The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1889-05-23
GEORGIA AND TEXAS.

sent by San Antonio through the southern
states as an agent for the Alamo Monu-
ment association, and he has in Wednes-
days Express two column letter, written
from Georgia, some parts of which pre-
sent excellent reading, not only for San
Antonio, but for Austin, which is now
aroused on the manufacturing question
and is casting about her to find means to
establish factories. A certain section of
the letter reads as follows:
Beginning with Augusta, Ga, which IS
located about one hundred and thirty
miles west Of the sea and at the head
of steam navigation of the Savannah
river from which is taken out, the great
Augusta canal-the largest of its kind III
the United Ststes-having On average
width of one hundred and fifty feet. 1t
brings the water seven miles from above
the city where are permanent locks con-
| structed OF native granite. 1t is hand
some and substantial masonry. The
water flows through the city on two levels,
and by third level is returned to the
river above the city. Upon this canal are
located many cotton mills, an electric
light plant and various other industries,
including the waterworks. This great
canal was built by the city at cost OF
100000. The cotton mills alone OPP
Grated by this canal embrace capital
of $l0,000,0O0, and represent 100000
spindles and 4 $50 looms, consuming an
nually 100000 bales of cotton, employing
1000 hands (all white) to which are paid
81 100000 annually in wages, and turning
out product valued at S5,000,000. The
magnificent hotel, "Bon-Air,' located upon
mmerville heights, three miles out, is
handsome inn costing $250,000 and will
be opened soon to accommodate the vast
incoming visitors from the north aud east
who are h0cking to the south in search of
health and investments. In every village
and city of this part of the south have
been built fine hotels, and to the building
of the hotels is largely due the success OF
this portion of the country in late years.
Augusta has about $4,000 population now,
with beautiful broad avenues, lined by the
spruce and noted elm, and, like the city of
tlanta, well severed and paved through
out with granite blocks. Augusta is the
Lowell of the south.
1t is still within the memory of even our
youngest citizens that Austin has had sur
veyed a canal from the neighborhood of
Mount Bonnell to and through the city,
along which it was proposed to build
manufactures. The scheme is still where
the surveyors report left it. Does not
the example OF Augusta inspire hope that
it could be successfully accomplished?
The cost would be UNNECESSARILY less, the
profits proportionate mot greater than in
Augusta.
Another part of the letter has this pleas
ing bit of comparison:
To see the state of Georgia, "the cream
of the SOUTH" and compare it with Texas
leaves no contrast in agricultural prod
ucts. AS yet no cotton, corn, or barely
any thing of vegetable life has made it's
appearance from Georgia fields. A few
remote fields of oats and rye, of a very
weak and thin stand, are now and then
seen, while the orchards, which are few
and far between, look small and miserable,
while all mother earth of Texas looked to
be one vast field of corn, cotton, potatoes,
wheat, rye and oats, and almost every
farm had large orchard laden with many
kinds of fruit. Texas seemed paradise
of verdure, while Georgia and these other
southern states 1 passed through are dry
and brown. One sees but little stock of
any kind. Work animals are imported
from Kentucky and other states.
The farming country throughout Geor-
gia and Alabama that I've seen is com
paratively poor in lands-mostly billy
and red, coarse sand covered with pine
and oaks, with now and then a small negro
hut, and five to ten-acre field, dotted
with old and new stumps that have been
plowed around since "slave days"
Nothing is raised in this country of con-
sequence without fertilization, for which
immense fertilizing establishments are
located throughout this country; still their
poor farm lands are sold at from So to
$40 per acre.
When Texas can boast such favorable
advantage over her sister southern states,
80 far as this statement of products and
fertility shows, should she not feel it to be
her shame she is so poorly off for manu-
features? Why she should raise in album
dance products to be sent off to a dis
lance to be made up into manufactured
goods, when she should do this work for
herself, is inscrutible to the ordinary in
telect. Let us call halt in this IN ost
foolish procedure and let Austin be we'll
up in the vanguard of such an advance.