The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1882-11-22
a Southern Railroad Man Sur
prises { re English.


e, LuMBlA. " q. % III . B.
tharlvtt oolnmi i. ud Nusn~is Rail
read for Dunber # ~ar~. I,a returned
To 'iumbia after a Iro. rac', ! absence
In Europe. ln a long ,alk with Co.. Pal
mer this morning, he said
= havr passed most Of The last .hree
Years In Europe. much of the time In
Eng and found great ~prejudices exist
ing In the minds Of most business men
aud bankers against the South This i
to be ascrIbed to ignorance of our true
condition, largely owing 10 misrepresenta
tons not alwaps Intentional. perhaps
made by the United States officials in all
the promiue nt towns in Europe. The
Ignora ce of some of the officials is as
rnni.hIng. For example. In the course
of a conversation with Mr.. Lowell. the
United States minister at London. | ex-
pressed my belief that the Southern
States would in time become the richest
in the Union. Upon beii z asked on
what | founded sucn an opinion. | rel Ii
ed that we were year Y drawing from the
North and from Europe nearly $500, 900
900 for our cotton crop alone, aud that
that amount would soon be uebled
when We should manufacture the most
of our cotton into goods "a We surely
would before many years With an In
redulous smile Mr.. Lowell told me that
L probably Was MT aware thai the hay
crop of New England alone was worth
r.nre than the entire cotton crop OF the
South. | told him | had heard that
statement made years before the war but
hat his hay crop what ever it amounted
to, uId not add one dollar 10 the wealth
of the country, every pound BEING con
sumed here, and that | could probably
give him some information that he was
not possessed OF, which was that while
The total cx ports from the whole United
States OF the great wealth producing crop
of the North, wheat. amounted II value
In 1881 to only $161 .O00, 900 the exports
from on ten States OF the principal
wealth producing crop OF the South, cot
ton, amounted in value to $25j, 900, 600.
And this. too, ia face of the fact that the
bank ing capital of all tn Southern States
was only SOL 900 900, white that of the
Nest received financial aid u an extent
largely exceeding the value OF its wheat
export, while the ten cotton States re-
ceived tiaancial aid 10 the extent of less
than oue-quarIer the total value of the
cotton export. Mr.. Lowell was some-
what SUR rlsed at these facts. with which,
rs the representative OF the United States
at a court of "a great commercial country,
he should have been conrersant.
What the South need, Is capital and
foreign capital Is knocking at the doors,
anxious to be admitted. Ia the Western
States, the banking capital is supplement
ted by capital supplied to the producer,
Of food In It's various, forms by more THAI
twenty British COMPANIES 10 the amount
of 500, 600, 900, while on the other hand
the agriculturists of the cotton State:
have until within a few months had nc
assistance whatever trvm foreign capital
British companies have now commenced
loaniug on real estate in the States o
Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Loulsl
ana, Texas and Arkansas. and 1t is to bt
hoped that they will soon be permitted
to operate In this State.
The attention of Engiish cotton man
ufacturers Is being directed to the Souti
as a place for the more profitable employ
ment of their capital AID skill. and steps
are being taken TO build "a pioneer mill II
be stocked altogether with English ma
chiusry. 1t needs no prophet to predic
that this first mill will be followed by
many 0 hers. for English capital il
abundance will 60 where 1t has beer
proved that 1t can be most prohtably ELI
ployed.
There is an impression IN well in,
formed foreign aud home financial circles
that this years magnificent crops have
saved the United States from a mtst dis
astrous panIc.'