Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1897-01-20
For the Herald and Tribune.
EAST TENNESSEE.
Washington COunty's Home Market,
How TO Enlarge II.

chard and vineyard culture may be
easily yielded; and at n ct profit from
three to five times RS great as the pres
ent field culture; but, home market
must be established in lieu Of that now
reached from fifty to three hundred
miles away. This can be done.
not only easily. but the result OF the
process will add hundreds of thousands
Of dollars to the zeal and personal
wealth of the county, 1t is by the
establishment of small manufacturing
industries. Some OF them, II not large
at first, will soon grow to large pro-
portions; but most of thetnssill, and
ought to be, what is called small in +.
dustries."
l will only name few of the many
had in view; oat hullers, last fac ctories,
handle and spoke factories, stave and
heading factories, wagon and carriage
factories, sash and door factories,
planning mills for preparing building
material, and canning factories. A
few OF the articles referred to are now
manufactured in the county, m mainly at
johnson City, by steam power. Such
articles ought to be manufactured all
over the county by water power, or II
by steam power, then in the midst Of,
or close by the forests OF timber used
and the finished products stored in
sales depots at johnson City, Jonesboro
and other points along the lines of rail
road. Let me refer to one article as an
illustration, slaves. see heavily load
ed wagons hauling the green blocks
of oak timber to the factory at John
son City, over from three to six miles
Of road. think | am not in error
when l say that the finished slaves
seasoned and baled, produced from
five of those heavy loads, can be hauled
at a single load, by one of these teams,
with less strain to The horses and wear
and tear to the wagon. Make the slaves
within one half or one mile of where
the trees are cut. Use the bark and
refuse wood there for fuel, or haul it,,
when dried, miles away for fuel. Have
we the water power in the county for
such manufacturing in close proximity
to the growing TIMBER Yes, an abun
dance of it. Taking the streams that
run to the Watauga from the Jones'
boro high ground plateau, and in the
direction to the Nolachucky, there are
not less than sixty valuable water
power sites, ranging from ten to thirty
horse power. Fifty OF them are in
use, operating one half time, or less,
grinding grain or saving timber at
small profits. Why are the profits
small? Here is an illustration: Rough
plank is hauled from mills six to ten
miles and sold at johnson City, and
doors, sash and finished siding, ceiling
and flooring hauled back. One half of
the power of these sites can do all the
saving and grinding for local custom.
The other half ought to drive the me
chinery of the small industries re.
ferred to. Let this be done and in
every local neighborhood throughout
the county an added population of
operatives will be found requiring
truck farming, market gardening and
orchard products at good and steady
prices. Then, here is another highly
valuable feature: teams now employed
at poverty rates in hauling rough, raw
materials to stations along the railway,
will go with lighter loads of finished
products and at good remuperating
rates. Canned fruit will 20 instead OF
the perishable variety slaves and head
ing instead of rough, heavy green
blocks or logs; doors, blinds, sash and
finished building lumber instead OF
rough material and logs. Finished
lasts instead of short, rough blocks of
wood; cottage furniture, wagons, and
carriages, instead of rough timber, (or
the timber standing and unused) and
rolled oats and hominy grits, represent
ing a value three times as great as the
present market rates for the raw grain,
And in conclusion let me add, that the
return loads for those freight wagons
will take to the neighborhoods all over
the county, supplies of articles which
we can not produce, and in good abun
dance, instead of the very small guam
titles which our people can now afforC
to buy and use.
ought, further, to treat this ques
ton, and more in detail as to exac
location, number and size of the waite
power sites of the county.
Will those best acquainted, person
ally, with the facts write me, at once
giving name and length of stream
and number of power sites on each
now in use or that may be usedp
want, specially, this data from tn
Southern and Western parts of tn
county, that may know of them a
definitely as now do of the part
North and East of Jonesboro.
N. A. PATTERSON