The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1890-10-28
THE SOUTH SINCE 1891

The progress of the South in II.
last ten years is one Of the most grsr
flying facts of our recent lndnstr;.,
history. Years of mAAful s~truggIjna
against adverse conditions have baS
| their compensation in the deveIoo ment
| of invaluable business traits. Eneroy
self-re lance and enterprise have be9as15
| the moral fruits of she catastronbo
that overwhelmed the South a ouartor
of a century ago. la that time Their.
have been also material gains. Money
it is clear, vas accumulated durino
the period of depression for investment
when the better days should arrive
The vast amount of capital the South
has in the last decade put into its rail-
roads, mines, furnaces and factories !,
the savings of a hard, working peopIs
kept hitherto in the secure but unrro
ducsive stocking, but now brought
forward at the opportune moment to
shine in use. Much has been done i
is true, by the aid OF Northern capital
but the backbone of Southern faanc.
ing has been the wise utilization of
Southern accumulations. What prog.
ress the South has made in the decad,
| just closed will be shown in detail in
the coming ensu reports. In view.
however, of the delay that may attend
their publication, the fgures-nO
doubt fairly accurate-collected bv
the New Orleans Times. Democrat, are
of present interest. The advance in
the assessed value of real and personal
property in the South, exclusive Of
Delaware, Maryland and Missouri, be.
tween 1880 and I889-9O have
been as follows: Alabama from
Sll7,486,l 8l to $l43, 1877, 53I; Ar.
kansas from $86, 4O9, 1854 to $751;.
26,2O5; Florida from $29,47l, 6I8 to
1913, 500, 900; Kentucky from S3I8,
O37,875 to 1892, COS, 42O: Louisiana
from SI58, 587,4S to 226, 1872, 288;
Mississippi from SIO6, 594, 7O8 to
$158, 98I, $50; North Carolina from
$3.50, loo, 2O2 to 1928, 673, SOP; Sou
Carolina from 1892, OBJ, 986 to Sic
42O, Ol6; Tennessee from S2l1, 768, 538
to 1929, 495, 1856; Texas from S3O4.
493,l63 to 1929, 1851; Virginia
from $3O8, l55, 1876 to 1896, I'll, 1925.
Being assessed values, these are, Of
course, less than the real values, bat,
taking she figures as presented, they
show an aggregate growth in ten
years from So, 1874, 1872, 1875 to SO,
685, 868, 283. This expansion of val
ues-the product of Southern muscle
has conceded with a reduction Of
the aggregate of Southern debts from
500, OBS, 529 to $l7O, 3I4,5 34. The
twelve States here mentioned since
1880 increased their railroad mileage
from l7,8O0 miles to 49, 1892 miles.
not to speak of the $500 miles now
in process of construction. Cotton
mills have grown from l42 in number
to 230, while the number of spindles
and looms have been quadrupled. Pro.
ducing pig-iron at a cost of from $3.50
to $l2 per ton, while in the Northern
States the cost is from SI2 to $40 per
ton, it is not surprising to find that
the pig iron production of the South
has grown in the decade from 350,436
tons to 1850, 9O9 tons. The lumber
production has increased in the same
time from $46, 979,O 62 in annual
value to sos, 378, 600. The industries
of the South have never been so d.
versifed as in the period just closed.
Manufacturing on a large scale has
been added to mining, and there has
been a phenomenal movement south
ward of Northern factories of various
kinds. Yet the cotton crop suffers
no diminution. 1t will, in fact, be
larger this year than ever before. In"
Guiding cotton seed, the crop brought
her farmers last year " $500, OO0l
600. The aggregate value of al
Southern products in 1890 is estimated
by the Times Democrat at 81, 9O7, $685.
500, an increase of $500, 900, 900 per
year since 1880. There is hope for
country with such capacity for
growth, provided sectional patriots IN
quest of ian issue" can be induced to
suspend the production of force bills
and other like devices for destroying
peace and order.