Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1883-04-04
MEMPHIS APPEAL
4 FATAL CONCESSION.

- - AL
1t is the general policy of monOpolists to
conciliate and compromise with what they
cannot crush or control. The cotton manu-
facturers of the Eastern States read the
handwriting on the wall. They are forced
to make the fatal confession that they can.
ture of coarse cotton goods, and now they
propose that the Southern people conhne
themselves exclusively TO the manufacture
of the coarser fabrics, and give them tine
monopoly of manufacturing the finer goods.
The recent admission OF the Northern manu-
facturers sounds like a death knell to the
Eastern cotton manufsct urers. The comics
sion that the North and East cannot compete
with the South 10 the manufacture of
cesrser cotton fabrics, IL an admission that
tine South will ultimately manufacture all
the cotton she produces. The New York
Times, always slow to make concessions
favorable TO the South, says.
So long as the New England manufacturer must
psy 81 50 to 81 bale for freight on his raw mate
rial, making his yearly freight bill on the same
amount of cotton from seveH 70 ten times that of
his Southern rival; SO long as he must pay also a
Considerably nlgner rate OF wages, ana, on the
average, higher price for the power that drives
his spindles and looms, he cannot reasonable hope
TO compete, on similar grades of goods, with the
mills OF Georgia and the CarolinEs. The advan-
tsges at present enjoyed by the Southern manufac-
turers are. moreover, eertsin to be increased.
Many Of the Southern mills are row equipped with
old and worn.out machinery, and few Of them
have well-trained or competent employees. Bat
even under these imperfect conditions the profits
ofcotton manufacturing there are far greater than
in New England, as Is shown by the high diYi-
bends of some OF the leading southern mills.
The New York Herald is still more pro-
nounced in its views on this question. 1t
says:
There was a meeting OF Southern cotton manu-
fsCturers In Atlantis, Ga a few days ago, for the
purpose mainly of organizing mutual insurance
operation in New England for many years In the
discussions OF this meeting il was asserted that
their mills are SO well established that now they
control the market for cotton goods all over
the United states and regulate the price OF sucn
fabrics even in New England. Nobody who has
the general prosperity OF The country at heart will
be sorry for t1is On the contrary, 1t affords
for cOngratulatiOn that the South is avaling itself
OF the diversified opportunities for prosperity
with which nature endowed it, bat which 1t was
prevented from improving until The abolition of
slavery relieved it from the policy of concentrate
ipg itself upon agriculture. THE NEW ENGLAND
TIES OF. THE SITUATION, TO SURRENDER TO
TIE SOUTH TdG MANUFACTURE OF COARSE
CorIoN GOODS ALMOST ALToGETHER. AT
ton 10 FINE FABRICS WHICH REQUIRE
MORE sKILLFUL LABOR.
These extracts show that the scepter is
about 10 depart from Judah. The entire
business Of manufacturing cotton is to be
transferred 10 the South, for it is an absurd
ity TO suppose that if we can manufacture
coarser fabrics probably we cannot manu-
facture the finer goods 90 cheaply as the
East. Skilled labor can be brought from
Europe and from the Eastern States, and
employed in the South TO turn out the same
goods Manufactured elsewhere. 1t is an OBJ
vious saving in manufacture to have cotton
growing in the fields adj AGENT TO the factory,
and it is preposterous to suppose that skilled
labor and the requisite machinery cannot be
transferred to the South. improvements
and mechanical genius can be utilized at all
localities. The same energy and enterprise,
which it is conceded has given the South a
monopoly of the Manufacture of coarse cot
ton goods, will be equally IS successful
in manufacturing the finer cotton fabrics.
The Southern people are demonstrating their
ability 10 spin the cotton which they pro-
duce