The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1899-12-13

Nov. 11th, which we herewith repro
duce:
With towns as well as with busi-
ness men it is not always considered
the graceful thing for them to sing
the praises of their own successes
and accomplishments, but in as much
as several OF our sister towns in the
eastern sections of the State have
lately had write ups showing their
progress in the handling of tobacco,
your correspondent has conceived
the idea that a modest little state
ment of Manning's tobacco and other
business interests since the opening
Of the fall trade and up to the pres
ent time would not be out of place.
Manning has been so very modest
in heralding her successes to the rest
of the State that perhaps We are
scarcely regarded with the impor-
tance to which we are entitled. There
are many who will recollect US as a
quiet little village, nestled among
hundreds OF green oak trees, with a
little white court house in the centre,
and not enough business done here
to warrant US in making any claims
of Importance for ourselves. But
those conditions no longer exist.
While we have not as yet a large
cotton factory, yet the Manning of
ten years ago is not the Manning of
today. We have had no prodigious
or mushroom growth, or anything
which might be described as a
"boom," but for the past ten years
our town has had constant, steady,
and permanent growth, one that
lasts, and during that time our pop
ulation has about doubled itself, and
our volume of business probably done
more than that well. Only two or
three years ago everybody knew
everybody else in town, but now our
business interests bring strangers
here who come and live anon, as
and we do not know who they are.
We are getting too large for every
body to have personal acquaintance
with everybody else.
Regarding the tobacco interests
that have sprang up in South Caro-
lima and now play such an important
part in our commercial relations,
Clarendon county was one of the
pioneers. About ten years ago when
tobacco first began to be planted in
Darlington and Florence counties,
there were about four farmers in
what is known as the Pudding
Swamp" section of Clarendon county
who planted small patches of the weed
also. Their successes the first few
years proved to them that tobacco
was one OF the coming crops of the
State, and from the successes of these
few, who had not even home mar
ket to sell their product in and had
to ship to Danyille and Richmond, the
craze began to spread, and in two or
three more years practically all OF
the farmers in our eastern section
began the cultivation of tobacco.
The towns of Florence, Darlington
and Timmonsville, being more in the
heart of the tobacco experimenting
section than Manning was, shifted
the breezes of progress that lay in
the handling of the crop year or
two quicker than we did, and for two
or three years they enjoyed the pleas
ure of handling much of the tobacco
that was grown in our county. But
we were not doomed to be behind
always, and three years ago Mr.. E.
L. Wilkins, one of our most enter
prisipg citizens, saw what we were
losing by allowing other towns to
handle Clarendon's tobacco crop, and
was the first to organize large sales
warehouse. The first year the en-
terprise of course was not crowned
with the most glorious success, but
it's business has gradually increased
until this past summer it was seen
that we could handle enough of the
weed to support two saleshouses
handsomely, and another one was
organized with Mr. Charles N. Mason
a progressive merchant of Foreston,
as manager, Now we have the Clar.
endon Tobacco Warehouse and Sup
ply company, under the management
Of Mr.. E. L. Wilkins, and the Peo.
pies Tobacco Warehouse, under Mr.
c. NJ. Mason, both hustling business
men and both houses doing goo6
business. AS an example of how the
tobacco crop has increased in thi:
county, last season the Clarendon
Warehouse and Supply company
handled six hundred thousand pounds
of the weed and paid out for the same
$41,172.74. This season, up to the
present time, Nov. 10th, the same
house has handled 665,5O0 lbs. Ow.
ing to the fact that the grades do not
average up quite as well as last yea,
the prices are not quite as good a:
last season, but up to now, since The
opening OF this season in August, The
same company has paid out S36,5S
II to the farmers.
Owing to the fact that this is the
first season that the Peoples Ware
house has been in business they, O.
course, have not handled as much a:
the Clarendon Warehouse company
but up to now they have sold three
hundred and sixty FIVE thousand
pounds, and paid out for the same
twenty seven thousand dollars. These