2. There is no possible uplift without being a producer of something, and land offers the easiest solution of the production problem.
FORTUNES TO BE MADE
The enormous markets of the country in our great cities, make such a heavy demand upon production, that the commonest vegetables and fruit are brought from great distances at a high cost of transportation. Within reach of every populous center, there is to be found vacant land that could be made productive with very little labor, and the result would be profitable, for the supply must keep up with the demand. But out in the vast territories of the Mississippi Valley, there are fortunes to be made in producing cereals, cotton, tobacco, live stock, butter, poultry, and fruit. There is an unlimited field, and every one who has ventured into it finds a large reward in a good bank account. A man cannot begin and then, when he gets tired, lie down in the furrow and expect nature to pull him out. It never has and it never will as many know to their cost.
It is estimated, that in the Mississippi Valley and its adjoining territory, outside of mountain tops and rivers and lakes, there are in the markets, four hundred million acres of land as fertile as the valley of the river Nile. It is beyond the reach of present railroad transportation and therefore it has been left untilled.
It matters little whether this enormous quantity of land exists or whether it is exaggerated by one-half, it is a fact that millions upon millions of acres of land are left untilled and can be had for small sums of money. There are lands in Texas as an illustration, which can be purchased for from one to four dollars an acre, with forty years to pay for it in. This is not only the case in Texas, but cheap land can be had even in the State of Illinois, or New York. In the great corn belt, the farmers raise corn only, and even buy and bring their butter, eggs and fresh vegetables from Chicago or St. Louis. Whoever heard of such a thriftless condition? It is true, corn pays, but there is such a thing as getting too much of one thing and not enough of another.
Investigation and inquiry shows that if a man should start a small vegetable garden anywhere, on rented land, and supply the corn barons with vegetables, eggs and butter, he would make a good profit and get a large trade.
The idea sought to be conveyed is, that by taking advantage of a demand where there is no supply, there is an opportunity to be seized without arguing about it. It is there.
The advent of the motor track, which runs into localities fifty or a hundred miles distant, carrying from five to ten tons of a load, and trailing as much more, offers an opportunity for several workers to club together and carry their products to market at small expense.
Our agricultural and mechanical colleges are turning their attention in that direction, and preparing to fill the field. But it is a large field and can not be fully occupied in a hundred years to come.
It is worth thinking about when a Colored American is in doubt what opportunity to seize.