The Democrat. (Scotland Neck, Halifax Co., N.C.) 1884-1896, 1890-05-29
EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA.
NANUFACTUEING INTERESTS.

a small part of this was done in the
East.
The idea was that. as our section
was productive of agricultural staples
such as cotton and corn, 1t could be
engaged proftably in no other in
dusty. But OF late this has been
practically proved to be mistake.
The growth Of tic yorioas manu-
featuring Industries throughout the
East has shown It's fallacy. Gradu-
ally the PEOPLE have come to under
stand that the place for the iron
foundry is by the side Of the iron
mine; that the place for the cotton
factory is near by the fields where
the article is produced.
Hitherto we have been compelled
to ship the cotton which is produced
here to the Northern markets and
then to purchase our own product.
Whatever prices the Northern manu-.
facturers were pleased to fix. In the
manufacture Of cotton goods upon
the spot where the the cotton is
grown there is the vast advantage of
being free from the exorbitant
charges for freight both when it is
shipped to the North as raw material
and when it is returned to u, after
having been made into cloth,
In addition, too, the profits which
accrue to all the middIemen, through
whose hands 1t passee, can thus be
taken off from the price which we
have to pay. 4 3 yet the experience
If the North gives her the advant-
age over us, though the natural adj
vantages are on our side. The North
has been Il manufacturing region
from the beginning. She has all the
benefits which come from ninety
years of experience and it is not pos
sib]e to compete with her at once.
Only within the last ten years
has the East been turning her at
tention in this direction. When the
experiment of manufacturing w 6
first begun we labored under the dis
advantage of absolute inexperienced
And more than that it was begun
amidst the wreck Of a former system
of life very different from that which
is gradually being adopted,
1t is said that the East can not
become great IS a manufacturing
centre because Of lack of water
power. 1t is tr1e that there is less
of water-poWer here than in some
other sections. Bat steam can now
be substituted in It's place at little
more cost and even where water
power is used, very frequently The
use Of steam has been added to pro-
vide for the exigencies arising from
the failure of water.
Furthermore, here we have an
abundance of products which st pre-
sent must either be shipped North
or allowed ito decay in the fields; be-
cause there is no market for them at
home. Bnt with the growth Of
the various Industries, the
truCkec who now sends his fruits and
vegetables to New York, Baltimore
and other cities, thereby sustaining
very often heavy losses from the
perishablc nature OF the articles ship
ped, will fiUd a market alm0 t at his
own door. The suTest basis for in
du8trial prosperity consists in hav-
ing a bone market for home pro luce.
And We believe that the time Will
soon come when every bale of cotton
which is made in Nor0h Caro!ioa
will 60 to North Carolina mills, and
an era of unprecedented prosperity
will dawn upon our people. Much
has already been done. The mills
ct Rocky Mount, Wilson and Tar
boro are already doing a nourIshing
business.
At Fayetteville the people have
not been slow to seize the extra
ordinary facilities which their situa-
ton affords them for manufacturing
At Tarboro there is large cotton
factory and it is rumored that its
capital will be increased to three
million dollars. Various manufac-
turing industries have sprung up as
If By magic all through the East, at
Goldaborc, Clinton, Weldon and
other places.
In Scotland Neck ii knitting fac
tory will soon be in operation, which
will be one Of The largest in theState.
AS yet the work is in its infancy.
Large results are promised in the
future.
And SO we would say to any who
would deCry Eastern Carolina and
declare that her day Is past: Gentle
man have patience. The East will
come to the front again. The same
soil which has yielded SO abundantly
IN the past to the touch of the labor
er, the same soil which enabled tie
army Of Lee to protract the civil war
as long as they dld, is still here,
The same spirit which gave us Branch
and Pender, ana sent thousands of
the men of Eastern Carolina to fl!
unknown graves in every State of
tho South, is still alive in the hearts
of the people and has lost none of
its old tune vigor and purity.
For time reyerses may check her
progress, put sooner CT later the
East must once more Uccupy the
place which was hers Ia the past !:
and to which she is, by the industry
and ability of her inhabitants, and
by the natural resources Of her soil.