Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1874-12-03
LAUDATIaN OF rHE EOUTH-HER
EVTTURE,

/ SUFURE.
The south il tEe cyn0sure Of all eyes.
Her misfortunes have been great, but
she is about to emerge from the dark
night Of gloom bright as the evning sun
after dark, cloudy day. We were beat
en- in war; our homes were desolsted I;
our land filed with orphans and wild
Ows, our crippIes uneared for, our money
worthless, and for ten years there seemed
to be no silver-lining to the clouds. But
all Of a sudden our people have diseov-
cred a light as bright as that which
blinded Saul. Fer three months the
south has been overwhelmed with praise.
Nearly every leading northern newspa-
per has sent a correspondent south for
the purpose Of giving correct informa-
ton as to the resources, wants and
troubles of this section. The letters Of
these correspondents are most Crafty
ing. They have given the southern
people a still higher opinion Of them
selves, and faith in the ultimate grand
eur;and prosperity Of the south, Even
Massachusetts, has words OF kindness,
sympathy and praise Of the south.
The Boston Commercial Bulletin
has an article showing "that
all that has been promised for manufac-
lures in the southern States, more espe-
cially for the manufacture Of textile
fabrics made from cotton, is being daily
verified. Il must be patent TO every rea-
soning man that If capital could be re-
duced to invest in manufacturing enter
prises within the cotton belt, especially
where water-pOwer Of a constant and
reliable kind, and Of a power PRACTICAL
" unlimited, existed, there could be no
question as to successful competition
with the old established mills in the
north, labcring, as the latter inevitably
must, under the constant disadvantage
of heavy transportation charges upon
their raw material, as well as upon their
manufactured product. There never
seemed TO be any reason why, if Fan
River and Lowell could import raw and
unskiIled operatives from Canada and
from the Old World, and within time
comparatively short, train them to
do goOd.service in their mills, SOUTH
ern company, having its mills within
sight OF the cotton fields, could not, with
a small number of skilled WoTk-peOple 4
to start with, secure operatives from !
among the poor white land more intel |
hgent negroes OF the south and speedily |
instruct them in their duties. Accord /
ing 10 a correspondent Of the New York
Times, this is precisely what has been
done in Columbus, Georgia. The mills
there, which were in operation before
and during the war, and which were
destroyed toward its close, have been
rebuilt upon a much larger scale, and
20 grest. sreL the,advantages which lOca-
Jon and .elimatelaford that these estab-
ishments can run and make money
when prices are 50 low that northern /
mills find it impossible 10 produce /
II a profit. Wages are less, partly /
because food is cheaper and because
the climate Is SO mild that the |
heavy expense necessary in the /
north for fuel and warm cloth
ing is in great part avoided, and /
the cost Of the raw material is less be-
cause the expense Of Ealing and bagging
il saved, and because the cost Of its
to- tbe mill is reduced to a
minimum. Another saving Is made
in the method Of sale adopted, q
regular selling agent being dispensed
with, and the corporation employing its
own statesmen and coming directly ia
contact with The buyer. There is moth
ing strange OF remarkable in an this,
unless it be the fact that many New
England capitalists, to whom the plan
Of establishing manufactures Of cotton
ia the south wss suggested soon after the
close Of the war, pronounced it Alto
gether visionary and impracticable. But
there is nothing visionary about the
handsome dividends that the mills Of
Georgia, even in these trying times, are
paying to their stockholders.n