Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1883-08-12
PRODUCTION.

To tie Editors of the Appeal:
Your request that l should prepare for you
an article embodying my conclusions with
and the production OF paper fabric in Mem.
phis, has been given that consideration
which ia due to the person making the n.
quest and 10 the community who are inter
ested directly or indirectly in the matter. Al
an old friend permit me TO say in the outsei
that in making this investigation l am no
to be influenced by any such problemalic oil
speculative results as have followed or anC
followed faster, than even the active energier
of those who, in some localities of our South,
land, have beer enthusiastic in the develop
ment Of resources, and even yet more earnest
in illustrating the advice Of "Isgo" Il
"Roderigo"-fll thy pur.e with N oney," etc
In the palmy days of these RESOURCE de
veloperP, when your State and city, witt
ours IN Georgia and Carolina, was being
planted and waiered with bond ed debts, ]
once heard Ger. TCombs lin my iudgmenI
the greatest BRAIN force of this continent
say that when a developer of resources an
preached him he at once felt for his pocket.
book, 10 be assured that he had not ALREADY
been robbed. Undoubtedly we want q
healthy and a legitimate growth in every
department of industrial life throughout
The South. Oar section Of the country ba,
been forced into competition with the manu-.
featuring North, and wherever the industry
has been inauguratsd, whether at Augusts
or Columbus, Ga, in cotton, whethsr al
Rome or Chattanooga IN iron ,uot one of ihese
producing establishments, brought into ex.
istence BY 4 legitimate association of caDitsI
with labor, and conducted upon the iDhexi
bic rules OF a righteous political economy
has failed to pay good dividends TO The
stockholders; not one Of them begun or con.
Quoted otherwise has failed to produce sught
but disaster to the poor dupes who under the
influence of a mere sentiment have been led
into the shambles of a fraud by unprir.
cipled men.
No manufacturing enterprise, indeed nc
kind OF industry requiring an expenditure O!
labor, and asking for the use OF its products
can be conducted without a certain amount
OF actual capital to begin and carry it on
We have needed capital at the South eveI
since what we rightfully had was wroDgfully
taken from us, but the honest part Of oul
people could never have wanted it 50 much
as to surrender every vestige of what re.
manned TO them for a mere paper certificate
of stock. With these remarks, which may
have a general bearing upon almost any
kind Of industry, 1 reach the point of your
inquiry.
With her superior facilities for distribu-
ton, Memphis presents 10 any thinking per.
son a fine opening for any manufacturing OIL
producing industry. In the single dep irtme
of paper, you have certainly superior facili-
ties, while the demand here ia quite as grea.
as at any city Of the sizs in the country. The
consumption of printing paper, such as il
used 10 your Office and by the other news
paper Offices, and in the j)b offices OF Mem
phis, amounts slope to not less than $4,000
per month. What the consumption in Mem
phis alone is in wrapping papers aud the
mahv coarser products Of the paper mills, ]
can form no approximate idea. 1t ia i'm
ported here by The carload. Beyond Mem
phis, over the many highways of commerce
leading from this center of distribution 10
100 other cities and towns, there is a demand
constantly increasing with the growth of The
country. At present the demand ia supplied
from the thrifty establishments in ST. Louis,
Louisville, Cincinnati and the vicinity OF
Atlanta. Your producing facilities here are
quite as good as at either of these centers.
Clear and abundant water is easily pro-
vided either from your great river or from
weils, while the material for manufacturing,
either 10 cotton, foer or wood, is all around
you. As to the profits to be derived from
this industry, granting the facilities to exist,
OF course this will largely depend upon the
manner in which the business enterprise is
conducted. The paper upon which these
midsummer thoughts is printed costs you
from six to seven cents per pound. To reach
your Office, freigbts and a good living to at
least two intermediates between you and the
factory must be charged and paid for.
Permit me, 10 conclusion, to say that the
inquiries / have made here have been sug-
gested by a desire TO serve my sons who are
about entering upon the active duties of life.
However much l may admire your inviting
city, and the spirit of your gallant men
however thoroughly 1 may in feeling merge
my own personal identity into a common
Southern brotherhood, which in the orde ais
of the past have really left no State lines
between us, | must yet recognize the fact
that / am too old to be moved from the soil
of Georgia, into which the love Of a noble
woman transplanted my hopes in the golden
DAYS OF the long past.
Whatever l Inn az a man, coed, bad or in
different, belongs there, an in she old red
hills" of my noble friend Jackson must be
hid away these defects, while others may
profit by my good intentions. 1t will re joice
me to know that at Memphis and at every
distributing point OF the South we are Gre
ating by legitimate industries all that We
need for domestic consumption. Our neces
stiles force us to become producers, and those
who in malignant hate made Us their rivals
in manufacturing, will one day discover that
in these resources we are fully up to theil
boosted superiority. With sincere regards
very truly, H. ID. CAPERs.
MEMPHIS, August 10, 1885.