The weekly clarion., 1872-07-11
augusta ga. Chronicle and Sentinel
The Augusta EX change.

Prior to the war the prosperity Of the South
was proverbial. The earth bountifullv WELD
ed her increase, the whole world stood ready
to bid for II, and the gains of the Southern
country were proportIOnately large. These
gains were invested in negroes. and by this
accession of labor the productive capacity Of
the country was year by year increased. La
Dor produced capital, and capital increase ed
labor, each augmentlng in turn the other, and
both combined heaping up an enormous ag-
gregation of wealth. Since the war this has
been changed. Labor still produces capital
but capital can no longer find an inveSt tment in
labor A new outlet for Southern surplus is
necessary, and as each recurring season dem
onstrates more and more clearly that the an
cient prosperity of the South is revving, the
need OF some such outlet becomes more appa-
rent. What shall that outlet be- We answer
that Southern capital must henccforth seek in
vestment in Southern securities. Railroads
are needed and the bonds OF those roads must
be at once profitable and safe Cotton manu-
featuring is extending itself, and factory
shares must present desirable openings. Mu-
inequalities are growing and on the credit of
thriving towns and cities well founded re-
lance may be placed. State after State is re-
verting from alien hands to the control Of its
own people, and in such change a guarantee
of future honesty and caution appears Take
the South over, and the opportunities OF in
vestment are commensurate with the general
demand.
To be safe and to be profitable are the prime
requisites of an investment, and Southern
capital can find these requisites better ut home
than abroad. Take for instance the case of
some Northern railroad. What can any South
ern stakeholder know of the real condition OF
that road? Its distance forhids any personal
observation He knows neither the value of
the property nor the reliability of its mana
gers, save from hearsay, and IS thus compelled
to rely exclusively upon others for the safety
and increase of its capital. From the neces-
sity of the case, the Southern holder of North l.
ern securities is where the English owners Of
Erie were lately disclosed to be. His money
iS Loo oI hx-c ctpssr, ,tI,
their sweet Will, and resent impU-
dent intrusion any effort on his part to know
the condition and prospects of his own prop
erty. How different where the Southener has
his capital in Southern securities. The prop
erty is, as it were in the hollow Of his own
hand. 1t lies at his very door, and the slight
est circumstance affecting its value is appa-
rent to him at once. He sees for himself, and
is not obliged to rely implicitly on the obser-
vation of others. On the score of safety there
is everything to recommend a Southern over a
Northern security, and just in proportion as
an investment is safe ust in that proportion
is it really profitable
Butto facilitate the investment of Southern
capital in Southern securities market Is ne
cessary, and Augusta is beyond question that
mart. 1t is pre-eminently solid place. Its
reputation now and before the war is without
a stain In the days of the old Stale banks
Augusta money had the public confidence from
Virginia to Texas, and in the sale of the ante
bellum railroad bonds of Mississippi. Tennes-
see and Alabama possessed a virtual monOp-
DIV Since the war this distinguished finan-
cial character has not been lost. As shown by
the tax returns there are more than double the
amount of securities held in Augusta than in
any other city in Georgia, and unless New
Orleans be exception, and this is doubtful,
Augusta is the largest market for Southern
securities in the Southern States. II IS more
over the largest cotton manufacturing centre
in the South and possesses railroad interest
of the soundest and most promising impor-
tance. Further still ii is one Of the largest
intsrior cotton markets in the South, and since
the establishment Of the Exchange its facili-
ties for the management of cotton, both for i'm
mediate and future delivery, have greatly in
creased. With these attributes 1t Is marked
GU. as beyond all question the great financial
market of the South, and in the Augusta EX-
change appears the instrumentality for the
accomplishment Of its manifest destiny. Al
ready, though the institution is but IN its IN
fancy its operations have that so1idity which
peculiarly distinguishes Augusta, and already
an influx of capital seeking investment
through its agency indicates at once how great
| is the need of such market and how fully
| the Exchange is recognized meeting that
requirement. The excellence eff the guaran-
| tee given the Exchange by the reputation Of
| the business men composing II we need not
| enlarge on. To use commercial phrase, the
advertisement is made by the signatures ap-
| pended 10 il the shniest kind Of gilt edged
Daper