Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1891-05-01
SOUTHERN PROGRESS.
EXTRAORDINARY MINERAL
AND AGRICULTURAL DE-
VELOPMENT

IHIS SECTION PRODUCING MORE Con- II.
IRON OaE AND PIG InoN THAN TIE
UNITED STATES PRoDucEp IN 1870.
BALTMoRE, April lG.-The Manu-
facturers' Record this week publishc,.
al article from the pen of Robert p.
Porter, superintendent Of the census,
on the material development and
progress III the Southern States dur.
ing the last decade, rs shown by
facts and figures gathered by the
census bureau. rs epitonizcd. they
show wonderful growth and progress
in mineral and agricultural develop
ment, and justify Mr.. Porter'S pre-
diction Of even greater and unprcce-
dented prosperity i'll tho new South
in the future. While the time, Su-
perintendent Porter says, las not
yet arrived TO give a complete inven-
tory of the wonderful progress of
the South during the last decade,
official figures of the branches of i'll
quiry already completed it,icato that
the final returns will show that in no
part of the United States has indus.
trial progress been more satisfactory.
One thing is certain, namely, that
the mineral development and the in.
crease in manufactures during this
period has been of ouch magnitude
and OF such Importance as to serious
~ attract the attention of the world.
The South is today producing us
much coal, iron ore aud pig iron, us
the entire Unitod States produced in
1870, and the progress of the South
ern States i'll the manufacture Of
steel, Superintendent Porter thinks,
will be as great during the next ten
years as it has been in tho produc-
ton of coal and pig iron during the
past decade; and tho class of labor
attracted to the rich mineral regions
will be Of higher character than of
the past; that is there will be artisans
and mechanics who will command Il
higher rate OF wages, and hence in
crease the consuming power of the
South. The trouble to-day he says,
with this part OF the country is that
most of its products have to be ship
ed North Or to the foreign countries
for further manipulation, but once
establish an industrial condition TINT
will require greater variety of ar
ticles of general consumption, and
you will bring TO that region still
greater Investigation of manufactu
res. The remarkable development
of the South, as he calls it is shown
in striking degree by the astorish
ing growth of indnatrial cities in
this section during the past ten years
In support of this, he cites the won
derful and in the same cases, the
phenomenal growth of number of
cities end towns during the decade
in alabama, Arkansas, North Carolina.
Virginia, Tennessee, kentucky and
Georgia. Admission, Ala, that in
1880 had a population of 943 is re
turned by the census of 1890 MS con
tanning 9,S76 inhabitants; Birming-
ham, Ala, unknown when the Gems
MS Of 1870 was taken and which in
1880 had population OF 3,0S7, had
grown in 1880 to a Aourishing city
OF 26,17G inhabitants, and is in fact n
centre of industrial activity of $1,000
people. Florence, Ala, with pop.
ulation in 1890 of 5,9S4, or $50 per
cent, greater than in 1880; Chata
nooga in 1890 had population of
20,l0O, an increase during the de.
cade of more than 125 per cent;
Roanoke, Va, which did not appear
at all in the census of 1850, is now a
city of 1871 inhabitants. These he
points to as some of the striking il.
Illustrations of material progress,
while hundred similar examples
could be given of small towns that
: have been thus developed in the
South, and the greater part of this
growth has been due to the develop.
nent of their mineral resources.
Facts already published by the
ensus Office, he says, exhibit min
ral development in the South which
continued through another decade
Ill bring about remarkable change.
number OF Southern States. Ii
'6Othe best estimates that can be oh