The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1892-08-25
UNPARALLELED INDUSTRIAL PRO
..l- GRECp .a.H

ness and should carry to the nation
:. and especially to the people OF tn
e south, profound satisfaction. Tn
=. facts he states and the comparativ,
figures he gives Are truly startling
: Commencing with this statement, h,
proves it conclusively by his late
figures:
1t does not by any means exagger
ate the conditions. 1T can be truth
fully said that there is no other region
on this continent or in Europe of equa
area that has One-half of the advan
tages for supporting dense popula
ton and for the creation of wealth as
the South. In this section is found 8
remarkable combination of the advan,
tages of all other countries. 1t has
every variety of climate, its soil yields
abundantly of the widest range ol
agricultural products, it produces
three-fourths of the entire cotton crop
of the world; but it's cotton crop is now
exceeded in value by its grain crops,
a fact which comparatively few seem
to know. 1t is becoming the market
garden of the North, over 100000
worth of vegetables and fruits being
shipped annually from Norfolk alone
toNorthern cities. Florida furnishes
the country from 100000 to 4,000,0 900
boxes of oranges year. Georgia ships
over 10000 carloads of watermelons
every season. In the aggregate the
shipment of early fruits and vegeta-
bles North and West probably
amounts to nearly $50, 100000 year,
and this business is increasing very
rapidly. Ten years ago it was of
trifiing Importance. But the South's
profitable crops do not end with cot
ton, grain, fruits, and vegetables;
they include about 100000, 900 pounds
of sugar, 140,O00,0O0 pounds of rice,
many million pounds of tobacco, and
other smaller crops. OF all it's crops
tobacco probably yields uniformly the
largest profits to the grower. ..
But this is not all, The article says
Sin extent and variety Of it's standing
timber the south far surpasses all
other sections. 1t has the foundation
for a numbering and woodworking
business much greater than that of
the north and west" And again,
Nowhere else in the world, it is be-
lieved, are the natural conditions so
favorable for the production of iron
and steel on the largest scale that the
consumption demands, and at the
lowest COST" Again it says the min
eral belt is computed "to cover about
$50, 900 square miles. This is equal to
the combined areas of England,
Wales, Scotland and Belgium and a
half Of Germany and a half OF France"
The article then asks: "With this
wealth of raw materials, of climate
and soil, and with its commanding
position between the ocean and the
gulf and the mighty west, what is the
south doing in material develop.
ment?" TO answer this question a
sketch is given Of the terrible condi-
tion of affairs at the
close of the civil war, and
how change was commenced
to be brought about. Then are given
the following statistics:
In 1881 the South produced 305OOS,-
900 bushels of corn, and in 1891 $685.
942, 900 bushels. gain of over $50, 0O0,-
600 bushels, or IS per cent, while the
increase in corn production in the
balance of the country in 1891 over
1881 was II per cent, or a lower rate
than the South. The aggregate pro-
duction of wheat, corn and oats in the
South in 1891 was 672, $4,000 bushels,
against 404, 301 900 bushels in 1881, a
gain of 26S, 1853, 900 bushels, or 66 per
cent. During the same period the
gain in the rest of the country was 70
per cent. In other lines of agricul.
ture the South's growth has been
equally satisfactory. In 1881 the cot
ton crop was s, 456, 900; bales in 1891 it
was ABOUT 100000 bales. On the ba-
sis of prices which prevailed in 1881,
the South's agricultural products of
1891 would have been worth about
$500, O00, 900 more than the total of 1881;
but even with the very great decline in
the prices of all comm ODDITIES, the diff
ference was about 5000 900, 900 compar-
ed with 1881.
Looking at the growth of the iron
trade, we find that in 1881 the entire
South made only 451 $40 tons of pig
iron, the output for the rest of the
country in that year having been
4,190,024 tons. In 1891 the South made
1,9l4,042 tons and the rest of the coun-
try 7,359,4l3 tons. Starting in 1881
with 451 900 tons the South increased
its output by 1891 by 1,46O,O 900
tons, or 1923 per cent, against gain
of IS per cent in the North and West.
In 1881 the North and West made over
nine times as much iron as the South:
in 1891 they made less than four times
as much.
"The output of coal from Southern
mines in 1891 was over 23,0OO,O 900 tons,
compared with about 100000 tons in
1881, a much greater per centage than
in the country at large" The invest
ment of $500, 900 in cotton seed oil
mills in 1881 had grown to over
$50, 100000 in 1891. Finally this mag
nificent comparative table is given:
1881. 1891.
Assessed value of
property ....... S2913, 1876 095 81 SIG S96 SO6
Assessed value of