The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1898-03-17
THE SOUTH'S FUTURE.
NC LONGER A WASTE.
Nor "Grave yard for Capital.
Washington Post.


AS Newton neared the completion Of
his calculations of the moons distance,
the consequences OF which have been
so tremendous to science, and his figures
began to show that the result would sus-
tain his great theory and enroll his
name with the few that are immortal,
it Is said the pencil fell from his shak-
ing hand and he fled, leaving the work
to friend. The intelligent citizen OF
the southern states who has carefully
observed the industrial progress of his
section since 1880, has some idea of the
feeling that overpowered Newton. AS
he gathers up the records of advance
ment in the various departments Of in
dustry, he is almost dazed by the GER
tainties that open up before his vision.
He can fix no limit to the sure prospect
of activity and prospersity. In the in
dustrial war that has already begun be-
tween the nations the southern stat es
promise to be the element that will
turn the tide of victory toward the
shores of America. We may complain,
New England does complain, that the
plane of living of southern operatives
is below that of northern workers, and
that the best class OF our tollers are
sacrificed to cheap production in the
south but the south has simply used
the only means at her command. If
the plane of living is lower among south
ern than northern operatives, still in
turning her laborers into manufacturing
hands, the south has raised them MANY
degrees. If 1t threatens to press
some down, remember that it raises
others.
The effect of the growth of cotton
manufactures in the southern states on
the industry In New England came
with the suddenness and the terror of
an explosion. It might have been fore
seen. Steadily the south has gone on
building factories and increasi ng her
spindles until now, according to cor
respondent of The New York Evening
Post, she has fully one-fourth of all the
splndles In the country, and is able to
consume one-tenth of all the product
of the cotton fields. In eighteen years
the number of her spindles has increas-
ed five fold. Rapid as has been her in
dustrial growth, it was fully indicated
in the census returns of 1890, as COM
pared with those of 1880, when the light
OF modern industry first shone on a
section that had been SO long cursed by
slave labor, and then paralyzed by op-
pressive political conditions. In that
decade the south, that reputed grave
OF northern capital, increased Its wealth
by nearly $4,O00,OOO,OOO, and in the
present decade the increase is still
greater, in spite of early Industrial pam
lc-tar exceeding the property value of
all the slaves set free by the war that
set the south free, also. While many
northern dollars have been invested
In southern enterprises, it is admitted
that by far the greater part of the in
creased wealth is due to southern intelIi-
gence and energy.
Yet this is only the beginning. Tho
iron area of the south, 700 miles In
length and Join width, paralleled by
belts of coal and limestone, is only
worked in its vestibule, as it were. in
a few years hundreds of shops, whose
fires will be fed from the coal at their