Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-09-29
INDUSTRIAL SOUTH.
Southern Cotton Manufacturers Should Make
a Higher Glass of Goods and Not Leave Fine
Goods kll to New England.

Commenting upon recent newspaper
discussions of the progress of the cotton
manufacturing industry in the South
the Charleston News and Courier seems
TO take anything but an optimistic view
of the likelihood of the Southern states
of this country competing in the near fut-
ure with New or Old England in the
manufacture of the finer grades of cot
ton fabrics. The grounds 1t bases ita
arguments upon are not new, but assume
strength and Importance from the calm
and judicial tone III which they are ex-
pressed. The journal name says:
The manufacture of the finer grades of
cotton fabrics is an expensive and diff
cult business, involving q considerable
amount OF scientific knowledge on the
part of its directors, and requiring long
and careful training on the part of the
operatives. The possession of these adj
vantages has enabled the Euro
pean manufacturers to monopoliZe
practically the making and
sale of such goods heretofore, despite
the long continued efforts of our New
England manufacturers to compete with
them. The Southern manufacturer is
his New E gland rivals in tho mauufac-
ture of second and third-cl cotton
goods, such as lawns and calicos, etc.
and of course it will be very long time
before he can hope "to crowd all of his
competitors to the wall, - in the manu-
facture of these goods alone.
The true statement of the situation ap-
pears to be that the Southern cotton
mills are now confined to the manufact-
ure of the sim plest forms of cotton
goods, ard that while they are gradually
gaining control of this manufacture they
are, with few exceptions, making no
effort to vary and improve the character
of their products. If there is single
"calioo' mill among all the cotton mills
in the South we are not aware of its eX-
istence. If there is one factory be-
tween the Potomac and the Rio
Grande that can produce a PLAIN cotton
fabric that is suitable for making
lady's summer gown or mans fine
shirt or baby's dress its goods are not
known in the South. If there is a mill
in all the cotton states that contemplutes
early manufacture of any one of these
higher classes of goods the fact has not
yet been made pubic.
The manufacture of even the simplest
calicoes. including, of course, the de-
signing of the figures aud conbina ton of
colors, ETC., Is as yet wholly beyond the
skill of our Southern manufacturers.
There are no designers of such goods i'll
the South, Dor any operatives who could
execute the designs if they could be
furnished. Before we can reach the
paint of engaging in such manufacture
with home labor we will be compelled to
educate the mass of mill operatives to q
degree of intelligence and skilIfulness
that is not so much as thought of now,
and that Will require years for its at
tainment when the work of education has
fairly begun. Aud until il is begun in
earnest We will have to content ourselves
with making low grade goods and Ieav-
ing TO the people of other countries, and
of other sections of this country, to
pluck the richest fruits of our great
staple crop. Art schools and industrial
schools aud archaeological institutes for
the children of the poorer classes of our |
people must come before manufactures !
Of high class goods of any descrip- |
ton, and until we have such schools we |
shall wait in vain for such manufac- |
tories, and must continue to send our |
raw materials of all kinds to other Sec
LlOus 10 Dc manufactured Tor their profit |
OF ours. There is no cause for
serious alarm on the part of our New
England rivals, they may be assured,
until we begin to compete with them in
urain-work as well as in hand work and
The conclusions reached by the News
are noteworthy, chiefly for the stand
taken against the tendency to boom the
south as the culture great'' in oil
hings industrial. While the progress
made by the South has exceeded the
'ondest dreams of some of its most
anguiue friends, there is certainly no
rood end TO be gained by claiming for
hat section an expected prominence or
uperiorIty in the immediate future
which IL has taken both New and Old
aided by vast capital and the
brightest intellects, generations to at
ain.
The stagnation ruling in low-grade
'ottons during portions of last year has
undoubtedly been the strongest kind of a
lint to Southern manufacturers 20 diver
ify their production and thus share the
rade in m edium and the better clsss of