Iuka reporter. (Iuka, Miss.) 1888-1894, 1893-04-06
BILL ARP'S LETTER.
He Has Some More Good Things to Say
Of Old North Carolina.
The Great Tobacco, Cotton and Other
Industries Of the State.

time he was waking up from his Rip Van Win
kle dream. There was time that the geogra-
ply that we studied asked the question, what
are the products of North Carolinap' and the
answer was, pitch, tar and turpentine."
There was tine when the primitive settler, on
being asked what he raised for market, said:
Fruit and live stock and lumber" by which
he meant pumkins and possums and hoop
poles There was time when the natives
were called tar HEELS and if one of them en-
igrated he hardly dared to own his sta, and if
ne did he tempered the discredit by saying he
was born 'purty close to the Virginny llne."
II these things were ever true they are not
true now. Old North Carolina has long since
awakened from her slumber and is nov rapidly
forging ahead.
MY recent visit there and the beautiful hand
book sent me by Mr.. Robinson, the commits
sloner OF agriculture, constrains me TO tell your
readers some things they do not know and will
be surprised to learn.
This handbook of $50 pages is published in
the best style Of typography and illustrative
art, and would be good model for other states
to initiate and emulate 1t has forty-five beau
tiful full-paged Photographic views of notable
features that illustrate the mountains forests,
Vineyards fisheries, farms, factories and rail
roads OF the state. 1t is book fit for Chicago
at the worlds fair. wish that Georgia had
QUE, and every other southern state, for l am
sure that no stranger can read ii but who will
be attracted to North Carolina as most
wonderful and progressive state 1t is
just five hundred miles from Cherokee to Roa-
noke island, and every portion from the
fisheries of Albemarle to the land Of the sky
has something peculiar and desirable to boast
or. We have long been Boosting of our cotton
factories in Georgia, but does Georgia know
that there are one or more cotton mills in for
ty-three counties OF North Carolina; that there
are nineteen in Alamance, seventeen in CASTOR,
twelve in Randolph, nine in Mecklenburg,
eight in Catawba, eight in Guilford and i40 IN
the state, besides number in construction
That in these mills are nearly 10, 600 looms and
over 500 900 spindles and they consumed last
year 165, 200 bales OF cotton. Besides these
there are thirteen wooden mills that are turn
ing out the best quality Of jeans, kerseys, cass-
meres and blankets, and there are eight knit
ting mills, some of them being operated day
and night, and all declaring good dividends.
There are fifty-seven factories that make car
riages and bugges, thirty-two that make wag-
ons, twenty-five that make furniture six that
make hubs and spokes and twenty -four that
make sash, doors and blinds. One OF these works
l25 hands. Then there are hundreds OF sawmills
and turpeniine distilleries..
There are twenty-eight canning factories for
vegetables and four, cen for oysters; there are
fourteen cotton-seed oil factories, fifty-four
fertilizer factories and quite number that
make barrels and crates and baskets aud
brooms.
But on the high top of this pyramid are the
tobacco factories that far exceed in number
and capital those of any state IN the union.
There are ITO that make plug tobacco nine
that make smoking tobacco. Durham alone
sold II, DOC, 600 pounds last year and paid to
the government for stamps $616 1873; Winston
paid more than that and Asheville sold over
100000 pounds of leaf tobacco. These are
only the principal tobacco marts, and the ag-
gregate of the production increases with every
year. Then there are the rice fields and cram
berry meadows and the immense truck farms
that extend all along the coast and find an early
market in Washington, Baltimore and Phila-
delphia. At Newbern alone there were shipped
in one day %, 600 barrels OF Irish potatoes and
IS 900 boxes of beans, and this an every day
business, and does not include the peas toma-
toes, asparagus and cabbage. Indeed, the pro-
auctions of this coast region seem Incredible
Then there are the fisheries that employ 1000
person, and 5000 loats and ship 30,O0O,0 01
pounds of fish in a season. Next comes the
medicinal herbs, of which one firm a. Statesville
shipped in one month 1l8,000 pounds They
employ 800 agents to collect these herbs, and
do by far the largest business of any similar
firm in the world. We have in The mountain
regions of Georgia and Tennessee the very
same botanical plants but nobody gathers
them.
Now, l have said nothing of the mineral
springs or the vineyards or the small fruits nor
of the tuberoses that are shipped from every
large town to the northern dealers
This is wonderful state and thrifty, indus
trious people. More gr, at men have been born
or educated within her borders than any of the
southern states. In the long ago my father
taught me that Nathaniel Macon was the
greatest of all our statesmen, even though he
did weatherboard his house on the inside and
had the laps up instead of down, SO that he
could pour hot water in the cracks and kill the
bedbugs. From his day down to Zsb Vance the
state has not lacked for notable men, and 1t is
safe to say that no one man ever lived in state
who was SO universally esteemed and loved as
Vance is by his people No one man was ever
such coat of arms, such an ensign, such an
emblem Of his commonwealth Vance is North
Carolina and North Carolina is Vance. This
cannot be said of any other man in any other
state.
Now, what will Georgia do when she
considers this record? How much longer
can she claim the honor of being called the
Empire State OF the South? We have .
splendid record for the past, but what are we
doing now? Here is my own county that ranks
all others in the state in mineral and agricultu-
raj wealth, and yet there is not cotton or
wooden mill in it, and hardly wheel turning
any kind of machinery. Where are our cotton
factories save those in Augusta and Columbus
and half dozen more that make up ,e list
Are there half dozen canning factories in the
state :? What is the matter with our people,
especially the farmers, who could put their
moneys together and have little cotton mill in
every fertile valley--a mill that would spin
their own cotton into yarn or knit it into ho-
siery. Eight or ten thousand dollars would
build such mill and give employment. to all
the poor children in the neighborhood. Will
We never wake up and get out Of the old ruts
and learn a lesson from North Carolina?
am nov spending my leisure in writing o
history of my state--a history for the Young
people--if they choose to read it. 1t is labor
OF love with me- and my best ambition is to
found 1t upon the truth-"nothing to extenuate
nor set down aught in malice" Some things
will write that have not been written, for my
hearts desire is to hand down to our children,
pure and untarnished, the honor and integrity
Of our fathers. have been frequently urged
TO write such book, and have got my own
consent mot to compete with others that have
been written, but rather to say something that
has not been said. but should be- The time il
short. Tho landmarks are passing away, but
there are still few men left who are rich in
memories. Notable men, gifted aud true
men like Judge Richard H. Clark and Henry r.
Jackson and DR.. Miller and Chan. Q. Jones and
General Longsrreet. with whom / will confer
for facts. Twill your book be sectional 2" said
Professor Robson to me- mo" said l. ssbut