The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-08-14


| In the current number of the Forum
Richard II. Edmouds has an interesting
and valuable article on the Unparalleled
Industrial Progress Of the South" While
editor Of the Manufacturer Record Mr..
Edm jnds made a thorough study OF the
resources OF the south, aud he is, therefore,
well qualified to speak Of the south's mate
rial development. He begins bis article
with the following well-known quotation:
1.-THE development OF the south means the
enrichment Of the nation" which, be says,
was the doctrine Of the late Hon. William
! D. Kelley, of Pennsylvania. He gives a
comprehensive statement Of the growth OF
the south in wealth and population since
the close Of the civil war, and asseris that
this growth, taking all the circumstances
into consideration, is unparalleled.
The truth is there are comparatively few
people who fully comprehend how great the
industrial progress OF the south has been,
particularly within the last ten years.
Those whose attention is called to the fig
ures which show this progress are aston
ished For instance. in 1881 the south made
only 451 $40 tons of pig iron, while 10 1891
she made 1,9l4,04 TONS or more than four
times as much. In 1881 she produced $685.
COS 900 bushels OF corn and in 1891 535, 942,
900 bushels In 1881 she produced 5,456. 900
bales OF cotton and in 1891 5000, 900 bales.
Her increase in other agricultural products
was almost equally as great. In railroad
building she has not been behind other sec
tions of the country. In 1881 she had % -
81 miles Of railroad and in 1891 she had
A, sos miles-a gain Of 81 per cent, while
the gain In the rest Of the country was only
65 per cent "In 1880 eight southern states
had IL, 227 miles Of road, which carried in
that year 6,395,014 passengers, or
less than one-third as many as were
carried on the %, 5SS miles in the western
group; whereas by 1890 the number on a.
955 miles OF southern road had reached over
$4,000, 900, nearly one-halt as many as on
Al, 299 miles Of western road. The number
of passengers carried on southern roads in
creased 1863 per cent. and on western roads
1853 per cent. The freight moved increased
in the same way. the number OF tons
handled having gained PAT per cent. on the
southern roads, against lis per cent. on the
western roads. The gain In earnings both
from passengers and freight shows very
largely In favor of the south. but the most
remarkable point is seen in the comparis on
Of freight and passenger rates In this at
least the thickly settled west ought to show
lower rates and a larger decrease between
1880 and 1890 than the south; but TO the
great credit Of the managers OF southern
railroads, and contrary to the statements
made by many southern legislators who
seek TO impose unjust restrictions upon the
railroads, this is not So"
The foregoing facts are only a few Of
those that Mr.. Edmonds has collected to
show the wonderful progress the south has
made. His figures relating to mAnufactur-
ing are amazing, showing, as they do. an
increase of 135 per cent. IN the number Of
mill operatives in ten years as against an
increase Of II per cent. In New England.
Mr. Edmonds declares that the unfortu-
nate condition of some OF the southern rail-
roads is not due to any lack Of business IN the
south, but to Wall street speculation, and to
support this declaration he points out that
those roads which are managed in the in
| terest of their owners are prosperous. Only
| those which have been loaded down with
new issues Of securities by their Wall street
| managers are in troubls. Mr.. Edmonds'
article will do the south good because il
shows what the material condition OF the
| south really is.