Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-02-07
The south's Industrial Future.

/ To the thoughtful it readily appears
/ that the South is in no need of stimulants
/ to industry, such as have been demanded
/ and enjoyed so long by the North. 1t is
! evident to anybody that in natural re-
! sources, climatic conditions. cost of
living and cheapness of labor the
/ South. from an industrial point of
! view. enjoys advantages that must in
/ the near future give her command of a
/ large share of the manufacturing industry
/ of the Republic. Her superiority over the
/ North in the matter of advantages for cot
ton manufacturing is we'll known, and is
being brought home clearer year by year
/ TO the people of New England.
Experience shows that, protective tar
| ifs to the contrary Notwithstanding, the
where its fruits can be reaped at
the least cost. Artificial aids fur
nished by legislation may re-
tard this migration of industry.
but it is bound to take place sooner or
later. The decay of New England is al
ready in progress, and is likely to grow
apace within the present generation. The
South has waited and can afford to wait
for the hour of her power, but capital in
its search for profitable fields of invest
ment is fastening the coming of that
hour.
Efforts are making to seduce the
Southern people into supporting a con-
tinuance of the system, which has
enriched the favored sections that have
mOnOpOlized the manufactures of the
country. The South should demand the
greatest amount of freedom possible to
the play of industry under the present
needs of the government. The mainte-
nance of the protective system would but
postpone the development of the South.
since it would retard the decline of her
rivals.
As evidencing the fact that the tide of
industry is destined to turn Southwark we
cite the following pointed remarks OF the
Philadelphia Record, a journal noted for
its practical good sense and calm judy
ment:
lone by one the costly iron works illus
trate the doctrine of survival Of the fittest.
Twelve years ago the shores of the great
Northern lakes were dotted with huge
mills that turned out immense quantities
of iron and sold il at from $45 TO $50 ton.
The price of iron fell and the mills on Lake
Ontario closed; another drop. and the
huge plant of the Buffalo Iron Works fell
into idle decay, while farther west, and
closer to the Superior ore beds, iron manu-
facturers maintained themselves with
greater difficulty in each succeeding year.
Now the Union Iron and Steel Company
OF Chicago goes under, not necessarily be-
cause of bad management nor because the
trade is unduly depressed, but rather be-
cause it has been violating a great law
Of trade. Furnaces which may be
run profitably when iron is $40 ton are
now confronted by the cold fact of $50 a
ton for iron. and unless their business can
be made to conform 20 it they must close.
and let their labOrers seek similar work
elsewhere or devote themselves to other
callings. If Chicago and Cleveland de-
sire to retain their iron manufacturing
interests they will surely be compelled to
secure a protective tariff against Alabama
iron, for President Miller, of the Eureka
Iron and Coal Company, in that State,
positively and publicly declares, accord
ing 10 the Montgomery Advertiser, that
iron is made in Alabama for so ton.
Can the iron works Of the North hold
their own against Alabama?'
Here is the lesson that cOnfronts the
South, on the learning of which her future
rests. The tendency Of the times is to
freedom in all things, and for the South,
with her splendid resources, to be cajoled
into delaying their development by the
sophistTies Of the beneficiaries of the
system Of spOliatiOn that has been
legalized for years past would be the
height Of simplicity. The Southern rep
resentative who champions protection as
the system is understood by its benefici-
aries does so to the detriment of the peo-
pie he processes TO speak for.