The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1894-06-06
INDUSTRIAL CONGRESS.
THE MEETING OF The SOUTHERN I'M
MIGRATION CONVENTION.

EX3m nat u G9VSrQCT Jli.nSn L AZ
| to ssy-Ipteut on Business-The Dele
gates all hopeful.
AUGUSTA, May 3O.-The Southern
Industrial immigration Congress open
ed auspiciously IN Augusta today, Il
was called to order at noon IN the
grand opera house by President Bryan
of Nashville, who introduced Mayor J
| H. Alexander of Augusta, who wei
coined the congress On the part Of ths
city.
Mayor Alexander's speech was full OF
interesting historical facts about Au
gusta. He said:
Augusta is the oldest inland city in
the South Atlantic States, and was the
second established by Oglethorpe. This
city. before the days Of railroads, being
the furtherest inland city with river
navigation to the sea, south Of Vir'
ginia, was the point Of communication
with the outer world of all that terrific
" embraced in Northern Alabama
East Tennessee, Western North Caro-
lima, North Georgia and South Caro-
lima. Here all this vast section came
in wagons to trade.
81 have been told by old citizens, who
saw with their own eyes, that in the
fall and winter it was not uncommon
to see our capacious Broad street so
closely packed with wagons that one
might step from one to another for
mile or m0Ie.
"This city is mentioned in contempo,
raneous history in 174G, five years after
the settlement was planted, as already
in state of great prosperity, we'll
equipped for trade and conducting an
extensive traffic throughout the vast
and fruitful tributary country 1t was
here that Ell Whitney conducted his
experimental works and, in 1893, devel'
oped the cotton gin, one Of the most
famous industrial inventions of the
world, which imm ediately revolution
lied the agriculture Of this section
from tobacco and indigo to cotton as
it's staple crop. In 1871, the whole cot
ton crop Of the South was irty-elght
bales. In 1800,seVen years after Whit
ney's gin appeared, Georgia alone eX-
ported over 1000 bales.
ave have here the oldest public jour
nal in the South, the Augusta Chronl-
bic, established in 1855 and published
continuously since that time. We have
the oldest Incorporated educational in
stitution in the South, the Richmond
Academy, established by act of the
Legislature of Georgia III 1888. We
have the second Oldest completed rail
road in the country-the South Caro-,
lima road, running from Charleston to
Augusta, and preceded only by the
Camden and Amboy railroad in New
jersey"
Following Mayor Alexander, Hon
Joseph r. Lamar, president OF the
Young's Mems Business League Of Au-
gus:a, which secured the convention for
this city, welcomed the congress, and
followed with more valuable facts con-
cerning the Augusta of today. Taking
simply the official census figures for
1890. he showed that Augusta had in
creased in the number of manufactu.
ring establishments in the past decade
633 per cent; in capital employed 27o
per cent, and in wages paid Of 80 per
per cent; and that it had spent more
money for public improvements than
any other city in the South, and had
the lowest death rate in the South.
Governor Northern welcomed the
congress on the part OF Georgia, and
gave a glowing picture Of her progress
and thrift. He declared the readiness of
Georgia to welcome industrious immi-
grants, who came to cast their lot here.
Senator Patrick Walsh. whose home
is here. welcomed the congress and ex-
tended them the privileges of the Com.
mercial Club, of which he is president.
He said the assembling Of thirteen
Southern States reminded him of that
first convention of the thirteen origi-
nal States to declare their iDdepend-
ence. The present movement is to for
mulate plans by which this most favor
ed section could enlarge its citizenship
and work out its material lndepend-
ence. He thought the occasion most
auspicious and the outlook very bright
for the success of the congress.
Responses to the addresses of vel
come were made by Governor MacCor-
kle Of West Virginia, Governor Carr of
North Carolina and Governor Tillman
of South Carolina. Governor Tillman
declared it was we'll enough to invite
people and capital from the outside,
and all that came would be welcome,
but for every dollar of outside capital
the Southern people must expend ten
of their own, if they were in earnest
about desiring to build up the South.
The future of this section, he said, de
pends on the efforts of our own peo-
pie, aud what the Southern farmers
need most is an immigration Of ideas
and Intelligent agricultural methods.
Southern farmers would never prosper
as long as they speLt six months in
the year trying to kill the grass IN their
fields and the next six months IN buy
ing hay from Maine and Northern
States.
at the conclusion of the address of
welcome and the responses, President
Bryan addressed the convention. He
explained the need for immigration IN
the Southern States by contrasting the
population per square mile OF some OF
the States as follows: Massachusetts
287, Kentucky, which is the most dense
lily populated Of the Southern States, 49,
Rhode Island, 264; Texas, s. He
showed the material advance which
has taken place in the South, and cali
ed attention to the fact that education
al advantages were keeping pace, the
increase having been 100 per cent. ir
the past decade, in appropriations By
Southern States for this purpose, lasI
year being over 5000. The total val
ue Of school property il the South i:
S10000,O00; number of teachers, $4,000
white pupils, 2,250,000; negro pupils
I1,I50000; pupils IN private schools, 300,
600; IN parochial SCHOOLS, 10000. HI
thought the time was ripe for the i'm
migration movement ia the South anC
believed that by patriotic and uniteC
efforts on the part Of the Intelligent
men composing the congress some wise
and practical plan would be adopted.
at the afternoon session, permanen
organization was effected by the re
election Of President NJ. T. Bryan, o.
Tennessee and Secret try B. +. Elliot
of Florida. 1t was decided that eact
State represented should vote according
to its vote in the electoral college, ant
each territory have one vote.
The credentials committee reported