The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1872-06-23


war the prosperity Of tho South WAS pro-
her increase, the whole world stood
ready to bid for it. and tho gains of the
Southern country were proportionately
large. These gains were invested in
negroes, and by this accession of labor
tho productive capacity of the country
was, year by year, increased. Labor
produced capital, and capital increased
labor, each augmenting in turn the other,
and both combined heaping up an enor-
nous aggregation of wealth. Since the
war this has been changed. Labor still
produces capital, but capital can no
longer find an Investment in labor. A
new outlet for Southern surplus is neoes-
sary, and as each recurring reason de-
monstrates more and m )re clearly that
the ancient prosperity of tho South is
reviving. the need OF some such out
let becomes moro apparent. What shall
that outlet be? We answer that South
ern capital must henceforth seek invest.
ment III Southern securities. Railroads
arc needed, and the bonds of those roads
must be ut once profitable and snfe.
Cotton manufacturing il extending
itself, and factory shares must present
desirable openings. Municipalities are
growing, and OH the credit of thriving
towns and cities a we'll founded reliance
may be placed. State after State is re-
verting from alien hands to the control
OF Its own people, and in such change
q guarantee of future honesty and eau
ton appears. Take the South over, and
the opportunities of investment are COM
mensurate with the general demand.
10 be safe and to be profitable are the
prime requisites of an investment, aud
Southern capital can find these requisites
better at home than abroad. Take, for
instance, tue case of some Northern
railroad. What can any Southern stock
holder know of the real condition of
that road? Its distance forbids any per-
sonnl observation. He knows neither
the value Of the property nor the relia-
olllty OF Its managers, save from hear
say, and Is thus compelled to rely exclu-
slvely upon others for the safety and in
crease of his capital. From the necessi-
ty OF the case, the Southern holder of
Northern securities is where the English
owners of Erie were lately disclosed to
be. His money is locked up by
strangers, who manage it at their own
sweet will, and resent as an impudent
intrusion any effort on his part to know
the condition and prospects of his own
property. How different where the
Southerner has his capital in Southern
securities. The property is, as it we're,
in the hollow of his own hand. It lies
at his very doors, and the slightest cir
cumstance affecting it's value is apparent
to him at once. He sees for himself,
and is not obliged to rely implicitly on
the observation of others. On the score
of safety there is everything to recon-
mend Southern over Northern seou-
rity, and just in proportion as an invest
ment is safe just in that proportion is it
really profitable.
But to facilitate the investment of
Southern capital in Southern securities,
a market is necessary, and Augusta is
beyond question that mart. It is pre-
eminently solid place. It's reputation
now and before the war is without
stain. In the days of the old State
banks. Augusta money had the public
confidence from Virginia to Texas, and
in the sale of the ante 6eUuns railroad
bonds, Mississippi, Tennessee and Ala
bama possessed a virtual monopoly.
Since the war, this very distinguished
financial character has not been lost.
As shown by the tax returns, there are
more than double the amount Of securi-
ties held in Augusta than in any other
city in Georgia, and unless New Orleans
be an exception, and this is doubtful,
Augusta is the largest market for South.
ern securities in the Southern States.
1t is, moreover, the largest cotton manu-
featuring centre in the South, and pos
sesses railroad interest of the soundest
and most promising importance. Fur
thor still, it is one of the largest interior
cotton markets in the South, and since
the establishment of the Exchange, it's
facilities for the management of cotton,
both for immediate and future delivery,
have greatly increased. With these at
tributes, it is marked out as beyond all
question the great financial market of
the South, and in the Exchange appears
the fundamentally for the accomplish.
ment of it's manifest destiny. Already,
though the institution is but in it's in
fancy, its operations have that solidity
which peculiarly distinguishes Augusta,
and already an influx of capital seeking
Investment through it's agency indicates
at once how great is the need of such a
market, and how fully the Exchange is
recognized as meeting that requirement.