Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-09-12
THE NEEDS OF THE SOUTH.
How Her Great Resources are 30 be
Developed.
CAattaaooan Trndesnnn.

Nfs~es""bVvJW A'WNSohttWs
How shall the South secure the expen.
diture among her own people of at least
a round share of the millions that now
annually float to the North and East and
are there distributed in the form of divi.
dends or boarded in bonds and savings
banks? God helps those who help
themselves" If the South would be
free from her commercial, industrial
and agricultural bondage she must
herself knock off the shackles. We
have now waited nearly twenty years
for outside capital to come in and possess
itself of our magnificent resources, and
yet the few really great achievements in
the manufacture of crude and finished
materials have been the work of our own
citizens. What our people must learn,
and what they seem to learn with painful
slowness, is the power money acquires
when combined under a single head as
compared to what it can accomplish
when scattered in many hands. They of
the North and Of England have fully
learned this lesson. The greatest co op-
eratlve concern in England started thirty
years ago with stock of goods costing
$780, The stockholders were ashamed to
take down the shutters of their shabby
little shop, and when one WIS bold
enough to do this he was pelted by the
street gamiu of Rochdale. That cOrpo-
ration now owns one of the largest mer-
camille establishments in all England;
buys grain by the ship lead and grinds
1t in its own mills; has a library of
thousands of volumes; large reading
room; an immense hall for public meet
ings counts its membership by the
thousands and its capital by millions;
all. owned by work people. This has
all been accomplished within a little
more than twenty five years. Several, a
score or more concerns, projected by
mechanics and day laborers in England
and in the northern section of this
Union, have made similar records. The
great institution we here describe is
founded on So shares, no one stock
holder being allowed to carry more than
$50, except in cases of heads of families,
and they are limited to $500.
Suppose now that twenty young men
of Chattanooga, of any Southern city,
should pool their cash, say $40 each,
and embark it in some line OF trade or
manufacture, and it's poor young fell
low who cannot raise $50. That is
81 900 to start on. One of the corpora
tion could manage the business, and at
the end of the first year another 81 900
could be added, or twice that sum.
Several of the great New England cotton
and other induatries began in this
way, and have grown from just such
small beginnings
The trouble with US is we feel too big
and important to go into a $50 spcculS-
ton or investment; the people 1aast and
they will, as they became more practical
in their views and methods, get over the
nonsense which despises the day OF
small things. They must learn to ap-
preciate that sound old Scotch maxim,
that "many Titles make a muckle:"
learn that 500 five dollar bills, combined
and managed as capital for the prosecu-
ton Of business by single head, make
a potent trade force, whereas those
driblels in fge hundred hands are
frittered away OF lie idle in bank T.bors
ought to be no trouble rgts.atever in rails.
ing, II @oo shAr~c1s, a sum sufficient to
buy an""' operate the Ruohs cotton fac
tory in this city. The iron operatives
here, if they would save their earnings
and combine them, could easily start
many small industries that would grow
into big ones. The great advantage of
such combination is shown forth in the
splendid success of our savings
and building association, which
lends money at 6 per cent,
makes 90 to % per cent. profits
for its stockholders, and is all conducted
for few hundred dollars per year.
drawing no member, except a few eco
nomically paid officers, from his bust
ness in a single business hour in the
year. Why can't this excellent result be
initiated in various lines OF trade and
industry? Why isn't It so initiated? Be-
cause Our young men, mechanics, sales
men, clerks. etc, are willing to live alone
for the present, are careless about pro-
viding for future independence; don't
know their own aggregated value.
The development Of the South must
finally be accomplished mainly by South
erners. We shall hava aid. Shrewd
capitalists, however, will be more ready
to put in their cash with US when we
have shown what we can do with our
coal, iron, cotton, timber and the score
of other dormant resources living be-
meath or ready to grow out If the
earth