway, July 25, 1835, to October 1, 1836.
Auditors of State: Elias N. Conway, October 1, 1836, to May 17, 1841; A. Boileau, May 17, 1841, to July 5, 1841 (acting); Elias N. Conway, July 5, 1841, to January 3, 1849; C. C. Danley, January 3, 1849, to September 16, 1854 (resigned); W. R. Miller, September 16, 1854, to January 23, 1855; A. S. Huey, January 23, 1855, to January 23, 1857; W. R. Miller, January 23, 1857, to March 5, 1860; H. C. Lowe, March 5, 1860, to January 24, 1861 (acting); W. R. Miller, January 24, 1861, to April 18, 1864; J. R. Berry, April 18, 1864, to Oc- tober 15, 1866; Stephen Wheeler, January 6, 1873, to November 12, 1874; W. R. Miller, October 15, 1866, to July 2, 1868; John Crawford, January 11, 1877, to January 17, 1883; A. W. Files, Jan- uary, 1883, to January, 1887; William R. Miller (died in office), January, 1887, to November, 1887; W. S. Dunlop, appointed November 30, 1887, to
* Special election.
Dem. 1,102M
7,716
R. C. Byrd.
Acting Jan. 11 to Apr. 19, 1849
Dem.
163
6,809
April 19, 1849* 1849 1851
July 2, 1868 4 yrs.
January 17, 1871|2 yrs. January 6, 1873 2 yrs.
Rep. (no record) Rep. 2,948 80,721
January 13, 1881 2 yrs. Dem 52,761 115,619 January 13, 1883 2 yrs. Dem. 28,481 147,169 Sep 25 to Sep. 30, 1883;
January 17, 1885 2 yrs.
Plurality.
and State.
Year of Election.
September 13, 1836 4 yrs.
Archibald Tell.
43
HISTORY OF ARKANSAS.
January, 1889; W. S. Dunlop, January, 1889 (present incumbent).
Territorial treasurers: James Scull, August 15, 1819, to November 12, 1833; S. M. Rutherford, November 12, 1833, to October 1, 1836.
State treasurers: W. E. Woodruff, October 1, 1836, to November 20, 1838; John Hutt, November 20, 1838, to February 2, 1843; John C. Martin, February 2, 1843, to January 4, 1845; Samuel Adams, January 4, 1845, to January 2, 1849; Will- iam Adams, January 2, 1849, to January 10, 1849; John H. Crease, January 10, 1849, to January 26, 1855; A. H. Rutherford, January 27, 1855, to Feb- ruary 2, 1857; J. H. Crease, February 2, 1857, to February 2, 1859; John Quindley, February 2, 1859, to December 13, 1860 (died); Jared C. Martin, December 13, 1860, to February 2, 1861; Oliver Basham, February 2, 1861, to April 18, 1864; E. D. Ayers, April 18, 1864, to October 15, 1866; L. B. Cunningham, October 15, 1866, to August 19, 1867 (removed by military); Henry Page, August 19, 1867 (military appointment), elected 1868 to 1874 (resigned); R. C. Newton, May 23, 1874, to November 12, 1874; T. J. Churchill, November 12, 1874, to January 12, 1881; W. E. Woodruff, Jr., January 12, 1881, to January, 1891.
Attorneys-general: Robert W. Johnson, 1843; George C. Watkins, October 1, 1848; J. J. Critten- den, February 7, 1851; Thomas Johnson, Septem- ber 8, 1856; J. L. Hollowell, September 8, 1858; P. Jordon, September 7, 1861; Sam W. Williams, 1862; C. T. Jordan, 1864; R. S. Gantt, January 31, 1865; R. H. Deadman, October 15, 1866; J. R. Montgomery, July 21, 1868; T. D. W. Yonley, Jan- uary 8, 1873; J. L. Witherspoon, May 22, 1874; Simon P. Hughes, November 12, 1873, to 1876; W. F. Henderson, January 11, 1877, to 1881; C. B. Moore, January 12, 1881, to 1885; D. W. Jones, January. 1885, to 1889; W. E. Atkinson, January, 1889 (present incumbent).
Commissioners of immigration and of State lands: J. M. Lewis, July 2, 1868; W. H. Grey, October 15, 1872; J. N. Smithee, June 5, 1874.
These officers were succeeded by the commis- sioner of State lands, the first to occupy this position being J. N. Smithee, from November 12, 1874, to
November 18, 1878; D. W. Lear, October 21, 1878, to November, 1882; W. P. Campbell, October 30, 1882, to March, 1884; P. M. Cobbs, March 31, 1884, to October 30, 1890.
Superintendents of public instruction: Thomas Smith, 1868 to 1873; J. C. Corbin, July 6, 1873; G. W. Hill, December 18, 1875, to October, 1878; J. L. Denton, October 13, 1875, to October 11, 1882; Dunbar H. Pope, October 11 to 30, 1882; W. E. Thompson, October 20, 1882, to 1890.
Of the present State officers and members of boards, the executive department is first worthy of attention. This is as follows:
Governor, J. P. Eagle; secretary of State, B. B. Chism; treasurer, William E. Woodruff, Jr .; attorney-general, W. E. Atkinson; commissioner of State lands, Paul M. Cobbs; superintendent public instruction, W. E. Thompson; State geolo- gist, John C. Brauner.
Board of election canvassers: Gov. J. P. Eagle, Sec. B. B. Chism.
Board of commissioners of the common school fund: Gov. J. P. Eagle, Sec. B. B. Chism, Supt. W. E. Thompson.
State debt board: Gov. J. P. Eagle: Aud. W. S. Dunlop, and Sec. B. B. Chism.
Penitentiary board-commissioners: The Gov- ernor; the attorney-general, W. E. Atkinson, and the secretary of State.
Lessee of penitentiary: The Arkansas Indus- trial Company.
Printing board: The Governor, president; W. S. Dunlop, auditor, and W. E. Woodruff, Jr., treasurer.
Board of railroad commissioners (to assess and equalize the railroad property and valuation within the State): The Governor, secretary of State and State auditor.
Board of Trustees of Arkansas Medical College: J. A. Dibrell, M. D., William Thompson, M. D., William Lawrence, M. D.
The Arkansas State University, at Fayetteville, has as its board of trustees: W. M. Fishback, Fort Smith; James Mitchell, Little Rock; W. B. Welch, Fayetteville; C. M. Taylor, South Bend; B. F. Avery, Camden; J. W. Kessee, Latour; Gov.
1
44
HISTORY OF ARKANSAS.
Eagle, ex-officio: E. H. Murfree, president, A. I. U .; J. L. Cravens, secretary.
Of the Pine Bluff Normal, the president is J. Corbin, Pine Bluff; the board is the same as that of the State University.
Board of dental surgery: Dr. L. Augspath, Dr. H. C. Howard, Dr. M. C. Marshall, Dr. L. G. Roberts, and Dr. N. N. Hayes.
State board of health: Drs. A. L. Brey- sacher, J. A. Dibrell, P. Van Patten, Lorenzo R. Gibson, W. A. Cantrell, V. Brunson.
Board of municipal corporations: Ex-officio- The Governor, secretary of State and State auditor.
Board of education: The Governor, secretary of State and auditor.
Board of review for donation contests: The Governor, auditor of State and attorney-general.
Board of examiners of State script: The Gov- ernor, secretary of State and auditor.
Reference to the presidential vote of Arkansas, from the year 1836 up to and including the elec- tion of 1888, will serve to show in a general way the political complexion of the State during that period. The elections have resulted as follows :*
1836-Van Buren (D), 2,400; Harrison (W), 1,162; total 3,638.
1840-Harrison (W), 5,160; Van Buren (D), 6,049; Birney (A), 889; total 11,209.
1844-Polk (D), 8,546; Clay (W), 5,504; total 15,050.
1848-Taylor (W), 7,588; Cass (D), 9,300; total 16,888.
* Scattering votes not given.
-
1852-Pierce (D), 12,170; Scott, 7,404; total 19,577.
1856-Buchanan (D), 21,910; Fillmore, 10,787; total 32,697.
1860- Douglas (D), 5,227; Breckenridge, 28,532; Bell, 20,297.
1864-No vote.
1868-Grant (R), 22,112; Seymour, 19,078; total 41,190.
1872-Grant (R), 41,377; Greeley, 37,927; total 79,300.
1876 -- Tilden (D), 58,360; Hayes (R), 38,669; total 97,029.
1880-Garfield (R), 42,435; Hancock (D), 60,475; total, 107,290.
1884-Cleveland (D), 72,927; Blaine, 50,895; total, 125, 669.
1888-Harrison (R), 58,752; Cleveland (D), 88,962; Fisk, 593; total, 155,968.
In accepting the vote of Arkansas, 1876, objec- tion was made to counting it, as follows: "First, because the official returns of the election in said State, made according to the laws of said State, show that the persons certified to the secretary of said State as elected, were not elected as electors for President of the United States at the election held November 5, 1876; and, sec- ond, because the returns as read by the tellers are not certified according to law. The objec- tion was sustained by the Senate but not sus- tained by the House of Representatives."
r
L
45
HISTORY OF ARKANSAS.
CHAPTER V.
ADVANCEMENT OF THE STATE-MISCONCEPTIONS REMOVED-EFFECTS OF SLAVERY UPON AGRICULTURE- EXTRAORDINARY IMPROVEMENT SINCE THE WAR-IMPORTANT SUGGESTIONS-COMPARATIVE ESTIMATE OF PRODUCTS-GROWTH OF THE MANUFACTURING INTERESTS- WONDERFUL SHOWING OF ARKANSAS-ITS DESIRABILITY AS A PLACE OF RESIDENCE-STATE ELEVATIONS.
Look forward what's to come, and back what's past; Thy life will be with praise and prudence graced; What loss or gaiu may follow thou may'st guess, Then wilt thou be secure of the success .- Denham.
EFORE entering directly up- on the subject of the mate- rial life and growth of Arkan- sas, it is necessary to clear away at the threshold some of the obstructions that have lain in its pathway. From the earliest settlement slav- ery existed, and the nergo slave was brought with the first agricultural communities. Slave labor was profitable in but two things -cotton and sugar. Arkansas was north of the sugar cane belt, but was a splendid field for cotton growing. Slave labor and white labor upon the farms were never congenial associates. These things fixed rigidly the one road in the agricultural progress of the State. What was therefore the very richness of heaven's bounties, became an incubus upon the general welfare. The fertile soil returned a rich reward even with the slovenly applied energies of the slaves. A man could pay perhaps $1,000 for a slave, and in the cotton field, but really nowhere else, the investment would yield an enormous profit.
The loss in waste, or ill directed labor, in work carelessly done, or the want of preparation, tools or machinery, or any manner of real thrift, gave little or no concern to the average agriculturist. For personal comfort and large returns upon invest- ments that required little or no personal attention, no section of the world ever surpassed the United States south of the 36° of north latitude. Wealth of individuals was rated therefore by the number of slaves one possessed. Twenty hands in the cot- ton field, under even an indifferent overseer, with no watchful care of the master, none of that saving frugality in the farming so imperative elsewhere upon farms, returned every year an income which would enable the family to spend their lives trav- eling and sight-seeing over the world. The rich soil required no care in its tilling from the owner. It is the first and strongest principle in human na- ture to seek its desires through the least exertion. To raise cotton, ship to market and dispose of it, purchasing whatever was wanted, was the inevi- table result of such conditions. This was by far the easiest mode, and hence manufactures, diversity of farming or farming pursuits, were not an impera- tive necessity-indeed, they were not felt to be ne- cessities at all. The evil, the blight of slavery
46
HISTORY OF ARKANSAS.
upon the whites, was well understood by the intel- ligence of the South, by even those who had learned to believe that white labor could not and never would be profitable in this latitude; that-most strange! the white man who labored at manual labor, must be in the severe climate and upon the stubborn New England soil. It was simply effect following cause which made these people send off their children to school, and to buy their every want, both necessaries and luxuries-importing hay, corn, oats, bacon, mules, horses and cattle even from Northern States, when every possible natural ad- vantage might be had in producing the same things at home. It was the easiest and cheapest way to do. In the matter of dollars and cents, the destroying of slavery was, to the farmers of the Upper Missis- sippi Valley, a permanent loss. Now the New South is beginning to send the products of its farms and gardens even to Illinois. The war, the abolition of slavery, the return of the Confederates to their desolated homes, and their invincible courage in rolling up their sleeves and going to work, and the results of their labors seen all over the South, form one of the grandest displays of the development of the latent forces of the great American people that can be found in history.
There is not a thing, not even ice, but that, in the new social order of Arkansas, it can produce for its own use quite as well as the most favored of Northern States. The one obstruction in the way of the completed triumph of the State is the lingering idea among farmers that for the work of raising cotton, black labor is better than white. This fallacy is a companion of the old notion that slavery was necessary to the South. Under proper auspices these two articles of Arkansas-cotton and lumber-alone may make of it the most pros- perous State in the Union ; and the magician's wand to transform all this to gold is in securing the intelligent laborer of the North, far more than the Northern capital prayed for by so many. The North has its homeless millions, and the recent lessons in the opening of Oklahoma should be promptly appreciated by the people of this State. For the next decade to manufacture every pound of cotton raised in the State, as well as husbanding and man-
ufacturing all the lumber from these grand old for- ests, is to solve the questions in the race of State prosperity and general wealth among the people. When free labor supplanted slave labor what a won- derful advance it gave the whole section; when in- telligent skilled labor supplants ignorance and un- skilled labor, what a transcendent golden epoch will dawn. There is plenty of capital to-day in the State, if it was only put in proper co-operative form, to promote the establishment of manu- factories that would liberally reward the stock- holders, and make them and Arkansas the richest people in the world. Such will attract hundreds of thousands of intelligent and capable wage workers from the North, from all over the world, as well as the nimble-witted farm labor in the gardens, the orchards, the fields and the cotton plantations. This will bring and add to the present profits on a bale of cotton, the far richer dividend on stocks in fac- tories, banks, railroads and all that golden stream which is so much of modern increase in wealth. The people of Arkansas may just as well have this incalculable abundance as to not have it, and at the same time pay enormous premiums to others to come and reap the golden harvests. Competent labor- ers-skilled wage workers, the brawn and brain of the land-are telling of their unrest in strikes, lockouts, combinations and counter combinations; in short, in the conflict of labor and capital, they are appealing strongly to be allowed to come to Arkansas-not to enter the race against ignorant, incapable labor, but simply to find employment and homes, where in comfort and plenty they can rear their families, and while enriching themselves to return profits a thousand fold. Don't fret and mope away your lives looking and longing for capi- tal to enter and develop your boundless resources. Capital is a royal good thing, but remember it is even a better thing in your own pockets than in some other person's. Open the way for proper, useful labor to come and find employment ; each department, no matter how small or humble the beginning, once started will grow rapidly. and the problem will have been solved. Only by the North taking the raw product of the South and putting it in the hands of skilled labor has their enormous
47
HISTORY OF ARKANSAS.
capital been secured. The profits on high priced labor will always far excel that on ignorant or cheap workmen. The time is now when this kind of labor and the small farmers and gardeners are awaiting a bidding to enter Arkansas. When the forlorn hope returned from the late war, they met the stern necessity, and demonstrated the fact that here, at least, the people can create their own capi- tal. Let them now anticipate the future by this heroic triumph of the past. The Gods help those only who help themselves.
"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves."
To the Northern home-seeker the thing of first importance is to tell of the temperate climate at all seasons, and its extraordinary healthfulness, cur- ing him of the false idea spread so wide that the topography of the State is seen from the decks of steamers, or on the lines of railroad which are built along the swamps and slashes, mostly on ac- count of the easy grades on these lines. Then show from the records the low rate of taxation and the provisions of the law by which high taxation is for- ever prevented. From this preliminary may be unfolded to him some of the wonderful natural re- sources which are awaiting development. Here both tongue and pen will fall far short of telling all or nearly all. In climate, health, soil, timber, minerals, coal, rocks, clays, marls, sand, navigable streams, mineral and fresh waters, Arkansas may challenge any similar sized spot on the globe. It has more miles of navigable streams than any other State in the Union, and these are so placed as to give the whole territory the advantages thereof, as though the engineers had located them. It has unequaled water power-the Mammoth Spring alone furnishing enough water power to propel all the machinery west of the Mississippi River. The topography of the State is one of its most inviting features. Its variety in this respect is only equaled by the diversity of its soils. The traveler who in approaching this section concludes that it consists chiefly of swamp bottoms, and water-covered slashes, may readily learn from the records that three-quarters of the State's surface is uplands, ranging from the gentle swells of prairie and
woodland to the grandly beautiful mountain scen- ery; and on the mountain benches, and at the base, are as rich and beautiful valleys as are kissed by the rays of the sun in his season's round. Take the whole range of agricultural products of Ohio, Ind- iana, Illinois and Kansas, and all can be produced quite as well in Arkansas as in any of these States. In the face of this fact, for more than a genera- tion Arkansas raised scarcely any of the products of these Northern communities, but imported such as it had to have. It could not spare its lands from the cultivation of the more profitable crops of cotton. In a word, the truth is the State was bui - dened with natural wealth-this and slave labor having clogged the way and impeded its progress. With less labor, more cotton per acre and per hand, on an average, has been produced in Arkansas than in any other Southern State, and its quality has been such as to win the prize wherever it has been en- tered in competition. Its reputation as a fruit- growing State is not excelled. In the New Orleans Exposition, in California, Ohio and everywhere en- tered, it has taken the premium over all competi- tors. Its annual rainfall exceeds that of any South - ern State, and it cannot, therefore, suffer seriously from drouths. There is not a spot upon the globe which, if isolated from all outside of its limits, could sustain in health and all the civilized comforts a population as large as might Arkansas. Fifty thousand people annually come hither and are cured, and yet a general nebulous idea prevails among many in the North that the health and cli- mate of the State are not good. The statistics of the United States Medical Department show the mortality rate at Little Rock to be less than at any other occupied military post in the country. There is malaria in portions of the State, but considering the vast bottom stretches of timber-land, and the newness of the country's settlement, it is a remark- able fact that there is less of this disease here than in Pennsylvania; while all the severer diseases of the New England and Northern States, such as rheumatism, consumption, catarrh and blood poi- son, are always relieved and generally cured in Arkansas; malignant scarlet fever and diphtheria have never yet appeared. That dreadful decimator,
48
HISTORY OF ARKANSAS.
yellow fever, has only visited the eastern portion of the State, but in every case it was brought from abroad, and has never prevailed in this locality as an epidemic. Therefore, the largest factories, schools and universities in the world should be here. The densest population, the busiest haunts of men, will inevitably come where their rewards will be great- est-the struggle for life less severe. Five hun- dred inhabitants to the square mile will not put to the full test the limitless resources of this wonder- ful commonwealth. Ten months of summer with- out one torrid day, with invariable cool and re- freshing nights, and two months only of winter, where a man can work out of doors every day in the year in comfort, with less cost in physician's bills, expense in food, clothing and housing, are some of the inducements the State offers to the poor man. There are millions of acres of fertile lands that are offered almost without money and without price; land nearly any acre of which is worth more intrinsically than any other similar sized body of land in the world. There are 5,000,000 acres of government lands in the State, and 2,000,000 acres of State lands. The rainfall in 1886 was 46.33; average mean temperature, 58.7°; highest, 97.8°; lowest, above zero, 7.6°. Of the 33,500,000 acres in the State there are soils richer and deeper than the Nile; others that excel the alluvial corn belt of the Northern States; others that may successfully compete with the noted Cuba or James River, Virginia, tobacco red soil districts, or the most noted vineyards of France or Italy. Here is the land of wine and silk, where side by side will grow the corn and the fig-the land overhung with the soft, blue skies, and decked with flowers, the air laden with the rich perfumes of the magno- lias, on the topmost pinnacle of whose branches the Southern mocking-bird by day and by night swells its throat with song-
" Where all, save the spirit of man, is divine."
The artificial and local causes which have ob- structed the State's prosperity are now forever gone. There is yet the unsolved problem of the political negro, but this is in Illinois, Kansas and Ohio, exactly as it is in Arkansas. It is only the
common problem to the Anglo-Saxon of the United States, which, in the future as in the past, after many mistakes and even great wrongs, he will for- ever settle and for the best. Throw politics to the winds; only remember to profit by the mistakes of the North iu inviting immigration, and thereby avoid the ominous presence of anarchism, socialism, and those conditions of social life latent in "the conflict of labor and capital." These are some of the portentous problems now confronting the older States that are absent from Arkansas; they should be kept away, by the knowledge that such ugly conditions are the fanged whelps of the great brood of American demagogues-overdoses of politics, washed down by too much universal vot- ing. It is of infinitely more importance to guard tax-receipts than the ballot boxes. When vice and ignorance vote their own destruction, there need be no one to compassionate their miseries, but always where taxes run high, people's liberties run low. The best government governs the least-the freest government taxes the least.
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