Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1858-06-11
New England Thritt--and New Eng
land CnniIni.

1t is notorious TACT that none OF the New
England States possess any thing better than
an apparent dearth 10 the elements Of man
ufacture. They have no minerals, little water
power, sterile soil, and q climate so cold as
to deprive manufacturing labor OF much OF
it's efficiency while it adds materially to
it's cost. 1t is an equally notorious fact, that
Virginia has an abundance Of minerals, sur
rounded by the other elements OF mauutac-
ture-water power, cheap labor and food,
with, too, the advantages OF home market.
Still, these notorious facts are associated with
another no less glaring; that while New E9-
gland has grOwn rich, has amassed and Is
constantly amassing capital Virginia claims
10 be so moor as to be unable 70 make any
thing even for home consumption, which she
can buy abroad: and tha. New Ens!and, with
no stalles except granite and ice makes N re
money from that granite ADD ice than Nir-
cinia does from the inapprecable mineral
wealth with which bountitul Providence
has literally crammed her mountains and
plains, and which seems almost utterly neg
lected, if not despised.
Yet, whenever these glaring juxsaposltlons
are brought up as a reason for manufacturing
and mineral development, the ever ready
impossible" is brought forward in plea that
New England has such an abundance Of
capital for this develOpement, while Virginia
has 50 litiie."
This brings us TO the question, how did
| New England, possess herself OF this abun-
dance OF capital? Her original settlers
! brought it not with them, and there are no
elements in its soil for its prOduction--nor
can we even attribute it 10 the frugal hab'
it's of that people, for we see all through tho
New England States profuse expenditure
for personal comfort and personal luxury,
to which Virginia is stranger.
We think We can give an easy solution OF
this apparent mystery, and that, too, by
single familiar illustration
! Some ten or twelve years since, the writer
was on trip CT observation, &c, through
New England, with an especial eye to tle
manufacturing system. In the course OF hls
tour, he visited a Latch Factory on the con-
| fines of one of the busting, thriving little
towns of Connecticut We found the tacto-
ry buildings cOnglomerat!On OF various
STYLES and sizes, the oldest OF which were
mere shanties, wbiiet those more latterly erec-
ted were larger and better conditioned, and be-
tokening greater thrift. In passing through
the interior, we were struck with the ingen-
uty displaved 10 the various machines IN use,
their perfect adaptation to the required pur-
poses, the rapidity and precision Of their va
rious operations, the excellent style OF the
manufactures, aod the many evidences OF
! thrift and good management IN every depart
ment. So much impressed were We at what
we saw, that We requested history ct the
concern, which was cheertuliy compiled with
| by the gentlemanly senior. ut the risk OF
being tedious, we give this account, a. near.
" as possible, as it fell from his own lips,
on account of the world of suggestion it
will be found to embody. The history was
Some six years since my two partners,
then boys Just out of their apprenticeship az
black-smitJs, conceived the idea that they
could make money by establishinga Factory
! for making door-latches, Of which there were
none in this country; and, as they had not
an available dollar, they applied to me to
! take an inteTes. with them, and advance the
means for establishing the concern. AnX-
/ ious to do something for the boys, exam.
! incd my finances and found | had 500,
which had no use for, which | was willing
| to put into the concern a. One-thlrd partner.
| To render myself secure against being drag
! ged into further expenditure or liability
| for the new enterprise, gave my wife writ
| ten promise never to advance another dollar,
| or to allow the concern to contract any debt
which it could no. cover with its own means.
| The bows accepted the terms and the enter
! prise was launched into being. They GREG
| ted a rough shop and went to work. For
the first two or three years It was close
struggle Sill, | cculd see they gained ut
! least, in their appliances. Wethen, however,
began to gain rapidly in profits and extent
of business. At the end Of the fourth year,
we sent ten thousand dollars worth of cur
stock to Birmingham, Epgland, and sold it
at profit, not tor want Of market here, hut
to show John Bull that we could beat him on
his own ground. Day before yesterday, we
closed the first bali Of the sixth's years
business, and here ''-opening bis sales book
-"you can see the amount OF cur last half
| years business"
We found these sales footed up the respect
able amount of $50 OO0 showing an annual
business of over s. L., 900. on which they ac-
owIedged a profit OF 20 per cent, or S2S,
600 year. Yet, not doi.arT OF additional
capital hal been put into the cOacern beyond
the original seven hundred d,llar,.
la the history of this firm the rejecting
mind VIII find a solution Of the mystery Of
New England thrift and New England CAPT
tai We see that 500 capital bad in less
than six years, grown TO be worth 5000
yielding an annual profit Of S2S 600, Civ
ing employment to sixty or seventy mechsn-
ics and adding severa! hundred to the popu
laton ofthe town. 1t il plain then that New
England thrift has no magical foundation,
aud that New England capital is nothing
more than the accumulated results of enter
prise, Ingenuity, and effort! Is it any longer
mystery that New England should enjoy an
abundance Of capital, when such small. sums
grow to such mighty ones, ~ the simple
means we have described?
Why cannot the same results be accom-
pIished in Virginia by the same appliances?
1t is worse than idle, for it Ia absurd ani
ridiculous to say they cannOt-that the same
seed, sown on the more fertile soil of the Old
Dominion, would not spring up AID bear
fruit abundantly.
Yet it is for the want Of these littlo enter.
prises that Virginia "lscks capital
when she has tens OF millions invested 10
Northern stocks and other securities. il is
for the want Of them that the incalcu liable
mineral and manufacturing resources Of our
State still slumber in the bowels If the earth. .
Of less use to us tban q pile Of bIlckbats. 1t
for the want Of them that commerce strug-
giles for feeble existence our finances suf-
fer aliact dpnnndpnrn nnnn the North and