The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1878-02-28
COTTON MANUFACTURING.
The Future OF The Trade In the south.


Tbe fuiur OF the Trade In the south.
The cotton industry can scarcely be
said to be one hundred years old. At
the cloee Of the revolutionary war, in
1888, only 100000 pounds Of cotton
were annually spun in Great Britain,
being about six days spinning in this
country at the present time. From this
small beginning has grown up a gigantic
industry, 20 important that Tor q long
time cotton has been boastfully called
"ki.g," and 0ur southern brethren we're
at one time deluded into the belief that
they held The key Of the situation, and
that all nations must come to them for
the all-important staple, After the war
Of 1872, when business had begun to
revive, IL isa matter Of history that the
distinguished statesmen Of South Caro-
lima, Calhoun and LOwndes, succeeded
in having the famous protective tariEoi
1916 carried through congress, in spite
OF the strenuous opposition Of the Massa
chusetts delegation. It the south had
not been held down by the incubus of
slave. y, IL is probable the design Of these
Statesmen could have been carried out,
and cotton mills would have been estab-
Iished there instead of the cold regions
Of the free north. The disgust of Cal.
houn was very great when he found that,
intsead of furthering the interests of the
south, he had built up "a great indus
try in the north, and he and his
friends became bitter opponents to
the protective system, while the
New England statesmen went
over to the other side as most ardent
converts to the new doctrine. We all
know how this bitter feeling eliminated
in the late unfortunate war Of the rebel
lion.
At the close Of the rebellion, print
cloth (thc plain white cloth on which
calico is printed) was selling at twenty
cents a yard. This. led to an overstock-
ing Of the market, and prices began to
fall very rapidly until July, 1876, when
the same goods were sold for three and a
half cents. No business can bear such
extraordinary commissions as this, and
many manufacturing establishments were
compelled to suspend operations and
others were entirely bankrupt. The
home market was SO completely glutted
by the sudden sale of heavy stocks oil
prints and plain cloths, that it became
necessary for the mill owners of Mas.a.
chusetts to look about for foreign marts,
and the Fall River manufacturers actu
ally had the audacity to ship their wares
directly 10 Manchester. Since the exploit
Of Lord Timothy Dexter in sending
w~arming-pans to the West Indies, moth.
ing so preposterOus az this has been heard
OF in m OF course, the English
mill owners laughed, and the Joke was as
good as an extra bottle of port after din
ing, until the melancholy discovery was
made by them that the American goods
were not only cheaper, but a great deal
better than their own manufactures, and
that the foolish people were disposed
to buy them at their very doors.
The Lancashire mill owners found
Themselves beaten on their ground.
They had boosted that in the
nature Of things there could be
no great demand for American cotton
manufactures in competition with them.
The American goods were of a superior
quality, and for that reason must always
be confined to q limited market. They
thought to themselves: Lancashire
receives cotton from all countries; she
can mix America with Surat, Brazil or
West Indian, so as TO give the requisite
amount of quality and strength Tor the
minimum pnLI TJiu l., 80 olu.
which will always enable her to sell to a
great mass of consumers, and with which
cloths made from American cotton only
never can compete" They might have
added that, by loading the cloth with
China clay and patent sizing, they could
cheaper them still more, and thus make
sure Of the markets of the world. They
are now beginning to discover that they
have oyefreached themselves. Even
their W colonies prefer the American
manufactures, and New England shipped
5000 cases OF cotton goods in 1877, and
will probably double that amount this
year. We required 1900, 900 bales of
in 1876, and in 1877 consumed
lOO, 1000 more. The struggles between
New England and Old England NAV
now be considered as fairly inaugurated.
Old England is handicapped by the pro.
duction OF an inferior and adulterated
of goods; New England has a
staple, better machinery, raw
material close at hand, and an unim-
paired reputation. A direct trade in
cotton goods has sprung up with many
countries, and there is every
OF a continued increase if the
manufacturers remain honest and are
not trammelled by the tariff thinkers in
Washington. And now comes the op-
portunlty tor the south. The north will
nave its hands full in looking after
icreign trade, while the e~ver-increas-
ng demands OF the home market ought
o be supplied by southern mills. Al
mills are s%pringing up in Georgia,
where, in Columbus alone, there are six,
y thousand spindles and four thousand
ooms. In North and South Carolina,
n the Old Dominion and in other states
Mills are going up, and the whole coun-
ry is alive to the Importance of the new
rider of things. The southern states
re recovering from the effects of the
var; the whites are once more obtaining
ontrol OF the governments of those
order, peace and security
re restored. In the manufacture of
otton goods, the raw material represents
nearly one-half to nearly three.
OF the cost of production; and it
that the cheaper the raw mate
is grown, and the less the drawback
t transportation, the lower must be the
Ost of production. 1t isOn the raw ma
in fact, o than all other cir
umstances combined, that the cost of
depends. English manufac.
urers say that New England is 50 dis
ant from Charleston that freight charges ,
rom Charleston to Boston are very little