Norfolk day book. [volume] (Norfolk and Portsmouth Va.) 1868-1880, 1869-09-06
MONDAY MORNING, Sept. 6, 1869
A RIVER STEAM FLEET FOR NOR
FOLK.

IOLh.
In the people Of the South starting
out on their new career it is almost like
starting out to build new empire, and
it would be Well for them to look around
and avoid getting into many OF the er>
rors which have been made by other
people heretofore, which errors have
eventually given them a great deal of
trouble and sometimes been instrument
tai in causing ruptures and wars.
In the South we have an unexamp led
foundation for building up flourish ing
and happy empire, if we start the mat
ter right.-We have the best country
on the face of the globe to commence
with, and we have large laboring pop
nlation which, if treated right, will make
the country wealthy beyond anything
ever witnessed. We .have railroads
communicating with all sections, and
rivers and navigable streams approach
ing every city, county, town and hamlet.
We have an industrious and thriving
agricultural population producing more
wealth than any other people, but we
need the means to economist or save this
wealth to our section. We need the
mechanic, the manufacturer, the miner
and the mariner. 10 get these we must
SO arrange our affairs as it will be an
inducelaent for them to come among us
and build up our cities, our manufac-
lures and our trade.
Taking our own City of Norfolk as
an example. AT one time we had as
large sea trade as any city in the Uni
on 4; but where is it now. With the
best harbor on the Atlantic coast, we
have no ships. With the best back
country OF almost any city in the Union
we have not factory of any kind to
supply the millions of dollars worth OF
orders we might get from that back
country. And why is all of this =? simp-
ly because we have not kept pace with
the progress Of the age. Mr.. Jefferson's
anti-commereial policy shut up the
commerce that was filling the harbor Of
Norfolk with ships and causing factories
to flourish.
Itdeadened the energies of our people,
and prevented them from being prepared
to avail of the advantages of renewed
trade after the war of 1912, and finally
swept off our enterprising merchants to
other parts when steam took the place
of sailing vessels we had no men capa-
bile of grasping the advantages of our
position and introducing steam com.
merce and steam factories. So we set
tied downtown, into an almost total
dependence on our fish and oysters, and
the hire of tho few negroes we had left.
Now, the fact is the best harbor in the
world, will never avail lis much unless
we make some use of it; and to make
use of we must have steamers, for sail
ing vessels cannot compete with steam
ers, and when we set out to compete for
trade with Our neighbors we must have
the proper means at our command. We
have hundreds of rivers with which we
might form profitable trade at Norfolk
if we had steamers of the right kind to
accommodate the trade. Accessible to
our port in the State of North Carolina
alone, are probably one hundred trading
posts to which we might have steamers
plying profitably, but we have not.
Most OF these points used to trade
with us before our sailing vessels went
into decay and it was through the lu-
crative trade drawn hither from the va
rious streams and rivers accessible to
our port that our harbor was enabled
to sustain such an extensive ocean COM
merce. And while our neighboring
State furnishes us this large number Of
trading posts, we have in our own State
accessible to us probably larger mum.
Der. But we have not got the steamers
and our neighbors further North have
and they are always on hand to do the
trading that We ought to do. ..
This then forms the true source Of
prosperity we should turn:onr attention
to. This river trade is the foundation
of an ocean trade, and we should com
rnence to build from the foundation
Here is chance for capital and enter
prise. Let our leading men look to Sc
curing the trade from the river washed
counties of Virginia and North Carolin,
through little steamers which our owl
mechanics can build at home. Dom
think to cheat yourselves or anybody
else by the broken down hulks or fail
ures in steamers of other sections, bu,
goto work and build such steamers a,
will precisely suit the trade you wist
to reach, and get the mechanics of oul
own place to build them. Build per.
ect fleet of them, both of wood and