The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1883-06-20

! \. 4 Il. II. T.. Company arc Cntcrprisine
people. They and the people Of August:
want orr trade, and We need their excel.
lent bargains in goods. If tho people q
.>bheviilc "~n"irihutc some In5'ney, ant
the people of Augusta give something
the a. & X. r, II. Company may run d
branch road to Ahbevillc and Il new arte'
ry of trade will be opened to Troy and
, Augusta, crcr though the great iron
highway to the West should tnil to rul
,. by Troy.
We Do Not Want Cotton Factories IL
! hbbcyille.
I'll fares The land to hpStCniaS lis 4 prey.
Where wealth accumulates and men decay
With all duo Difference to the opinions
Of tho learned and abln gentlemen VIII,
hold contrary opinions, VIC wontd l:tter q
dissenting voice on the subject Of erect
., ing fa:torics in Abhcv:lle, and at the risk
OF being pronounced herctical we will
say that ne hope that tee may nercr see q
cotton fuciorv within the bounds Of htbc'
rNc county. For a people like ours, II
the purity Of their morals, and in 4 coun'
try as thinly settled, and enjoying the
blessings which are voriclsafed in The ra
rie,v of Orr crops, and especially in the
superiority Of our cotton, VIC should re-
gard the establishment of 4 cotton facto-
~ rs VIC would tho fastening Of a moral
lcper upon our virtue, upon our religion,
and upon our high civilization. At pres
cnt the poorest women Of Abbcville
county stand the peers of any other wo-
men, and W. want no factories to degrade
them, or in which to crowd innocent chill:
drcn, where they may be required to
wear their lives away for the mcrcst pit
tanrc, while the capitalists grow rich,
and gather up tie skirts Of their gar
mtnts al Tie approach of these women
and children whom the factories convert
into the merest machines.
We are perfectly willing for the sand
hillors from the rcmotcst bounds of
Isicllland County to congrcgate OH the
Columbia car!al, and We are perfectly
willing tor that water way to be lined
with factories on both sides, from its head
to the last waSte-gate, and we are also
willing for the capitalists Of tho cities, by
The iorco of their money, to marshal
and utilize for their W profit, the la
Dor of their thriitlcss neighhors, and we
: are content for the mountaiEccrs to as
scmLle o., the banks of the neighboring
streams that their time and muscle may
be given to the enrichment of capitalists,
but we want the poor people of Abbeville
to do no such thing. We ka0w the rich
citizen wiU not do so. We have plenty OF
land. 1t is cheap and fertile. Onr people
have plenty Of elbow room. They can
easily earn a comfortable living, and rear
their children in their rural retreats, in
almost safety from corrupting inflences.
Instead Of bulky, cheap and sometimes
! un salcahlo crops, which are hard to keep;
instead Of the lsalhsome filth which de-
stroyS the very clothing of the producer
! OF tobacco, and which saturates with an
unspeakable pollution the very fingers of
the hand that touches it, &c have the
! ~cleancst, the easiest handled, and the best
J marketable product in the world. The
adaptability Of our soil and the suitable
ness of our seasons, make this the real
Gotten belt of South Carolina, and South
Carolina produces the best cotton i'll the
world. For these reasons our poor peo-
pie should grop cotton and should not
manufacture il. Instead Of ~dcSrading our
people at factories, let us not forget that
the honest people whose families have to
toll for q living had better pick the cotton
for the husband. and the father, where
the family reap the benefit of the profit,
than to have these people spin the
starie for the capitalist who takes the
profits to himself and awards the hardest
worked people tho least pay for their
services.
We would repeat what VIC have just
said. VIC arc pr~e-cminently an agri-
! cultural people. Providence has fa-
vorcd us with a soil and u climate
which excels in the production Of
the incest article that goes into the
market, while our ability to pro-
; duro the staple food crops is equal to ev-
cry emergency. Wo have thousands Of
acres of cheap lands that are lying idle
ard going to waste. These facts should
inspire our people with an ambition to be
something more than lewers of wood
and drawers of water for rich capitalists
who boast Of their enormous profits on
tho labor Of the poor-fJr none can sue
ccssfuily deny that the excessive profits,
are tho results OF iIl-paid labor, and Of
Ubiquitous legislation by the State and
National Governments Now, when
lands arc chcap-when a little money will
buy much-we hope that every head Of a
family may seek to get a homo, and be-
come lord of the manor. 1t has been
said that he who owns land, crects a
home FOR his family, and c%ultivatcs the
soil, is in partnership with God him
self-and there can be no doubt that such
q partnership has al elcvating influence
upon the creature.
Docs anybody believe that the people
of Mccormick, of Troy, Of Brad
ley, Of Verdery, of Ninety-Six, Of
Greenwood, of Cokesbury, of Able
vile, Of Due West, and of other local
tiles, which lave educational insti-
t%u,ions, would be willing to exchange
them for cotton factories? Would any
citizen consent tor the reIuoval Of the Ii
brarics at Due West to have their places
filled with cotton machinery? Would
anybody be willing for the removal Of
TIE able, the learned, and he pious
teachers in these institutions, to have
their places filled by the taskmastcrs and
ovcrscers Of 4 cotton factory? Would
anybody be willing for the noble man
hood and pure womanhood of our boys
and girls to retire from the halls,
where now they cahnot help from
being inspired by commcndable as
pirations for the higher walks Of life ?
Does anybody want their places filled
by boys and girls, whose very vocation
is a burden, the weight of which very
few are able to bear? Docs not the
smoke, the SCOT, the grease, and the
presence Of the taskmastcrs of a factory
have a communicating influence upon tho
very air which VIC brcatheP
Then let Abbevillc be distinguished for
her schools, and her scholars. Let Able
vile take precedence in the "oSTectpess
OF n.r 'e'1s''" sn' he purity Of he'
''ora's. iN. N~DsTse1ille always stand az
's<ssy h@Yssf fsSle degree Of any other peo:
r nile " the globe. But this cannot be
done if our people consent to en-
slave themselves in factories. Exceed