The New Orleans Democrat. (New Orleans, La.) 1875-1876, 1876-07-09
HOME ENTERPRISE.
why our People De Not Manufacture
More Extensively.

/ fArtufa the DHlN VI huHtt shtPiS NV H5HHs.
instead Of sending It abroad and paying
double insurance, freight and other
transportation expenses upon 1t. before
consuming tho manufactured article.
they can never compete with the North
| and West IN tho price Of other manu-
| featured goods
| IL Is logical % admit that competition
should begging IN tho South In such
goods IA are wholly or in great part
manufactured from cotton, but the
reasoning Of those who maintain the
proposition in Its widest sense fail t.
| agree with the facts II might npply 70
/ the intermediates process OF mnnutno.
/ tura.4the conversion OF the raw material
| into cloths. but here II atops, or ut
east facts appear to sustain this
belief. IL Ii well known that there
exist IN this city two OF more clothing
houses. which not only coinpete With
| Northern concerns ia The matter uf
prices insurance. freight and hauling
expenses being considerably turn
out better article for the Same amount
of money This was eSempliiled ~ n
small but forribla way recently. The
/ District Telegraph Company Of this
| city, Wishing I'd contract for the furnish
| Ing Of uniforms for ita messengers.
after submitting samples to Northern
| manufacturers. to their utter surprise,
| they found thafthc uniforms could be
lnndc hrre BY New Orleans concern at
ii figure between ten and fifteen per cent
| cheaper than lat the North, aud they
necessarily gave the contract 10 the
| New Orleans house. IL IL also Tact
that another large retail clothing iirm
Of Canal street, after twenty years Eek
petience. with NIL the facilities that
/ irat. class standing. large capital ana
enormous sales can give, have with
drawn their orders from the North. md
for several years have successfully
manufactured all their clothing IN this
city producing. according to their own
Abatement. u heater moro stylish ana
more durable article than they formerly
purchased IN New York. Boston o.
| Philadelphia due 10 better workman
ahip, which IL plentiful ut reasonable
rates, and itH better ndnpinhlity ~ the
| tnatrA Of the purchaser. from being
manufactured underline masters eye. n
/ The same can Do said Or shoes, Although
| the hides arc principally produced ~
the South We have 10 pay freight. inBut-
ancc. storage, hauling. aud what not. ~
| the transportation Of the raw iHntetlai
10 ,he North aul bnek again when 4 has
been converted into leather and shoes.
/
cunstanceE we see the shoe mhuulactur-
ing business thriving. aud although the
price If the homemade article has
/ fallen from thirty to forty per cent. aud
even more. within year OF 40. ~ fAei,
/ IL II safe To assert that shoes can bc pm
chased hero. Of finer quality. mHde 20
order. and nj retail. ne cheap as ~ the
auction stores which are used to reduce
| the overstocked markets OF the North.
| IL Ii true. however, that IN several caRes
the shoe manufacturing business has
| proved Il failure in this city. but this II
attributable to very different cause
than the general public would believe
that IL, want Of capital. While the
Northern merchant willingly accepts
! the ninety days or four months
note Of the retail merchant here.
the manufacturer of New Orleans
| from want of sufficient capital. demands
for his goods cash Or It's equivalent, sell
| dom being able to give more than thirty
| days time and yet he sells his shoes
cheaper than his Northern competitor
Notwithstanding that they nro made Of
choicer leather and are better finished
The clothing manufacturers do moi
! labor under the same disadvantage.
they sell generally for cash. their credit
sales being exceedingly limited and nj
ways guaranteed byexcelent securities
Why this difference exists between
the clothier's and the shoe manutac-
turer's facility Of obtaining cash for
their goods Is not explained. Given an
equal capital and Northern competitors
Of equal liberality, 1t would seem that
each should command the same patron
age. and yet It IL not 50. Our readers
should bear in mind that we do not In.
clude exclusively wholesale dealers in
| the comparison but only New Orleans
| concerns. who manufacture on large
scale, and a mixed wholesale business
The exclusively Wholesale dealers inn
port all their goods. and compete with
the home manufacturers only rs far us
the country trade II concerned. and are
facilitated In this respect by uniformity
Of method in dealing. And yet these
have their troubles also, arising frota n
want Of good faith on the part Of their
| Northern correspondents, who send
their drummers through the South to
pedile their goods ut the same prices
| that the larger houses have to pay by
Wholesale, Notwithstanding previously
made agreements ID the contrary.
The one case shows that the want Of
sufficient capital IL alone the cause Of an
absence OF development In profitable en-
terprises. Why capital does not seek
remunerative investment III the South
is due necessarily to the condition OF
the country into which Radical misrule
has plunged IT, In the other case 1t Is
plain that the wholesale merchants
will have to combine and partonize
such Northern houses only that will
afford them the facility of duplicating"
Northern prices In other words, to sell
their goods at an advance Of the pur-
chase price without mourning the risk
of being undersold by those whom they
patronize.
| We are happy to chronicle anything
pleasant to break the dull monotony OF
hard times ANYTHING that shows n