Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1884-05-24


Northwest who are here, and eS-
pecially do we welcome the gentle
men OF the press from New Eng
land, because there is In0re need oil
intercourse between New England,
and the South than any other por-
lions of the country. We have un.
derstOod each other less, we have
been freer in our criticisms of each
other, probably because we knew
less of each other.
1 trust, gentlemen, your visit to
the South will do you good, as il
gives US great pleasure to have you
among Us. l have no doubt if our
active Commissioner could raise a
fluid TO travel some of our own peo-
pie into New England it would do
them good. But gentlemen, all be-
yond the word iCetcOnle emphasized
by coming from the heart is VERDI
age.
In connection with the perform
ance OF this pleasing duty OF extern
ding you a hearty welcome, | have
the consent of the President of the
association and the State Commiss-
Toner, to occupy the time of the con-
vention for few minutes instead
of taking my place as Was assign
ed to do next Friday. This was
deemed appropriate because the
time could be spared and it was
more than acceptable to me as 1
cannot be mere Friday.
The work assigned me in this
programme was 10 show the rela-
lion which manufacturers bear to
agriculture; and am glad TO have
SO many witnesses here from the
land of diversified industries who,
from experience and observation,
will bear testimony TO every word
l say.
A purely agricultural country
must end in poverty-I say it must;
reason and the philosophy of human
forces teach it, and all experience
teaches it. Before the war we had
capital and labor united-our capt.
tai was our labor and our labor was
our capital. We were proud that
we were an agricultural people, and
certainly not ashamed of being
averse to manufacturing. Whether
slave labor could be utilized in
manufacturing we did not care to
enquire; we were content.
We neglected tc realize a great
truth in political economy-that
poverty in all ages and among all
people is the final end of a purely
agricultural State. There is no eX-
ception to the rule, and our people
are fast coming to realize it.
Pennsylvania has no greater nat
ural advantages than Tennessee
the same in size; about the same
in mountains and valleys and soils /;
about the same in coke making coal
with the advantage greatly in favor
of Tennessee in iron ore, and yet
while Pennsylvania lands are worth
twelve hundred millions, ours are
worth two hundred and fifty mill
ions. Why? Because Pennsylva-
mia has diversified industries. Every
town is manufacturing town and
every farmer has a home market
for all he produces. Philadelphia
last year turned out of her factories
goods enough to buy the whole
State of Tennessee and have fifty
millions left.
But l can repeat here what l have
often said, that New England fur
niSheS, not only the most eXtraOr-
binary results from energy and in
dustry the world has seen, but the
best illustration of what diversified
industries will do for country.
Your ancestors settled in New
England with nothing but the
courage of life. To begin with, you
have a bleak, cold climate land
whose soil had to be made. You
are without the raw material you
have neither coal, iron or cotton.
But by diversifying your industries,
helping each other, making COM
merce instead of trade or traffic,
buying from each other and keep
ing your money at home, you have
grown vastly rich; you are actual
~ competing with Old England,
France and Germany in lending
money. liza railroad is to be built
to the Pacific coast, or into Mexico,
you lend the money TO do it. If a
great city is destroyed by fire, you
advance the money to rebuild it. If
the Government wants to make a
great loan, the Treasurer has only
to ask New England. And all this
you have done by going to manu-
featuring, importing and bringing
in, not only the raw material prop
er, bnt actually the bread 10 feed
the operatives, at least until home
market made farm products SO val
liable that farmers, as the last great
work for New England, made Il soil
that would make bread.
The enterprise of New England
is certainly cOmmendable, though
down here in the South we have
always had people who spoke their
minds freely about the Yankee.
But intercourse between and
OF each other is rapidly
the sectional prejudice.
What may we do in the South ?
We have new country without
the hardshipS of frontier life. We
have Immense resources, we have a
fine climate, a productive soil,
great variety of products, short win
tiers and early crops, immense water
power, vast timber forests, coking
coal and ore beds in close proXim-
ity which have been thoroughly tes-
ted, the conditions all so favorable
that in Tennessee, Alabama and
Georgia we can make iron at about
BIB, about what the ore to make a
ton of iron costs at PittSburg. BY
the side of the ore and coal the
We have also great
marble beds now attracting much
With these vast resources, if we
had "A little New England enter
prise, what would we do? We do
not lack capital so much as enter
prise. Many of our best men, busl-
ness men, are selling goods, but
they are dividing their capital and
up manufactures. We
need their brain and their enter
prise to be actively employed. Sell
NO goods is too small a business for
the class of men engaged in il in
his and other cities in Tennessee.
They are among our wisest men,
and manufacturing Is q thing which
talent can be expended on.
A great majority of mercantile
men fail sooner or later as bankers
lo-not so much under our new
banking system-but manufactu-
rers get rich and stay rich.
We say to you, gentlemen from
New England, frankly, that we are
lot particularly glad to see you IN
he hope that you will bring your