Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1897-04-02

roads on prevailing political sentiment
in that section. however generous has
been the Republican hand outstretched
to aid its struggling or nascent IN
dustries The South is essentially. OF
rather has been essentially. a land OF
tradition. Political beliefs, like landed
estates have been handed down from
father to son. and only the more mill
tant spirits, intellectually speaking,
have broken through the bounds OF
tradition and embraced the new ana
living principles of latter day economic
science.
Men like John S. Wise of Virginia,
Hanson of Georgia, Mccall of Louisi-
ana. and others have braved the storm
IF local prejudice and Joined the ranks
Of those who look forward to a better
day, and who see in the domination OF
Republican principles and policy the
only hope of prosperity for the South
ern section of our country. South Caro-
lima, Florida, Mississippi. Arkansas and
Texas have not felt the leaven of the
aew era. but the crust of narrowness
soon must be broken. Intellectual adj
vance cannot always be checked by
fear of ostracisn, social or business.
Far-seeing men in states bordering the
South Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico
long have commended that the seat of the
manufacturing industry in the natural
course of events will be transferred from
| section. Absence of skilled labor has
acted as a deterrent factor. but sooner
or later that difficulty will be removed.
Climatic conditions favor the South. and
the raw material required for many
branches of industry is at the doors of
the people. But the important question
of the Dingley bill have upon Southern
Industries and Southern development?
The North and East have not had a mo-
nopoly of struggling enterprises since the
Wilson bill dealt Its varied blows. The
South also has suffered. Mills have been
closed there and agriculture has had its
spheres OF activity have been explored
and new avenues of wealth have not been
opened up. There is a belief. however
pingley bii th he' tariff issue ae IS settled for
a generation. No party will have the
hardihood to disturb existing conditions,
and what will ensue from the standpoint
safe to say. therefore. that new lease
of life has been obtained for the. South
and that prosperity will follow and abide.
From the standpoint of money invested,
the sugar industry of the South easily
leads all the rest. Few people know that
In the cane-growing section OF louisiana
days of settlement of that territory. To
this day wild indigo is one OF the base
weeds that, unchecked. will cause one
stalk of cane to grow where two could
be grown under ordinary conditions. The
exports of this article from India aggre-
gate fully $20000.000 annually. And. as
indigo is protected in the Dingley bill, 1t
is possible that some of the smaller
planters of the state may return to its
culture. The sugar industry has one pro-
tural pursuits involve simply the raising
of the raw material. Cotton Is grown by
one man and manufactured into cotton
goods by another. The Dakota farmer
raises wheat; a mill in Minneapolis trans
forms 1t into -four. But the sugar plant
err raises the cane and makes the sugar
product on one and the same plantation.
To do this costly and intricate machinery
is required for a sugar mill. When the
land is worth $4,000 it Is necessary to
This is due to the fact that cane. is per-
ishable. Evaporation of the stalks goes
on rapidly. and there is no time to be lost.
So sugar making must be continued on
the present plan; there is no escaping It.
The Wilson law gave to sugar 40 per
cent ad valorem duty. When boiled
down into actual results this was found
to be about eight-tenths of a cent per
pound. Under this measure of protection
the industry could not live. The sher-
ifs and the United States marshals have
reaped harvest in the last few years In
Louisiana. for many large estates have
gone under the hammer. But the Ding
lev bill gives a specific duty of 1.625 cents
a pound for the grade of sugar raised In
the sugar belt, and molasses. by-Pro.
Bounty-fe sugars from the beet coun-
tries Of Europe where the lab0rer eats
meat only twice q week. must pay an
additional duty equal to the bounty re-