Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1884-09-27
Prosperity Of Farmers Dependent Upon
- gri Manufaetures., 5 as us
BaltLmore Mannfactnrer,s RECORD. ~

Baltimore Mannfactprar's Record. n
30 far as we are concerlied we desire tc
see the great farming Interests and the la.
i boring classes OF q eorgta prosper. We have
more Interest In them than III the nlanntac-
turing interests Gazstfe, Bassaeseilie, Cd +
Will the Gazette please tell Q
| waiting world how ii Is possible for
the farming interests and the labor
ing classes to prosper unless manu-
factuFeS thrive? We believe that
all history teaches that no strictly
agricultural country, in which man
ufactures do not exist. can ever be
permanently prosperous. One ofthe
greatest-if not the greatest-needs
|.Ofthe Sonth to-day is Il larger pro-
portion of non-agricultural workers
IN the population. With so small a
percentage of the Industrial classes,
as compared with the number OF
agricultural laborers as at present.
Southern farmers have but little in
ducement to do aught else than keep
on in the same old way OF raising
cotton only; there Is no encourage
meut for them to improve and en-
large their orchards, or to give in
creased attention to raising vegeta-
bles, to dairying, or to the poultry
yard, for they will find but little, If
any demand for such products, and,
if they sell them at all, 1t can only
be done at ruinOusly low figures.
Build up all over the South manu-.
featuring enterprises, large and
small, employing their tens and
hundreds of thousands of foOd-con-
sumers, as against the over supply
of food-prOducers, and there will
very soon be a change in the cOndi-
tion of Southern farmers. They
will no longer find cotton their only
money crop, aud thus be kept i'm
bondage tothe all-cotton system, but
they will always find a ready saieat
good prices for all the varied prod
ucts That Southern soil can produce,
and, instead OF handling money only
once a year-when their cotton is
sold they wifi be always selling
something and thus always be re-
ceiying money, even though II
comes but-& few dollars at time.
1t cannot be too often repeated that
the acknowledgment of the farmers
OF the South from the burdens under
which they now labor can only be
secured through the building up of
the manufacturing, mining and
railroad interests of that section.
AS vital as the problem of the ne
grOes future is TO the South, IA
problem that may well engage the
most earnest attention OF the ablest
statesmen,-there is a matter of still
vaster importance in fact, It over
shadows all other questions concern
ing the South, for in its correct so-
lution will be found an answer Ia
ali other questions that present
TO the business men and
OF the South /; this most
important matter is: How can the
agricultural classes OF the South be
made as prosperous as they should
be, in view ol their superior advan-
tages? To this we believe that we
bave already given the answer in
saying that it can only be done BY |
up diversified industries |
all over the South. None can deny |
that 1t would vastly improve the |
of Southern farmers, il |
they could devote their attention |
more to diversified agriculture, and |
always find good and profitable !
market for all their products. This |
would relieve every branch of busi-
ness in the South from the incubus
of heavy debts and long credits (; it
would encourage education, would
attract immigration and gradually
the numerical preponderance Of ne
groeS over whites in many sections
would be overcome, which all who
know the negro must admit would
certainly be to his advantage as
well as to the whites. II these
things are true, and we feel sure they
are, how much does 1t behoove the
people and the press OF the South to
by all possible means the
development OF the Industrial inter-
1sts of that section.