The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1881-02-10
Encourage Indu.trie. and the Arts.


day productive manufactures should
go hand in hand with the agricul-
tural development of the State.
Manufactures not only create
wealth by the change that takes
place in the produce itself, but it
gives employment TO skilled labor,
and to that extent theymake a home
market for soil products and sup
plies to the agriculturist manufac-
tured products at a minimum of
transportation.
The development of some of the
resources of the State by the intro
duction of manufacturing capital
and skilled labor offers tempting
fields to enterprise and capital in
our State.
A bill now pending before our
Legislature for the encouragement
of manufactures of cotton and
wooden fabrics and leather, offers
premiums in the way of land dona-
tions, but why confine this offer to
this special class of manufactures
The provisions of such a bill should
be broad enough to take in all classes
of manufactures that utilize raw ma
terial that abounds in our State and
convert ii into manufactured pro-
ducts of great value. There is a
growing feeling among the people
of Texas that all manufacturing in
dustries that are producers of W ealth
should be literally encouraged. Our
people realize the fact that the es-
tablishment of manufactures make
rapid additions to our population of
skilled laborers, while at the same
time they create home market for
surplus agricultural products and
greatly increase the prosperity of
the State.
\ very important item of interest
TO many who have given the subject
their attention, is an exhibit of the
manufactured products of Texas at
the Worlds Fair in 1883. Public
spirited citizens of Texas are ahxi-
Gus to see our State take her proper
position among the other states of
the nation in that exhibit, and not
be again Inundated as they were IN
1876, at Philadelphia, by an entire
want of representation before the
assembled thousands who will come
from every state in the Union, as
well as from all the civilized nations
of the earth to examine and COM
ment upon what is there exhibited.
Shall the people look in vain for an
exhibition of the manufactures, or
of the products of the prolific soil
and genial climate of TeXas2 No
State development is full and COM
plete unless there has been harmo-
NOUS advancement of all its pro-
ductive powers. a corresponding de-
velOpment in all directions, and
while there is Il strong desire to see
the full development of our agri-
cultural powers, our manufacturing
interests should not be neglected.
We have vast quarries of the finest
of marble, both plain and variegated,
and inexhaustable beds of fire clay,
potter clay, fullers earth and Kaolin,
that are all and each a basis from
which wealth to State and individ-
ual, should be accumulated and
liberal provisions for the encour-
agement of all such manufactures
should be placed upon the
statute books of our State. The
manufacture of the finer quality of
porcelain and china ware is particu-
larly deserving of special attention.
We have vast beds of raw material
for manufacturing pottery ware of
all kinds, from the common crock
cry to the finest of porcelain china,
and with the exception of one fac
tory established at Lavernia, in Will
son county, for common stone ware,
there's none ofthem that are utilized.
Texas is compelled to pay tribute to
other states and nations for 80 per
cent of all the crockery used in the
State, and for all of the china and
porcelain ware, while she has with
in her own borders the raw materi-
al to supply the demands of the
whole nation. The mandatory of
porcelain and glass are industries
that present special opportunities
for the location of capital and skill
ed labor to utilize the raw material
so abundant in our State. AS is
well known to many of our citizens,
there is in one of our central coun-
ties of this State, an inexhaustible
bed of fine kaoline, or porcelain
clay, that is said by the assayer of
the United States mint at New Or
leans, to be superior to anything of
the kind ever discovered ON the
continent, and of still finer quality
than that used in the manufacture of
porcelain at Sevres, France. Mil
lions of dollars are annually sent
abroad for the purchase of this class
of goods.
The exhibit from the New York
custom-house for the last three
months of the year 1880, shows that
there was imported 1874, 1921 worth
of this ware, in ninety days, through
that Office. For the single week end
ing December %, the importation
of fine porcelain ware amounted to
S35, 339, and of earthen ware 1926, 309,
and of glass $46,177, making a total
of $106,S25 paid out in one week
through one single custom house for
material that should and can be
manufactured right here in Texas.
Now add the amount passing
through the other custom-houses,
but especially New Orleans and San
Francisco, and we have a sum ex-
pended for foreign manufactured
goods, that is immense and espec-
tally to be regretted when we take
into consideration that right here in
Texas we have the material in great
abundance for the production of
this very class of goods, and only
waiting for capital and enterprise to
develop. The importation of these
very productions is constantly in
creasing and fully keeping pace with
the increase of population in our
country. The increase importation
of 1880 over that of 1879 was in
round number $1,5O0,0O0. Now
while we have in great abundance
the raw material for the manufac-
ture of both glass and porcelain of
the finest kind, would it not be
wisdom on the part of our Legisla-
ture to make liberal provisions to
induce capital to establish the much
needed manufactures 10 utilize our
raw material?
Win they do it? ALTEMoNTE.
Some queer comparisons are