St. Landry democrat., 1884-08-16
Obstacles to Factories and Trade.
N. 0. States.

aecidently overlooked, our neighbor,
the Chronicle, assumes, from an ed
itorial in the States, headed, ''Shall
We Start Factories ?" that this
journal is opposed to the investment
here of capital in such ventures.
Had we taken any such ground we
would have, as the Chronicle al
leges, reversed our position and gone
back on all our teachings Of years
past. But we have taken no such
ground. Our contemporary has
simply misconceiyed the purport Of
the States article.
What we meant to say, and we
think our language conveyed that
meaning, was that, in tbs present
situation Of manufacturing industries
Of the country, brought about chief
II by the influence Of a high protec-
tive tariff, it is folly to hope for, and
hence waste of words to urge, the
investment Of capital in new manu-
factories.
That our home market is over
stocked, and that the foreign mar
kets Of the world are largely closed
against US by our own fiscal system,
we think our neighbor will concede.
For months past all manufacturing
enterprises in this Union have been
literally at stand-still. The home
markets are stocked, prices are low,
operatives are on strikes in some
cases; IN others their wages have
been reduced still in others their
wages are threatened with q reduc-
ton, while many mills are closed
down. That the manufactures IN
the South have not Jared SO badly
as those of other sections of the
country is due to the fact, that in
the matter Of cotton manufacturing,
those of the South have an adyan-
tage OF at least one per cent, per
pound over their rivals. But that
in the present state Of trade and IN
drstry, and under existing circum-
stances generally, any preachings Of
the press can induce sensible CAPT
talists to invest money in new man
ufactories here or elsewhere, appears
to us preposterous, and hence any
such preaching appears to US
mere waste OF words and time.
The States is now, and always
has been, warm advocate OF MAX
ing New Orleans a great nlanufac-
turing centre. We do not believe
we can make it a great city without
building up within and around it
great and magnificent factories, and
we hold that We have greater facili-
ties and advantages for such enter
prises than any city in the Union.
But this cannot be done until we
have market for the products Of
our forges and looms, and we can
never have these markets while we
have tariff that puts us at q dis
advantage with other great manu-
featuring nations.
It would be just as logical for the
Chronicle to argue that we are OPP
posed to trade between this country
and our Southern neighbors, as to
alIege, on the strength Of the article
it commented on, that we are OPP
posed to factories. The States is
an earnest advocate of such trade.
Indeed we think such trade is the
future hope Of New Orleans. AT
the same time We take not d particle
of stock in the prattle Of the Times
Democrat and The Picayune about
developing our commercial relation
between Mexico, South and Central
America. In our opinion, all that
those great and enlightened lumina-
ries say on this subject is simply
twaddle. The conditions OF those
countries and this are such that no
trade of consequence can be deVel-
oped between them, and any propo-
sitson to change or alneliorate those
conditions is met by these two
journals, and the Louisiana proctec-
tionists generally, with a perfect
howl OF wrath and indignation.
ANY disinterested man, with two
grains of sense, must see, that with
4 high protective tariff on our side
and barbarious tariff on their side,
unmitigated BY even treaties of
reciprocity, 8 great International