The Russellville Democrat., 1876-11-16
Shall St. Louis Become the Manchester of the American Continent?

Continent?
 The Mines, Metals, Arts and Railroad Journal, referring to the advantages presented by St. Louis for the manufacture of cot ton goods, says that many evi- dences of the change that must shortly be made by the owners of Eastern cotton mills, are daily coming to light, and it is not probable that the cotton manu- faeture of New England can un- der any possible circumstances ever regain the condition of healthful prosperity. enjoying by them prior to the year 1870.
 Theoretically the cotton pro ducing region has advantages Tn the man ufacture of cotton into fabrics for commercial use, while in reality the advantage lies with those who can, at the minimum of expense, secure banking facil- ities, constructive capital, health, cheap building material and met als cheap, skillful and abundant labor, fuel, food, water, real estate and house rents. There are other features that enter into and quite largely add to profits and advan- tages, if they are fortunately pro curable at certain point directly accessible to the cotton planta- tion. It is only when a locality, having the preceding advantages, has as well the widest and cheap est commercial access to the world by safe and expeditions methods of communication and transit, that the manufacture of cotton can be carried oil at the least pos sible cost, and with the largest profit.
 St. Louis, from her peculiar surroundings, is better adapted to profitable cotton manufacture than any other locality in the world. It is not disputed that cotton mills, right in the midst of the staple, have advantages above the best New England mills.
 The Atlantic cotton mills are not alone in being surrounded by declining interests; nearly every cotton mill running on low grade goods in the Northern States is seriously affected by the competi- tion of mills that make standard brown cottous in the South. That it will be found that St. Louis can underseil both South and North in manufactured cot tons, time will shortly reveal.
 The necessity in New England at the present and before busi ness can be resuscitated is reor ganization, shrinkage of nominal capital, and actual company cash and less of hypothecations, or street loans at high rates of in terest.
 New England will be barely able to keep it's mills at work in the future without loss of money; Southern mills will do really well, while mills located in St. Louis will do largely better. It is some thing to have q market that can absorb the production of to-day before the noon of tomorrow {; while raw stocks can be filled up six times a week from cotton ex- change samples; when deliveries will follow from cars, whose bales have neither paid tribute to com pressor or there shipper, with the otherwise multitudinous commis- sioas, charges, drayages and in surance bills.
 A bale of cotton in St. Louis is worth two cents a pound more to the manufacturer than 1t is worth in the mill at Lowell, Lawrence, or Providence, while at the same time it can be bought for one cent a pound less. The difference, three cents a pound is made ur in freight, compress charges, hauling, time, interest, coal, etc.
 The owners of New England cotton mills, who find themselves nearly stranded by the difficulties which surround them, should