The Fremont weekly journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County, Ohio) 1867-1877, 1870-10-28
Manufactures.

the profit they should do. A va
cancy among the business rooms is
as likely to reduce rents, as an over
plus in dwellings, and so operate
against the holders Of property; and
there is no remedy for the evil un-
less the business of the city will re-
quire and maintain occupants in
those room.
In these days, when the railroad
system of the country builds up
towns at almost every crossing, the
trade of the country is divided into
many fragments, and not even the
greater inducements offered in larg-
er towns OF cities, are regarded as
equivalents for the time spent in
going to and from these marts.
Hence, it is not to be wondered at
that the commercial trade of the
larger places fall of, while the small
Ter apparently increase.
Wisdom, intelligence and enter
prise, however, and especially if
backed by capital, will prevent de-
rangement of the business of a city
by a proper investment ofcapital, so
that if the trade of the country be-
comes limited or curtailed, or diver
ted to other localities, the loss will
be made good by the increased resi-
dent population, and the business of
the place will be extended by the
manufacture of articles to supply an
export demand, while the general
prosperity will be promoted by draw
ing capital from other communities
for our productions.
We need manufactures. As the
human body needs food 20 supply
the waste of the system, so commu-
mites need manufactures to supply
the waste imposed by diversion Of
trade to other communities. But
we have written more than we in
tended, when we commenced. We
merely wished to introduce the fol
lowing which we find in the State
Journal 1t is upon the subject of
iron, and while written for the benefit
of Columbus, contains net a word
which might not be taken to apply
as specially to Fremont:
In this thing lies the magic which
can change the destiny of Columbus
from that of an ordinary State cap
ital to that of an important manu-
featuring center.
Behind the thing itself must lie
several others to make the magic
work.
We have railroads. These are
ministers to the incantations.
We have capital and labor. These
are the agents in the business.
We have iron ore, coal, limestone,
agricultural productions, facilities
for cheap homes, and means for
cheap living, good schools, churches
and all the means, appliances and
possessions of a high civilization.
These are the materials Of our in
cantation.
We need the energy, and foresight
and liberality to solve these fusibles.
We need the expression of these in
larger measure before Columbus
may hope for a future such as we
have right to hope for and expect.
Natural advantages never built a
mill or won pound of product from
earth, air, or water. Natural advaut-
ages are to a city what brains are to
good education-the raw material,
to be developed and used. Natural
advantages are not self generating
they do not even furnish the seed,
but the soil.
The seed must be planted.
Some faith is requisite in sowing
seed. If the seed is capital, it must
60 into the ground, as other seed, to
germinate by means and processes
which to an ignorant mind seems
like waste and destruction.
! Suppose our farmers should say,
as some Of our capitalists do in
effect, we dare not trust our seed in
the ground. Itmay rot. We shall
only lose what we SOW. 1t is better
to make sure of what we have by
keeping it safe and sound in our
granaries.
In that case there would be an
end to production ofgrain, as there
is like to be ofmanufactures, through.
the lack of sowing by our capitalists.
1t is no simple experiment, as of
q persons sowing for the first
time merely to see what may be
brought forth. The experiment of
planting manufactures has already
been tried, by other men, in other
places, under less favorable condi-
tions. The result four sowing may
be looked upon as a fixed thing. A
| little time only is necessary for the
seed to generate.
To drop the figure, our capitalists
must invest their money, and be
content to wait for dividends until
time is given for production. They
mustnot expect to draw kheir divi-
dends tomorrow, as one does inter
est on short loans--or count their
increase as one does in rents and
| speculative advance in values of
/ real estate.
An investment in manufactures
acts and reacts or rather, it has a
direct and reflex action.
Manufactures act directly in in
creased production, which is so
much added to the common wealth,
of the individual. This increased
production is as essentially a Gre
alton, in its relations to the wealth
of the community, as the rescue of
the world from choas.
But manufactures have also a re-
Hex action, in a thousand ways.
They increase population, for they
must have workers. Every thou
SAND workers represent an increase
by five thousand in the most valu- |
able OF population. This population
needs and creates a demand for