The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1871-10-12
HOYT 81 CO., Proprietors.
A General Review of the Southern Situation.

T. W. I,O
of the New York Journal Of Commerce, has
lust concluded an extensive tour of observation
through all the Southern States. He has writ
ten from time to time q series of letters to the
journal he represented, and his comments upon
men and things in the South have been singu-
larly free from prejudice. His last letter is
the fortieth of the series, and in this he gives
a general review of the situation. We make
the following interesting extracts:
The issues connected with slavery are in the
grave of that institution. Dew-drops sparkle on
the green sward where blood flowed in streams,
and prosperity dawns where decay seemed inevi-
table. Let the tragic actors in the late bloody
strife forget the causes of trouble and forgive
each other. believe the people of the South
are ready to accept the hand of friendship, ten
dered in good faith-come from what section OF
our country it may.
But the fact that slavery did exist is fact that
has left its mark in every Southern community;
The system encouraged thriftlessness ana killed
manufactures in their incipiency. Thus it is that
the South is comparatively so destitute of manu-
features Even now the men who were slaves
are not the men who contribute to the wealth OF
manufacturing districts The slave did field or
heavy work. The machinist, the moulder, the
brass inisher, the carder and spinner, the miller
the mechanic of the South, are white, with very
few exceptions. The unskilled labor of the South
was black when the war commenced, when 1t
ended. and at the present time. Ihe black race
in the South while increasing in some few locall-
ties, is averaging large per cent. decrease each
wear. This is accounted for in the change from
dependence to independence. The dependent
we're formerly cared for. Left to his own re-
sources, possessing shiftless and procrastlna-
ting spirit, the colored man could not arouse
himself at once to sense of his actual condition,
but following the bent OF inclination plunged
into indulgences and neglect that proughI
their consequences. -,
4 wear after the war the colored people OF the
South generally were in an awful condition.
They took little care of themselves or families,
and the result was, they died rapidly. The num-
ber ofinfant negroes who die in their first year Is
surprisingly large, and the births among them
average a large per centage less than among the
whites. Six years of absolute freedom has, how
ever. given time for the perfection OF school sys-
TENS. and the colored children of the present age
will probably realize their situation, and devote
themselves somewhat to the education OF their
race in practical things. The general condition
of the freedmen is nov better than IL mas D2en
since they entered into their new career. but
persons who have given close attention 10 the
subject unanimously accept the conclusion tnat
the colored race will never again be as numerous
in this country as it was five years ago. You
can't educate them all at once believe there
are now twenty thousand colored people IN the
South who can read and write, and who have
yained that accomplishment since the war; That
Is most remarkable state of progress under the
circumstances, and yet there are four millions
of them to educate. The Southern white people
want them educated, and are now cheertnlly
having taxes to do it, believing that intelligent
labor Is the best, and that they will always
have employment for every colored man or wo-
man who will work. So you see every rcspon-
sible and intelligent white man in the South is
now irving his best to undo what slavery did
for his section. And he will not hesitate to
tell you so.
MANUFACTURES GREAT WANT.
The people of the South see that they want
manufactures. Instead of sending their cotton
TO Europe or New Enland to be made into
wearing apparel and returned, they have deter
mined to avoid payment of freights, insurance,
middlemens fees, tariffs, &c, on goods which
they can as we'll make up alongside the cotton
field. They mean to mine their Goa! and iron,
and usa il. TO cut their walnut and oak and
pine trees and make their own parlor and kltch-
en- furniture; to manufacture their glass; pa
per. leather and other articles Does 1t not
seem strange that intelligent gentlemen you
meet anywhere in the South, should have
boarded their money before the war iii cities
that had not single manufacturing establish
ment? Why not have applied it in trial OF
manufactures? The war forced them to manu-
facture some things, and they did it as we'll as
ANYBODY after practice. Men who understood
the work probably better than those who mad
conducted it took hold after the war and helped
them.
Some of the new manufactures are now pay
ing profits of from twenty to fifty per cent. on
the capital invested. They cannot be started
too rapidly anywhere in the South where coal
or water power is abundant, or fail of success
in experienced hands. The people there have
not vet got far enough along to spare their cap
ital from the cotton, rice or sugar fields. Eve
ry Southern man. not planter, who had mon
ey to spare, loans it to the planters because it
nays q large per centage and is first class in
vestment. venture to predict that in another
year, if the growing cotton crop proves any
thing like remunerative, Southern capital alone
will start twcuty or thirty cotton mills, and IN
crease the capacity of every one now IN opera
tion Every manager of cotton factory there
will tell you that he cannot supply the demand
for goods, and that he only manufactures III
busy seasons to fill orders. .,
Mr.. Young of the Eagle and Phoenix Mills,
at Columbus, Ga, says that during. the dull
summer months they run as much OF their ca
pacity as they can support with the funds tney
haye, and carry the goods over to the fal! nut
that there has not been year since the factory
was started when there was an unsold piece or
goods in the place on the first day of January.
And atmill runs several looms anda good many
thousand spindles. The Augusta factory has
sale for goods all the time, because it makes a
special class Of sheetings But the Columbus
factory, working in both cotton and wool, ma
king everything in coarse dry goods line, hav-
ing its market at the door, becomes borrower
of money in the summer season. These mills
pay about 25 per cent each in annual dividends
To thn stnckh0ldnrs