The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-01-16
ARemnrknhIe stntement.

In his message 20 the legislature. Gov.
I Evans Of South Carolina, speaking OF the
| south Carolina exhibit at the Atlanta ex-
/ position. said he had directed the exhibit
/ to be Shipped 10 Chicago with tho hope
that it would be the nucleus Of a greater
I exhibit Of the states resources. In this
connection he said: Efforts have been
made 10 obtain our exhibit to be placed in
I Philadelphia and New York. but 1 can
see no GOOD results 10 come from this
course. The interest Of that section is so
antagonistic TO ours. and their greed for
bonds so great, that I fear we could ex-
Dect nothing save financial bondage"
ThisIs a remarkable statement. II is
all the more remarkable as il comes from
one whose public utterances ought TO have
great weight with the people Of South
Carolina In what respect is the interest
Of the section which includes New York
and Philadelphia more antagonistie to
the interest OF South Carolina than is the
section which includes Chicago? Gov.
Evans makes a sweeping assertion. but
he advances no facts or arguments to sus-
tain it,
He calls attention to the rapid increase
in South Cardinals cotton manufacturing
interests. Who is furnishing the money to
build these factories. the people Of the
east or the people of the west? Have cap
italists Of Chicago, or any other western
city, ever invested any considerable
amount of money in South Carolina. or
do they indicate purpose of doing so?
II the governor should answer these ques-
tons fairly the people Of his state would
begin TO wonder what he meant by his
statement that the interest of the east
is antagon1stic to the interest of South
Carolina.
Who took the bonds Of South Carolina
when she refunded her debt, western
capitalists, or eastern capitalists? They
were taken in the east, and that. too. at a
much better price than South Carolina
capitalists would pay for them.
1t may be that the eastern capitalists
are as the governor says. greedy for
bonds, but did western capitalists offer
| better price, or. in fact, any price for the
| South Carolina bonds when they were
4 placed on the market? 1t was the conf
dence that eastern capitalists had in South
Cardinals integrity that enabled her Off
cials to float her bonds at all-or. at
least at a price that was not ruinous.
Where does South Carolina find a mar
ket for the products of her farms and
factories? In Chicago and the west? We
do not thing so. Her market is in the
/
there. on what ground, then. does Gov.
Evans base his assertion that the interest
of the east is antagonistic to that Of
South Carolina, while the interest of the
west is in harmony with it? 1t seems to
us that he ought to have some basis for
his assertion.
Does he think the capitalists of the
west would be any less greedy for bonds
if they had money to invest that way
than are the capitalists of the east?' If
he does he is much less acquainted with
the ways of the world than he is generally
though to be. In support of a cotton ex-
position in Chicago the idea has been
thrown out that Chicago will put money
in cotton manufacturing plants in the
south with the hope of having the hand
ling and distributing of the product Of
the southern mills In the first place Chi
cago is a borrower and not a lender, and
her people have very little money to in
vest away from home. And if they had
surplus capital they would likely put it
into cotton mills in and around Chicago,
IL they invested in cotton mills at all.
Indeed, in one of the recent meetings at
which the proposed cotton exposition in
/ Chicago was discussed the talk was to the
effect that an effort should be made to
cover the prairies adjacent to Chicago
| with cotton mills.
The truth is, the business relations of
South Carolina are with the east and not
with the west and they will continue to
be as long as her railroads lead to the
east and her ports are connected with
the eastern ports by steamships and sail
ing vessels. There may be politics in Gov.
Evans suggestion about South Carolinas
interest, but there is no bushes or states
manship in it.