The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1874-05-20
Manufacturing at the South.

Il tiSer, writing from Augusta, points ou
the profitable character of cotton facto
ries at the South, and the superior in
ducements to the investment of capita
which these offer over similar enter
! prises at the North. He states that the
Augusta factory has paid twenty pei
cent. dividends for nine consecutive
4 years, and that the neighboring factories
of Graniteville and Langley make
equally as good show ing, and that the
|stock in these companies has increased
in value from seventy to eighty pei
cent. The working capacity of these
mills has from time to time been in
creased, and as means of further de-
veloping it's manufacturing industry
the city of Augusta has recently been
enlarging its canal, which will soon be
completed, at q cost Of over one hall
million of dollars, and develop the larg.
est water power in the Union, except
that at Coloes, New York. The writer
assigns as q reason that larger amount
of capital has not sought investment in
manufacturing, the fact that for years
past the South has been an agricultural
people, devoting its energy and capital
almost exclusively to the culture of cot
ton. AS q consequence, the capital of
the South is locked up in lands and
farming implements, money is scarce,
and there is too little mercantile and
banking capital at home to lend the
necessary aid. The profits which are
offered by manufacturing must, how
ever, attract capital from other employ
ments and from other sections, and
doubtless theprophecy of the NesO York
Herald will be realized, that in ten
years, the rivers of the South will be
dotted with manufactures like the rivers
of New England. and with thriving
towns about them, swarming with busy
operatives. Native white labor is abun-
dant here at cheaper rates than those
now paid at the North, and the manu-
facturers here are enabled to effect a very
great saving in the cost of the raw ma
terial, These and other advantages
which give the Southern manufacturer
a great advantage over his Northern ri
val, are very clearly set forth by the
writer as foIlows:-- --.-.;' ..'- rs.a
The extraordinary success and pros
perity of the Lowell manufacturers is
we'll known; yet the Lowell manufact-
urer, think, to-day is at q decided dis
advantage as compares with his ruture
Southern rival. II he buys his cotton
at this point (which you will observe is
the most northerly cotton market Of
consequence on the Atlantic side) he
will have to pay 81 IS freight and eX-
penses on each bale of cotton he manu-
factures, paying this in dirt and waste
as we'll as fibre, besides thirty cents per
cwt, and insurance back TO New York
on his manufactured goods. Our man
ufacturers, on the other hand, get their
COTTON AT THEIR OWN DOORS,
and sell about one-half their manufact-
ured products at home, thus avoidingt
the expenses referred to; while the
other half, which is marketed at New
York, costs for Insurance and convey
ance thither only 81 80 per bale contain
ing 300 pounds of goods. Another great
item in favor of the continued success of
this as a manufacturing community, |
consists in the advantage we possess in
cheap freights to st. Louis Cincinnati,
and other Western points. The rate of
freight from New York to st. Louis du-
ring the winter months is often 81 5S
per cwt., or 81 "a per bale, whilst from
here it is never over ST 80 per bale. AS
a reason for these low freights. would
explain that we are cotton producing
people, and our planters cannot be in
duced to grow their own provisions,
consequently are supplied almost entire
ly from the West and Southwest; and as
there is but o limited demand for freight
room in that direction tho trains 60 back
comparatively empty. Thus it is we
make
OUR OWN TERMS,