Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1879-11-08
oLARksvILLE Iapusrnlns.
BHerrlwefher a Paach's Pfopv FAC
terry.

BHerrlwetEaer a PascEa's Flow Fac
tory.
i Always profoundly interested II
enterprises which give employment
to productive industry, we wer,
| gratified few days ago by an invi
tation to visit the plow factory o
Messrs. Patch and Merriwether 81
this invitation we very gladly
awaited ourselves on Tuesday last
We were very courteously received
by Mr.. Patch, whom, with his sor
/ George, we found in the office. Mr.
p. conducted us through several de
partments of his establishment, in
which we saw the wood work cut
out with mathematical nicely BY
machinery, plough-shares moulded
and cast in a foundry expressly
built for the purpose, and all the
minuted screws, bolts, ets., con-
structed from the raw material all
these We're fitted together, by ex-
perienced workmen, with degree
of expedition which made it the
less surp. ising when he told us that
he can manufacture fifty plows a
day. One very gratifying circum-
stance to US was, on observing the
wOrkmen, to see among them so
many familiar faces of young men
raised in ClarksxiIIe. We enquired
how many hands he kept employed;
about twenty-five he replied, and
these are all GAINESVILLE boys. And
how many of them, we asked, are
skilled workmcn, and how many
laborers? He smiled and said '.they
are none of them skilled workmen
when they come to us, but they all
have to become so before they have
been here long, or we have no use
for Them" And do you find our
Southern boys quick at learning and
Industrious? He here became very
animated and said, "there never
was such mistake as to represent
Southern boys either unwilling or
unable to work the trouble is that
there is no one here to teach them.
Once show them how, and work
men more skillful or more indus
trious can be found nowhere but
they have no way to learn. If they
want to learn Greek they can go to
college and learn it; for learning any
productive industry they must go
away to do H." We found we had
now got NJ. r. On his hobby and
resolved to keep him there, as men
are always worth listening to when
they talk of subjects on which they
think and feel strongly. We en-
quired regarding the market for his
wares. He said that the great sta
pie of his manufacture was plows
for the cotton districts of the South,
though he manufactured a good
many for local use. He then took
us into the Office and read us a letter
from Mr.. Merriwether, his partner,
who is now canvassing the State of
for orders. In travelling
from Little Rock to Fort Smith he
had already orkers for 8, $50
plows; at GAINESVILLE, Ark, (for
its names sake we suppose), orders
had come to him for 500 more, and
be has no doubt that, by varying
the route, 10000 plows can be dis
posed of in Arkansas alone. The
difficulty is not to get the order, but |
TO increase the working facilities of
his factory so as to be able to fill I!
them.
POndering on all these things we
came to several conclusions, the
first of which was that it is a God |
send when men like Mr.. Patch set
lie almond us, and especially God
send to a couple of dozen young |
men who are engaged in active and
employment, which
could not otherwise be found for
hem.
But it is a blessing to all of us.
is built on tobacco, but
'he cannot always rest upon it; the
urea which will produce it is limit
I'd, and it rapidly exhausts the soil
n that moreover, new and COM
)eting markets are constantly open
ng for the disposal of it. Clarks-
vile, then, must find something
Use to do, besides the buying and
ceiling of tobacco, and the expert
nents of Mr.. Patch has already dem
,nstrated the fact that, if we will go
o work, there are endless fields for
of the product of our Ia
,ors. One thing, however, is needed
or all manufactures, if they are to
with those of other cities.
heap and accessible fuel; and this
means railroads to the coal producing
listrictS. There is the moral to our
ale.