St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1889-06-15
: PERFECT WONDER.

Ia AlIbI 1Ol WUNUERs
the South Has Done in Recent
Years.
irpassing ANY Tales of Fiction.
lions Of Dollars Invested in New
Enterprises of all Kinds.
MAGIC WAND CAUSES VILLAGES TO
SUDDENLY BECOME TOWNS, AND
s TOWNS TO BECOME BOOMING CITIES
IND MANUFACTURING CENTERs.
eother year has rolled around and the
JGetUrers' Record sums I'D the pro.
a of another twelve months in the his
OF the South's industrial growth. 1t
Wonderful history that the South is
y writing. The records of the human
Q show no more heroic efforts than the
@ople of this section have played in
2 development of their vast esources.
ON the depths of poverty entai.ed by the
aost disastrous war in the worlds history,
lth disorganized labor system, under
4scouragements that were appalling, the
outh has emerged into period of indus
1al activity probably never equalled be-
pre- in any country. From Maryland to
exas the great work of development goes
teadily on. But as yet we have only seen
ae beginning-the foundation, in fact-of
he most wonderful industrial structure
hat the world has yet known
With mineral wealth SURPRISING in ex-
ent variety and possibilities of profitable
svelopment any other country on the
slobe; with climate that has no equal ;;
gricultural advantages SO vast as to al
ost surpass comprehension, yielding even
w, while so small portion of the land
under cultivation, over $800,000,000
nth of farm products year with great
sers and an immense sea coast in truth,
IN almost every advantage of every
~THtry combined in her own matchless
resources of climate, soil, minerals, tim
Der, etc, the South is just as surely destined
20 be the richest country in the world as it
true that she surpasses all other
countries in natural resources and ad-
& vantages.
81 To sum up few leading points in the
South's growth during the last few years.
we present few facts gathered from the
recent issues of the MGnufdcturers' Record
and brought together simply to convey
some general idea of what has been done
An that brief period. Our readers are
doubtless familiar with these facts, but
they are well worth repetition just at this
me.
In three years over 5000 new manufac-
iring and mining enterprises have been
rganized in the Sonth and thousands Of
I'D plants greatly enlarged. The list of
Few enterprises extends over almost the
k.Nln s.nI,
81 siE iron furnaces, founderies, machine
hops, steel works. cotton and wooden
mills, cotton seed oil mills, cotton COM
presses, fruit canning factories, carriage
and wagon factories, agricultural imple-
ment factories, -four mills, grist mills, saw
mills, planning mills, sash, door and blind
Il factories, shuttle factories, handle and
spoke factories, barrel factories, shinglo
mills, furniture factories, tobacco factories,
tbrick yards, ice factories, fertilizer facto-
N ries, stove foundries, wire fence factories,
n lime works, soap factories, tanneries, glass
works, gas works, whiting factories, dis
tilleries, potteries, electric light works,
marble and slate quarrying companies, and
II sQmpanies to mine coal, iron ore, gold,
silver, mica, natural gas, oil, etc.
The amount of capital and capital stock
of new companies organized in the South
: curing 1888 aggregates the enormous sum
of $168, 800, 900. The railroad nilage OF
the South has been increased by the addi-
ton of over &C, 900 miles since 1879. Since
that year over $700, 10000 have been
spent in building new roads and improv-
ing old ones. The assessed value of prop
erty has increased over $1,000, 600, 00C
since 1879. This does not show the full
increase in the value of property, since
there is very large amount of manufac-
turing property created since 1879 which
does not appear in the tax assessments,
being exempt by law from taxation. In
1880 the South made 1877, 301 tons of pig
iron, in 1883 nearly 1,190,O 900, and in 1889
it will produce about 100000.
In 1880 6,O48,5n tons of coal were
mined 70 me South, and in 1887 the out
Put was 16,476, Ts5 tons. Cotton mills
looms , and as kfrom 1870, with 1922.
800 mills aIa 1rs 10 spndles in 1880, toove!
l,soO, 600 spind les. while many new mills
heinz snaa COD atruction, and many old ones
madss on; enW sed. The value of cotton goods
and nea the South was $s1 600, 600 in 1881 1881
8thara 20 s.rly $50, 000, 900 for 1888. In 1881
saa.1 Jas forty cotton-seed oil mills in ths
,hom1st. now there are about 100, with
III. It $12, O00, 900 invested.
~ he value of the South's agriculture
.oducts for 1888 was about $500, O00, 600
!. against ri ,000, 900 in 1879. The value
MI al the Souuhs live stock is now 1915 900,
600. while in 1879 it was 1891, 400, 900
d The production of grain rose from Adj,
Il gO74. $50 bushels in 1880 to 626, SOB, 00'
/ bushels in 1887, an increase of nearly 200,
! NO 900 bushels, and the records of 1888
y<hen compiled, will show even large
gain. :,
In every line of industry the same tire
FA-xnendous strides of progress are beinl
made. The South produces $500, 600 ,0O
q year of agricultural products. Sine
1879-'80 the South's cotton alone has sol
for 81, 800, 600, 900. :,
Even these figures, which read almost Xix
a romance, do not adequately express tn
full measure of the South's well-founde
development. They do not tell OF the mai
velous progress in many lines OF industrls
& growth, of the many new enterprises cor
i Stantly coming into existance to utilize
the basis of manufacture materials hlthert
considered worthless of the rapid increas
In diversified industries to produce at hom
roods for which the South has in the pas
had TO depend upon the North, OF the ca
| works. the locomotive works, the hardwar
factories. the furniture factories, pin an
tack and tool works, glass works, potteries
etc. These figures are given simply as e.
nonents of what has been done in all line
ef southern development. Well may tn
South boast of what it has done in the Las
Ave years, for no other country in th
world can show such remarkable recore
especially under disadvantages which wel
enough to almost crush the h1e OUT !,
SontRern enterprise. Looking at To
- a. South dur;np the last fiy