Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1875-08-31

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Before the war he was mainly confined
to plantation work, and the white
mechanic who ventured South always
Aourished. Very few came, because
they labored under misapprehensions
sedulously circulated by those whosS
interest it was 70 monopolize mechani-
cal industries in their own States and
keep the South an everlasting pur-
chaser at their doors. The situation has
changed somewhat, but not altogether
for the better. The freedmen have
abandoned the plantations in aocks
and herd the cities. Many Of them
become daubs at various trades, Just
learning enough to spoil the market for
good artizans; and IN the general alb
sence among them of family response
bility they work at wages that often
brighten back TO the North the good
mechanic who comes here. The natur-
al dislike Of the European to work
with blacks, and the serious disadvan-
tage Of competing with a race that
lives from hand to mouth, max 'ng little
or no provision for family or the future,
remains a most serious drawback to the
natural tide Of immigration that would
otherwise flow upon us.
The second cause of Tennessee's de-
preston, namely, the protective tariff,
still remains In force, and cannot per-
haps be completely abolished until the
Federal debt is materially reduced.
Col. Bailey argues, however, that $50
long as this policy shall prevail, in
order to prevent our own impoverish-
ment, we should endeavor to use it to
our advantage, confident that it viii be
abandoned before it can sap the foun-
dation of the manly virtues Of our
people; and that, by SO doing, we may
do much to prevent the migrations of
our people to other communities; and
if we wish, secure some little part of
the immense tide Of immigration that
has contributed so much to the aggra-
gate wealth Of other States
The third evil, our lack of diversity
in industries, is a matter that lies COM
pletely within our own power toremedy,
aud affords field in which every will
ing hand can go to work at once with
out waiting on political revolutions or
the smouldering out Of either sectional
orrace preiudiees. The superior wealth
of the North results from lis diversity
OF industries. By manufacturing our
own cloth, hats, shoes, implements, etc.,
we can save not only the costs Of double
transportation but also the commissions
Of the various parties through whose
hands these articles pass, from the raw
material to the finished piece Of mer-
cbandise. BylabOr, supplemented with
frugality, we may become rich. In
this connection our orator says:
May 1 not. on this occasion, illustrate
my full meaning by referring TO one who
spent the early days Of his life and the ma
tureT years Of his manhood in your midst;
whose struggles and disappOintments aud
great successes are familiar TO you all. To
him who, poor tailor boy, cast upon the
world without a friend, illiteTate 10 the de-
gree that when he entered upon mans es-
tate he could not write his name; spent the
time Wrested from gnintermittiDg labor,
not in idleness, but in the necessity Of
painful efforts to gain some little Of that
knowledge denied 70 him by adverse fac
tiOns but freely bestowed upon others reared
under happier auspices. HIS life was life
of toll, but this toll brought 10 him aud to
his great rewards.
From poverty he reached to wealth and
comfort; from ignorance he climbed TO the
heights Of knowledge; from ObsCurity he
lifted himself TO the greatest Of earthly pO-
sitiOns; and now has gone down to the
grave, honored by forty millions Of his
cOuntTymen.
What an example to the young men who
may listen 10 me to-day! How encouraging
the lesson to all Of every age!
By diversity Of Industries, manywho
are now idle, some from inclination and
some from necessity, Will become en-
rolled in the grand army of producers.
Say what we viii, all men are not born
farmers. God has planted here in
Tennessee a diversity Of natural re-
sources, and he has planted also a
diversity Of inclnatiOns and cape cities
and ambitions In the human breast.
Yet our social and economic fabric is
such that it affords little or no choice
of pursuits. Many men who make
sloven farmers, because they take no
interest IN the work, might make bril-
liant engineers or finished artizans.
But when the young man abandons the
farm, there is nothing open to him ex-
cept the professions which are already
oyercrowded, or merchandising, which
is overdone. These facts partially ex-
plain the relative number of idlers IN
Tennessee as gathered by Col. Bailey
from the census returns of 1870:
In Rhode Island forty (40) per cent. Of |
her population, in Massachusetts 50 per
cent, in Connecticut SO per cent, and in
New York "a per cent. were engaged, in |
1870, in gainful occupations, while only |
20 per cent. of the people Of Tennessee !
were so engaged. In other words, IN every |
100 persons we have eleven more idlers |
than they have in Rhode Island, ten more |
than in Massachusetts,, seven more than in |
Connecticut, five more than il New York. |
We have only % persons in every 100-Or, |
to give exact numbers, 367,9S7 at work, |
and S90,533 who are idle. But this larger |
includes the aged and the infirm, |
the women and children.
Another and instructive proof Of |
our want of varied employment to &C.
cupy the varied intelligences and ca
pacities that characterize the white
race, is thus set down:
In all the United States thzre were, in
1870, L, sos, 923 persons engaged in gainful |
Of this number 5,922,000 |
were tillers Of the soil, producing cotton
and tobacco, grass, the cereals, food Of /
every kind, whilst in all other pursuits
that is, in the professions, in mining and