Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1891-04-13
A BURNING QUESTION:
Our Opportunities Shall We Embrace
Them.

NY Inns lu6 uuBCT Vi uGSllHy pOluLGt
so directly to the South as it is doing
at this moment at no time has it
been so apparent that the moment
has arrive when it depends alone
upon ourselves, whether we will
equal our northern brother in all the
industries, arts and sciences, He
who reads the daily journals must be
appalled, at the struggle now in pro-
gress throughout every Northern
State. Each day adds whole columns
Of Observation-Disclosures shut down, mills
stopped, coal mines abandoned, riots,
blood shed, crime, the laborer de.
manding more pay and fewer hours,
the operator demanding less pay and
protection from the military of that
which lie has already won.
These conditions have been met
and combatted many times in the
past, but there is a significance CON
nec!ed with the condition Of the
present relating to the SIuth that
has not appeared in our history be
fore.
The one largest industry ofthe COM
mon country is the manufacture of
iron and steel. Nine enths of this
metal has been produced in the
North. A tariff almost protective
has been imposed by the government
which enabled the producer to pay
the labOrer well and enjoy immense
profits himself. All were happy eX-
cept those who paid for and used the
| iron.
Furnace after furnace, mill after mill
in rapid succession were construct
ed in the North the almost boundless
wealth of minerals in the South was
untouched and no furnace man in
all the North or capitalist could be
induced to erect one blast furnace to
demonstrate how cheaply pig iron
could be made in the South. Every
effort TO induce one who had expert
ence and capital to come South was
met with the reply: 81 have in
vested my money here; it is paying
handsome dividends; | have no
doubt you people have the iron, the
coal and the lime, but why should |
90 down there, and build Il furnace ;
every ton of iron made there would
reduce the value OF the property |
have here" This argument held
good for several years until one fur
mace by home capital demonstrated
that cheaper iron could be made at
birmingham than any other place in
The world. From that day to this
no country has made greater strides
IN the production Of pig iron than
the South.
1t is this fact alone that causes the
strife between operator aud miner in
The Moth. 1t is the large production
Of iron over the present demand that
has put the price 50 low that two
thirds of all the furnaces in the North
have banked their fires to await bet
ter times. The operator finding him.
self in this depIorable condition, asks
for help from those who supply him
with material. On the other hand,
the miner demands more pay. The
furnace owner explains that coke,
iron ore, lime and transportation
must be cheaper or his furnace will
lie idle forever. On the other hand
the labOrer and the miner say we
must have an advance above the rate
paid when you shut down or we per
ish. In the meantime pig-iron from
the South is being made at profit
and shipped into almost every state
in the Union The iron ore OF this
section produces the very finest grade
Of iron. For more than fifty years it
has been the standard boiler. plate of
the country. 1t is cheaply mined
and reduced this, in connection with
the superiority Of our common labor
over the Italians, Huns and Poles If
the mining districts north, would
make it almost Crimidal for our PEG
Pile to neglect the manufacturing OF
iron and steel.
Like reasoning will apply to our
wood, our cotton and tobacco. We
have in abundance all these products
and many more. Nature with IT
lavish hand has bestowed us priceless
gifts. We are shipping them in
their crude condition to those who
are willing to put their money into
plants for manufacturing our pro-
ducts into useful articles for man
kind. The capital invested there
will never move to our section until
home capital has demonstrated how
cheaply the various articles can be
made here, and why should people
here expect it? Money is not sen
timent, but very tangible fact.
You cannot imagine an article that
is not manufactured there, many OF
them from the raw product shipped
by you and returned to you after
having ben manipulated into Il
thousand per cent. profit The solu-