Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-10-20
SoUTHERN PROSPERITY.

The surest indication of the pros
perity of the South is the heavy
increase of the Southern trade in
New York. The New York Tribune
confesses that this trade has been the sal
walton of that city this fall That paper
says:
''The keynote of the present CONNER
cial situation in the great metropolis is
exactly struck by the significant remark
of leading wholesale jeweler in Maiden
lane The Southern trade has been the
salvation of New York this fall; and GER
tainly the extraordinary increase of South
ern business in New York markets has
given the fall trade of 1869 a volume, and
a soundness unparalleled since the war.
Some observers have ventured to speak of
this trade with the South as trebled since
1868, but this is unquestionably an eXag-
geration, although in many branches, and
especially in boots and shoes, groceries,
jewelry, clothing, and dry goods, mode
rate estimates place the advance al from
% to 70 per cent, with a prospect, in
numerous instances, of a continued heavy
late trade, which will probably bring the
aggregate Southern business OF the season
up TO twice the amount of last year. "
This indicates a most prosperous and
encouraging state of affairs in the South.
1t shows recupcratiye energies which no
other people and no other section of cOun-
try possess. ''In no country but the South,
and with no other crop but cotton" says
the Tribune, Hcan three hundred millions
of wealth be so easily created in twelve
month out of the soil. The Tribune
pays a just tribute to the energy and
promptitude of the Southern people, as
contrasted with those of other sections,
especially the West, when it says:
In all respects the Southern trade this
fall is excellent, but the same cannot be
said of trade with the West. In New
England trade no change is observed, and
in New York and Pennsylvania a visible
improvement is noted in some instances;
but in the West a degree of embarrass-
ment prevails which delays business, hin
ders collections and makes cautious mer-
chants chary of selling largely except for
cash. Recent letters from Michigan, Wis
cOnsin and Minnesota cOrrOborate this
statement, and attribute the evil mainly to
the action of the farmers in holding
back last years produce for
rise. Money is in extreme demand for
moving the crops, and business, which
has, moreover, been decidedly overdone in
many localities, feels the pressure keenly
The contrast between the shrewd, but
sometimes oyer-reaching, Westener, and
the liberal, but perhaps prOdigal, South
ron, is clearly seen and felt in this state of
affairs. The latter puts his crop in the
market before it is gathered, and begins
distributing its proceeds before the first
bale is packed The former holds the pro
ducc of his land with firm clutch, and
would rather cmbarrass himself and his
ncighbors than run the risk of losing a
possible profit. Either course may result
in disaster to the agTiCulturist, but the
Southern style oils the wheels, while the
Western plan Claps down the brakes Of
trade; and now that the South, of old the
fayortc market of New York, has com
menced anew prosperous career, ii needs
no wizard to reveal the commercial quar-
ter for which shrewd merchants will here
after steer their course and trim their sails.