CORRESPONDENCE. THE origin and design of this pamphlet on the Resources of Missouri are explained by the following letters. To the Editor of the N. Y. Tribune. SIR: At the request of the State Board of Immigration, of which I am President, Professor Waterhouse has prepared the accompanying papers for publication. They will serve to answer thousands of inquiries made from every part of the United States. The public interest manifested in the subject of these papers justifies me in asking their publication in your paper. I am, very respectfully, Your obedient servant, 』་ Gov. THOS. C. FLETCHER, THOS. C. FLETCHER. DEAR SIR: The accompanying papers are hasty and informal expositions of the advantages which Missouri offers to the immigrant. In many instances, it has been found impossible to illustrate the resources of this State by recent statistics. For the last six years, no full record of industrial products has been kept. The civil war materially deranged every branch of business. So largely did it interrupt the operations of agriculture, mining and commerce, that the statistics of these departments during the rebellion would, even if they were accessible, convey an altogether erroneous and inadequate impression of the capabilities of Missouri. But time does not impair the force of a fact. If freshness adds to its interest, age does not detract from its truth. A decade of years has not deprived the statistics upon the minerals of Missouri of their power of producing conviction. And, though the facts which are familiar to our citizens may be new to Eastern and 55340 European emigrants, the only vital point is the efficacy of these facts to impress upon the public mind a full comprehension of the resources of Missouri. Hoping that a general knowledge of our economic advantages will convert many emigrants from other States and countries into immigrants and citizens of Missouri, I am, with high regard, yours truly, S. WATERHOUSE. St. Louis. This series of papers has been revised and enlarged. It is hoped that the errors which have escaped correction are not sufficiently grave to weaken the force of the general conclusions. In some instances, from the impossibility of obtaining trustworthy statistics, approximate estimates have been given; but these estimates express the best judgments of men practically conversant with the subjects under discussion. t These articles are mere "advertisements" of the material resources of Missouri. The very object of the series precluded any thorough treatment of the several topics. A fuller discussion would have made a pamphlet too large for general circulation. The very kind and gratifying reception which a generous public has already given these articles induces the hope that a further indulgence will be granted to sincere efforts for the material growth and mental culture of our noble State. Washington University, June 1st, 1867. S. W. GENERAL ADVANTAGES OF MISSOURI. January 11, 1865, was the most eventful date in the history of Missouri. It was the birthday of liberty. It ushered Missouri into the sisterhood of free States. The act of that day will bless Missouri through all coming time. It will invigorate every form of business life, and stir the State to an early achievement of material greatness. -un Slavery benumbed the faculties of Missouri. States quickened by the incentives of freedom displayed a readier intelligence and prompter solutions of the problems of political economy, With all its superior advantages, Missouri, paralyzed by the torpor of servile institutions, was subjected to the humiliation of seeing itself far surpassed in rapidity of growth by younger and smaller States. The tables of the census are registers of its comparative poverty. Such figures are not liable to the suspicion of rhetorical exaggeration. Slavery degraded labor, palsied enterprise, created injust social distinctions, fostered a dangerous aristocracy, retarded the progress of industry, and finally plunged Missouri into the horrors of civil war. No free State conspired against the life of the nation. Slavery sowed the seed which has ripened into so fruitful a harvest of death. By its insurrection against lawful authority, it forced the nationwilling to submit to assassination, or to commit suicide at the recommendation of traitors—to the ordeal of arms. Missouri bought her freedom with the costly treasure which is coined in the mint of battle. Her trial was severe. Desolate homes and burned villages are the monuments of her fraternal strife. Agricultural labor was interrupted, commerce was prostrated, life and property were insecure, turbulence and carnage reigned supreme. But patriotism has triumphed. The devoted gallantry of our Federal soldiery has vanquished the assailants of republican liberty. Victory has restored to the Nation unity and the possibility of greatness. Missouri will enjoy a liberal share in the splendor and rewards of triumph. Redemption from slavery, and a free participation in the prosperity which will flow from the re-establishment of the Union, are benefits of priceless value. Such gains will more than compensate for the losses of war. The advance in the price of real estate already requites Missouri for the enfranchisement of her slaves. The Ordinance of Emancipation has inaugurated a better era. The State already begins to feel the generous impulses of freedom. A new life is invigorating the body politic. Enterprise, commerce and manufactures are stimulated. Capital is flowing into the State. Corporations are forming for the development of our internal resources, and factories are rising for the fabrication of domestic materials. The unsunned wealth of our mines is coming to the light in larger quantities. The pleased earth is yielding to the hands of free labor a richer store of golden grain. Processions of immigrant wagons are moving along all our highways. It is estimated that there was during last August and September an accession of 25,000 people to the population of the State. There is a fresh vitality in the very air of Missouri. The domain which the Ordinance of Emancipation has restored to freedom is imperial. Missouri contains more than 67,000 square miles. It is half as large again as New York, and more than eight times the size of Massachusetts. It would make a score of German principalities. Larger than England and Wales, or Scotland and Ireland, it is equal to one-third of the area of France. The State is 318 miles long by 280 broad. Of its 43,000,000 acres, at least 35,000,000 are valuable for the purposes of agriculture or mining. The The geographical advantages of Missouri are peerless. State lies not only in the center of the Mississippi Valley, but near the heart of the continent. Its metropolis, lying upon the Pacific Railroad, will be the half-way station between the oceans, and the great central emporium for the distribution of the productions of the Mississippi Valley. That destiny is inevitable. It is the glorious necessity of physical geography. Missouri, lying between the parallels of 36 deg. 30 min. and 40 deg. 36 min. north latitude, enjoys the golden mean of the temperate zone. The salubrity of its climate is proverbial. Its chief defect is a liability to sudden changes. The summers are long and warm. The winters are generally short and mild. On the parallel of St. Louis, the fall of snow is seldom more than two or three inches deep, and rarely remains on the ground a week. Sleigh-rides are infrequent and unsatisfactory. They illustrate the pursuit of pleasure under difficulty. The balmy airs of the Indian summer temper to delightful softness the tardy approach of winter. The average temperature of November, 1865, was 46 deg. 39 min.; in 1866, it was 45 deg. and 6 min.* Semi-tropic fruits mature in Southern Missouri, while the productions of a higher latitude flourish in the northern portions of the State. The soil of the river bottoms and rolling prairie is inexhaustibly fertile, and even the mining regions are capable of supporting a large agricultural population. The surface of Missouri is varied and undulating. Hills and mountains diversify and intersect the State. The copious streams which flow from these elevations fertilize the valleys, and afford a motive power which the level prairie can never supply. Missouri invites manufacturers to her borders with the offer of rich facilities, If natural adaptation is any index of des tiny, then this State will ultimately become the workshop of the Mississippi Valley. *The result of observations made on the northern front of Washington University, at 9 AM. If it had been a southern exposure, or a later hour, the average would, of course, have been appreciably higher. According to another record, the mean temperature was above 47 degrees. |