The weekly standard., 1870-08-24

| W lLhiNtTpH, huH. O.--ihs ih''h mus .
took the tram on the Charlotte road iur
Abbottsburg, with u view ,o the inspection
OF an anomaly in North Carolina, namely, nc
Cntrrprising vllngc The ride thithCr was tc
me an extremely interesting one from the
direction Ot the country trnYCrcd, 40 unlike
what one secs in the North. Through swamps
| Cf CypIcss juniper and gum trees hung with
| nos fustoons, over dunk and sluggish pools
of water below, amid pney woods with
lrcts barked and cut Tor turpcntinc, tic
| rOal / took its course, with now and then .
stop at little station made up o. few
| sheds, a few white loungers, few naked
negro Youngsters, and few active, sharp
shouted pigs nosing about at their own
sweet will A three holITs' ride over such
swlmps rs ! saw gives one an unusual sense
| of the superioritv of railroad travel over
other methods. While dashing along in u
| Northern train yOu generally sec good roads
| md pleasant drives, aud with a Dexter at
your service, might approximate railroad
speed on dirt road But ecypress swamp
| i, path'ccs and trlckcss except 10 the rail
| road, and il is most satisfactory sensstion
that Of rolling smoothly and mpidly over
n,strctch oi wn !, s,.s.s ncxt q hiiss..lf cnn -
only splash aud founder in hopeless
decentralization.
reached Abbottsburge at .! u III. The
piece looks like new village ont West -
start ed 10y Yankees. Tho first thing tina.
stink 's ones eye a neat new store, one
story in hight, about 3ONiO ircl in dmcn-
s,uiIs and painted white, with dclcatcly.
tinted lrab window shutters. Then several
large frame SIT uctuIcs are /" br seen in the
vicinity, with numbers Of small wooden
dw ling hnusCS. Things look new, and there
isthc thriving sound ofcircular saws H. the
air / stepped over from the strru at the stn-
| tiOn to an ample unc-stOIIcd house With n
| yernndah near ut hand, where found Sem
| tor a hbbOtt, who is thc head and front of this
| enterprise, sitting on the stoop. ! mac
| know my errand, and was vuiy cortcousy
shown about the place; Abbottsburg is
now five years old, In 1865 Senator Abbott
bcgau operations there in the heart ofan nm
| inhabited pine forest Now he has several
hundred acres of land cleared, II village built
with "a population of about 500 and several
manufacturing establishments to give it lie.
| Busincs is carried on under two corporate
unmcs--thc Baden Land Company and the
Cape Fear Building Company-tlc former
doing the numbering and saving; the latter
| the manufacturing businesc. first inspect,
| ed the Land Company's stables large
white building, with accommodations for
some 80 mules (work is done entirely with
these animals); then the sawuill, with its
| huge circular saws for cutting up logs, and
| its lesser affairs for smaller work. Huge
| logs of pitch and yellow pine lay ON the
| ground outside waiting their turn to I've cut
up, and paths of sawtust in every direction
attcstcd the cutting that had already been
done. 1t is the intention to utilize the saw
dust US fuel us soon as the requisite changes
can be made in the boilers and heating ap.
paratus.
The Building Company occupirs large
two.story editicc A shaft 80 feet IN length,
and the longest south of the Potomac, driven |
by steam OF course, runs through the lpwcr
room, and to this II worry large nuinbtr of
machines can be attached. All ynrictic, OF
wood working machines, from the plancr to
the scroll saw, are already in operation, and |
there is room for considerable increase in
number without crowding This company |
manufacture by machinery privatcrcsdcnrc |
and public buildings, bridges railroaL cars
and all sorts of woodwork thcrcunto apprr
tanning. They put up and complete build. |
incs in Hny locality, aud can do t.q wog!s u |,
same s lone in Wilmington. The compiuy |
has II separate building tor the manufacture |
OF railroad cnrR, and large dying e-tub
llshmonL in addition. There are regularly |
employed 10y the companies aho0t 100 mtu,
Of whom two thirds are hlaCk Senator
Abbott SAYS that ColOrcd men rs hEorcrA igu
pretty good The negro is not an angel, in
TACT he has some faults, among them pro-
pCnSlty for stealing, but ON the whole ne !
grncs 10 well enough to make thgr Cmpluy |
mcnt by such establishments as these in \ Ah- |
b0ttsbuTg an unaucs,ionablc success Scna- |
tor Abbott introduced me to the interiors ul |
two Of the houses which are furnished the |
employees, with piece OF ground for gar. |
den if they choose to cultivate il. The irst |
was one OF the ncatcst in the village, and |
the second one OF the worst specimens. The |
trtt inl 4 .i n
little establishment ~ ! ever sIw, though |
we came to 1t without giving the housewife |
anv chance to fix up Tor yisiturs. The iloor |
was Il; % eat from, and q neat little yrilnw |
yOungstcr Was rolling ab"ut on IT, who r.. |
juicCd 10 the name Ol John IEOG.as and !
baskul in the suns rays. Tho hup3Cs are |
about IL 10y 20 feet in dim n,ipUs, viii two
or three rooms i'll them. The next houst sc |
visited, which was to hC the most ulIaN ora
bic gprCimvn, was not 50 nice as the iTsi,
but sill nrutcr und cleaner thn nino trnihs
Oi our tcnumcnt.housu quarters in Wv |
York The negroes, with thGir wives and |
families, the latter u large and promlsCuous
assortment OF babies, Tor the most part they |
live very comfortable ut Ahhotshurg. They '
are employed as wood cutters, iulms'rrs
and assistants in the mil work. Tue team
slrTs are paid an AN average about Sl9 per |
month, with houses and gardens free
wood cutters are paid according to the !
amount cut 80 cents per thousand, and
good days work is about 5000 feet aud It's
compensation 81 80. Assistants in the mill
receive from $40 to $50 month, houses and
gardens furnished them ALL
With each negro employee n book account
is kept at the Comprys store, aud by this
means their pccuniary affairs arc kept
Straight After five years work, Hnd the
outlay of 100000, Senator Abbott has eve.
rything about the place in ilolrishiug con
dition and ready lor rapid prosrcss. A
nursu railroad Of three miles length viii |
soon hc constructed for log carrying, and
one mule will then do the present work Of
five, II is expected that ilic cost ot pro.
ducng lumber nj the mill will be- reduced
about p per cent. 10y this improvement.
Abhottshurg is in short an example for the
whole south 1t is the best sort of a rc
construction measure that could bu intro.
duucd. few hundreds of such establish
munts scattered through the Southern states
would do moro for the country than any
thing else except it be the establishment OF
schools.
while At this place, and on the return
"trip to Wilmington, had opportunities for
some conversation with senator Abbott up
on the state oi political affairs in North
Carolina lie fully approved oi Gov. ilpl
deus measures, and only Thought that the
military should have been called ont some
months since. lie hnd been pleased to SEQ
the first ot the Iribwo's conc,ponleDva
trrm North Carolina, and ,un,.dvr,u j. /
perfectly fair and mnlcHtg view ui the SIN
alton. The Republican, ut the state bad /
i,,I. much hurt ~ their dcsortiun by man. ol
,h, party at the North The mi-crimIU.
ntt usc ot the term carpet baggcr by jour.
mats Of both parties had done item . deal