Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1881-11-30
SOUTHERN MANUFACTURES.
Atkinson's Blind Preiudiccs
Rebnked by an Influential
Northern Journal.
New York Times Editorial

New York Times Editorial
The New England manufacturers
who went to the Atlanta Cotton Ex-
position were so sumptuously enter
tanned by the people Of that hospita-
bic city, and so much pleased with
everything they saw, that they put no
restraints upon their enthusiasm, and
outdid the Georgians themselves in
painting the future industrial great
ness of the South. There was nothing
from the cotton to Angora goats, from
coal to potter's clay, in the production
of which the South did not
have many and i~ncalculable advan-
tages over most other parts OF
the earth, and the visitors expressed,
with apparent sincerity, their sur
prise and qualification at the newly
awakened and earnest spirit of enter
prise and business activity in the
South. These manufacturers had very
little to say, however, about the dis
position Of the Southern people to try
their hands at making cotton yarns
and sheetings. This is a delicate sub
ject. In Georgia and the Carolinas
there is but one opinion as to the ca
pacity Of Southern mills to put certain
classes Of heavy cotton goods on the
market at prices with which the
Northern mills cannot compete. La
the cotton manufacturing districts OF
Rhode Island there is but one opinion
on the subject, but it is understood to
be precisely the opposite Of that enter
tanned by the possibly deluded people
Of the South.
Mr.. Atkinson was one OF the New
England party. When at Atlanta he
talked much on many subjects, az is
his habit. But he maintained a stu
dious reserve on the subject Of manu-.
features in the South until he had
reached Augusta. The city of Augusta
has half a dozen very successful cotton
mills and a canal which will furnish
water power for a hundred more.
This seemed to Mr.. Atkinson a favor
able place to give utterance to his
views on cotton mills in the South.
accordingly informed a reporter of.
the Augusta Chronicle that he was
satisfied the South could not compete
with the North in manufacturing.
He thought sporadic mills might
succeed for a time, but the time would
come when the local demand upOn
which they depended ceased, and they
would be no longer profitable" The
Northern mills were nearer the great
markets, aud have the advantage Of
concentration in large towns and
They have an unlimited
of frst-class operatives 10
the French Canadians, who cannot be
induced to 60 South. Southern mills
must depend upon native white labor,
Of which the supply is limited, and
5he quality not the best. Habit, too,
IS an important consideration in his
The habit OF the Northern
is manufacturing" said he;
that Of the Southern people larming
You cannot make manufactures out OF
/ farming population. Cotton spin
ming and weaving in England is con
centrated 10 Lancashire, linen-making
in Ireland has its home 10 Ulster,
brass manufactures belong 10 Connec
and manufacturing of all kinds
to the North rather than co the
The abundance Of water
power in the South is really no advan-
tage. In future said Mr.. Atkin-
son, water, in manufacturing, will
be regarded as useful only to make
steam. 1t costs as much to buy the
wheels and make the wheel-pit as it
would for an engine" Insurance Is
higher at the South, and the cOnsoli-
Of the railroad lines will re
duce the cost Of transportation to a
point which will take away the princi
pal advantage which the South now
claims.
Mr.. Atkinson brings a very weak
array Of reasons to the support of his
proposition that the South cannot
compete with the North in manufae
turing, and his statements are not
free from mistakes. The Southern
mills do not depend upon the local de-
mand for the sale of their goods.
Their markets are in New York,
Philadelphia and Chicago, as we'll as
Augusta, Charleston, Savannah and
Atlanta. As to the question Of oper
the supply Of skilled spinners
and weavers is not at present large il
the South, but neither was it large in
New England at a corresponding
period in the history Of her manufac-
lures; and it is absurd to suppose that
operatives cannot be found in the
South who will equal the French
Canadians. Moreover, Mr.. Atkinson
seems to forget that wages Of.
operatives in Georgia are flty-fye
or sixty cents a day, and
in Massachusetts, from eighty cents
to 81. In Lowell or Fall River, where
sufficient water power is not to be
had, it may please manufacturer to
indulge in comforting illusions as to
the superiority Of the steam engine
over the water wheel, but so long as
the latter does its work equally as
well at an expense a little less than
half that Of steam, the advantages
vaguely alludedto by Mr. Atkinson are
apparent. The objection based on
the existence Of the manufacturing
habit in the North is sentimental
and fimsy. 1t has not long been the
habit of the people Of Paterson to
make silks, or of those Of Trenton to
make potteries. For that master. the
hog habit-there is really no limit TO
which this absurdity may not be
carried-is Of recent growth in Chicago
and Cincinnati. Yet in each Of these
cases the industries specified have met
with unmistakable success.
Southern manufacturers will be
greatly encouraged by Mr.. Atkinson's
remarks. He is a remarkably well
informed man, and has a rare knock
OF using his knowledge effectively.
He is a practical manufacturer. too.
If such a man as this, familiar with
every condition Of the problem. can
point out no more serious obstacles to
the progress Of cotton manufacturing
in the South than these, there is moth
ing to fear. The truth is that Mr..
Atkinson and his fellow.manufactur
ers are unable to look at the question
without prejudice. Their judgments
are unconseiously warped by their
supposed interests. Their iealously
of the South. though natural Is mo-.