Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1881-11-17
SOUTHERN oorToN WILLS.
Abundant Opportunity but Lack OF
Operatfves-New highlands Just
Alarm.

SAVANNAH, GA, November 15.-EdftOr
Morning Nescs: An article from one of your
Southern exchanges in the NEWS of the 18th
instant contains some practical information
for gentlemen interested in establishing or
developing the manufacture OF cotton
fabrics in Georgia. 1t is headed "The
South vs.. Cotton Factories" and takes
strong exceptions to some recent public
utterances of Boston gentleman touching
the relative merits OF New England and
the South as manufacturing centres. l am,
sir, in no way concerned with the arguments
or the conclusions of either party In this
dispute; my sole business with it is to note
plain statement made in it. The statement
is this, viz: "Had we, the South, the ma
chinery, the capital and the skilled labor,
we could perhaps excel New England in
the manufacture Of even the finer class Of
cotton fabrics" That statement is plain
enough anyhow.
Now, Mr.. Editor, to bring the three ifs
and the perhaps" of that sentence together,
don't they make a pretty big If in the way
of cotton manufacture in the South? Manu-
facturers among US usually consider the
"machinery. the capital and the skilled la
bor'' the prime factors of any such under
taking and of these the last mentioned is
the first IN order. Without this you cannot
take the very first step In this direction.
Skilled labor. reliable and plenty of it, is
the one essential thing in an extensive
manufacturing undertaking. Therefore, sir,
according to a responsible Southern writer,
the principal requirement of the South, in
order to become a successful competitor
with New England in the manufacture of
cotton fabrics, is the advent here Of large
numbers of skilled factory operatives.
Hence the question, How is the South to
secure these operatives? becomes a very i'm
portant and practical one for all interested
In the matter.
You, sir, thought 1t worth while to notice
favorably the other day an humble effort of
myself and some others In this direction.
Perhaps, sir, you may remember that the
plan of settlement in question was very pc
culiar in this, viz: That It limited each
household to five acre lot. As | shall, in
due time, present this whole subject to such
of the gentlemen of Savannah as can in
terest themselves IN 1t, will simply state
here that our effort is designed especial
w for this particular class Of the
skilled labor of New England
the factory operatives. Our plan covers
the present wants of numbers of this de-
serving and useful class Of the workers Of
New England, and it seems to me also OF
large portion of the South. By forming
such communities as our plan proposes you
develop all the resources OF the country
more thoroughly, and advance the value Of
land more rapidly than by devotiDg the land
to farming purposes exclusively, while at
the same time you provide an intelligent and
reliable population for factory work and
concomitant industries. To effect this,
Ahn aarlf ha
tensive one. 1t would serve no good inter
est to isolate few Of those people In the
South. A united and systematic effort will
bring sufficient numbers of those people
South to secure the required "skilled labor,
machinery and capiral" to make up cotton
fabrics fine and coarse. Natural resources,
water power, fine climate and all
the rest left to themselves won't effect
much in the manufacture of cotton goods
of any grade, no more than a blooded colt
will break himself to harness. As regards
our own plan for effecting the general and
particular objects above described, 1t is
based upon an accurate knowledge Of all
the elements of the various and divers in
terests involved and the exact work to be
done. l am, however, In common honesty
bound to acknowledge that my intended
field of operation was not the State of GeOr-
gia, but the friendly greeting which several
gentlemen have extended to me here seems
to make it incumbent upon me to afford all
caring to do so an opportunity to pass judg-
ment upon it, which | shall do in short
tine.
The above, Mr.. Editor, is all that meant
to say; but, sir. with your permission, | am
tempted to put another word upon another
phase of the article from which l have be-
fore quoted. 1t gives an ante-bellum Opin-
ion or an eX Governor of Rhode Island re-
garding the superiority Of the South as a
manufacturing country to New England.
Well, sir, l can offer little old time cor
roborant testimony in that respect, and, II
YOU care for it., here 1t Is: In the latter part
of $50 the leading men of the Wing party IN
Boston called public meeting IN fremont
Temple TO discuss the political situation;
but it was scarcely opened when the "to
hell with the Union" chaps took control Of
it, and one of them, very young man, had
Just finished giving the South a regular
toasting, when an elderly gentleman OF
great wealth, high social position and large
Nv interested in manufacturing, jumped up
on a chair few feet from the Young fellow
and looking him full in the face said:
young man, you don't know
what you are talking about
The abolition OF slavery would be
ruin to the manufacturing interest of New
England. Carry out your measures at the
South and you Will live long enough to see
our factory buildings sold tor less
than the first cost of the brick
OF which they are constructed" At
this a number of persons began to yell
az the speaker, who, in reply, roared out:
~ tell you that you don't know what you
are about. do. l have just fl isbed the
construction Of a dam at cost of $4,000
Abolish slavery at the South and that dam
isn't worth one damn cent to me or to any
other man in New England" all the
while shaking his fist at the audience.
And, sir, | venture to affirm, and that
without fear of contradiction from any one
competent to speak TO the facts, that
scores of New England villages to-
day verify that prediction, both as regards
their factory buildings and their dams. l,
for one, am sorry that 1t is so, for those New
England villages were pleasant places in
which to live in the days of their prosperity.
And life in New England village twenty
five or thirty years ago and life on
a large wel-regulated cotton planta
tion in South Carolina or Georgia were
not so far apart as some people ina
gined them to be. There seems to
be natural sympathy between them, as the
New England village and the large old-time
cotton plantation are simultaneously dsap
pearing from the face OF the earth. 1t isn't
well that it should be so. May not some
thing be done to reproduce and combine the
two lives in the South?
am, sir, thankfully, your obliged ser
want, W. II. CANNON.