Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1880-12-04
MANUFACTURES FOR CLARKs-
WILLIE.


which we were occupied in our last
weeks issue, the suitability of vari-
Gus departments of productive in
dustry to the special circumstances |
of GAINESVILLE. If any good should /
arise from these papers, we antiei-
pate more from the discussion they
may elicit than from any light we
may ourselves be able to throw
upon the subject, and we solicit dis
cussiOn, whether i'm the form OF
written communications to this pa
per or of private conversation with
its editor. Already we have
found reason 10 modify some of the
views we expressed last week in the
light OF some considerations pre-
sented in conversation by a friend
who knows more about the matter
than we do. This is exactly what we
want; expansion of our field of in
dustry IS a matter liz which we all
are interested, and the more of
special information we can elicit by
our discussion the better will be the
prospects of useful results.
Our proposition last week was
that we should manufacture our to-
bacco here, instead of sending it off
to distant points and getting it back
in its manufactured forms. 1t APP
pears that we are not getting our
own tobacco back i'm a manufactur
ed form, that the sort of tobacco
which is produced in the GAINESVILLE
district is not the sort which is con-
sumed here. Chewers here fancy a
light, dry article for their plugs,
while the GAINESVILLE product is fat,
dark and heavy. 1t is chiefly con-
summed in the t,Cist form in Europe,
and especially in the British navy
and commercial marine (measur-
ably also in our own navy and mer-
chant ships, but then we have a
third-class navy and no commercial
marine to speak of, thanks to our
stupid, old world shipping laws).
For cigars the GAINESVILLE article is
not used at all. Very we'll this is
no reason for not manufacturing it,
provided we make ii up in the
forms in which it is customarily
used and export it manufactured
instead of crude.
Let us proceed to another depart
ment of labor. Next to tobacco the
materials for productive industry
which are most advantageously
furnished here are wood, iron and
coal. 1t is true that all these might
be more advantageOusly supplied
by an extension of our railroad con-
nections, but that they can be pro-
cured, even as things stand now, at
"A sufficient advantage to be worked
up profitably is practically proved
by the fact that on moderate scale
we have pillow factory, a wagon
factory end a foundry in successful
operation.
The question is whether these OPP
erations cannot be extended by the
addition of more capital, so as to
furnish all that is required in the
markets accessible to us of the aTti-
cles produced. Wherever plows and
wagons are in demand, there must
also be a demand for many other
agricultural implements. Now, it
has already been demonstrated that
plOws manufactured in GAINESVILLE
can be disposed of to advantage not
only throughout a wide extent of
Tennessee but in Arkansas, Ala
bama and other states south and
west of us; indeed we have the
word of one of the gentleman en-
gagged in this business that he can
get orders for many more plOws
than, with his existing capital in
vested in it, he can now make. We
have not inquired as closely into
the operations of wagon manufact-
ure, but we know that an active
business is being transacted in this
field of industry, and have little
doubt that it could be almost indefi-
nitely extended.
So far we have only considered
our local advantages for manufac-
lures of this class as regards the ex-
cellence and accessibility of material
and the ascertained existence of
market for our goods. We now
consider another essential requisite.
We have, as it seems to us, an mex
hanstible supply of labor on the
spot, labor of both classes, the skilled
labor and that which depends upon
strength rather than skill.
First as to skilled labor. When
we first visited the pillow factory of
Messrs. Meriwether and Patch, we
were surprised at seeing none but
familiar faces among the young
men employed there. Dir. Patch,
AAlAAASNll a AAbAllANiu MAUI AOiA Us
that it had been so from the first
he had engaged them on the spot,
and they had learned all they knew
in his establishment. When we
further questioned him as to their |
capacity for work and the acquisi-
tion of skill, he answered us in the |
words which have been ever since |
working in our mind: "YOur boys |
are not lacking in intelligence or
industry; what they need is en- |
plOyment."
As to the work that demands /
strength rather than skill, there will /
never be any lack of stalWart col
ored men who will always prefer
employment in or near town to
working i'm the corn-feld. And as
30 both skilled and stalwart labor,
the small farms on the sOuth-side
are constantly sending out young
men seeking employment, who will
keep up the supply whenever that