The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1900-09-04

where the benefits Of the Industry al re
main in he same community. Is ias royal
road 10 success. Not onlE The Journal.
but every Southern paper. has taken ~
the same hue ard cry. and today the
press or the South stands solldly with
the farmer helping him lit his burden
helping him solve the problem and lift
ing him To the vantage ground which
can be reached only through avenues OF
modern and enlightened cultivation OF
the fields and careful and thoughtful
study OF the situation from an intelligent
standpoint"
At $50 o'clock the convention
agair assembled TO hear an address
by Hon. James 4. Wilson. Secretary
Of Agriculture OF the United States.
Below the address i given in full.
Mr. Wilson arrived Yesterday after
noon and is being entertained NJ Gov
ernors Mansion by Governor Russell.
He spoke aS follows:
There is no agricultural product the
Department OF Agriculture a; Washing
ton makes greater Efforts 10 report upon
accurately from month 10 month and
from year 10 year, than the cotton crop
Its primary object is. OF course 10 en-
able the planter 10 Erow when 10 sell
his crop and what TO expect for it. hut
while this IS equally true Of other pro
ducts of the soil the department has
in the casue of cotton. an additional in
ducement to seek strict accuracy in the
fact that after the crop has been moved
it becomes possible TO determine its
extent almost exactly, and the accuracy
or inaccuracy of the departments pre-
vious estimate is then established.
We have in the cotton growing States
Il 900 regular correspondents or an
of ho,.
| in each State a statistical agent. who is
| thoroughly familiar with the conditions
of the State and commands the respect
of his fellow citizens. Among these
! agents may be mentioned Professor
| Withers, of the State Agricultural Col
| lege, in this city; Ex-Governor Northen.
| OF Georgia. and General James II. Lane.
| of Alabama. These gentlemen. and 9th
| ers holding like positions in the different
| States, have their own correspondents
| to the number Of $500, entirely indepen-
! dent Of the correspondents who report
| directly to Washington The county cor
/ respondents and their assistants number
| about the same $500, besides which we
| have 10000 correspondents reporting
| each for his immediate neighbcrhood
| making q total, as l have already said
| of Ii ,0C0 in the cotton region alone.
| These men are very conservative, and
| cotton growing in the South has been in
| creasing with wonderful strides. Some
| tmes we have failed TO keep pace With
| it in our first estimate, and when the
| condition of the crop has been except
| iOnally good or exceptionally bad, oar
| correspondents-sim from over-cOn
| servatism-and afraid to take either too
| optimistic a view of the situation in the
| one case or too Eessimistic Wow in the
1 9TH fully o
extremely good or extremely bad condi-
| lions
| In order, therefore, to strengthen our
| crop reporting system in the South, ]
| appointed last year a special field agent,
! whose entire time is devoted to a per
| sOnal investigation of conditions. This
| special agent was born in the South. has
| lived there all his life. and is thoroughly
I familiar with every branch of the cot
| on industry.
] Many Of you have met him, for not the
| least important part of his duty is tc
] form a connecting link between the de-
| oartmert and its various correspondents,
| With whom he takes every opportunity OF
! comforting.
Largely as the result Of the special
| efforts to attain accuracy, the department
| was able in December last to publish an
| estimate of the crop OF $500 coo bales
| that has turned out to be within very
| 'ew thousand bales, about onetenth o.
| one per cent, of what its subsequent
| movement has shown it to be.
] The same earnest and sympathetic ef-
| forts are being made to report accurately
lpon conditions this year as resulted sc
| 7uccessfuIly last year, and it is extremely
! gratifying to the increased conn
| 1ence with which the departments re-
Il
| N the tenth of this month was some.
What less favorable than had been ex-
| oected and the price OF cotton at once
advanced by something like $50 bale.
From our latest sources OF information
| t appears that there are, ir North Caro-
| ina, 168 mills 22.17S looms. ! COB 263 spin
| Hes, which corc,'med $50. .231 bales Of cot
800 The total consumption il
| he Southern States for the year Wa!
| 400 ops bales. # we consider the rate
| Of growth of manufacturing in the South
| arn States it is reasonably safe TO es
! innate that one-fourth OF the crop Q
| the Southern States is being manufac
| tured within her borders.
Coming back TO the industries Of Nortl
{ | Carolina. / find that your Labor Com
| | missioner, in 1888, reported $1,000 per
/ sons employed in your nanuactories 0
! cotton, tobacco and lumber, upon whom
IS he estimates. 235, 900 people ere di
| rectly dependent. Bat you are eXtenGin
| YOUR manufacturing industries very rap
! div and it is safe to conclude that 300.
eco people are dependent at this tim
! | 'IDoE these three Industries Of cotton. 10
| Nacco and lumber. That IS, there or
: | goo. COO neople in North Carolina who 4
not produce anything on the farm. bl
! ,ho Go consume what is produced on tn
Q farn: who get money for manufacturin
I and pay il 10 the farmer.
= The exports Of raw cotton from III
! United States to Asia in 1870 ware 318t
II 1880 they we're s2-3.S79. and in 1ao
{ So 22S. .2fa. The exports o. manufacture
r | cfttcn from tie United States to As
| aDd Oceanica in 1870 were 1922 .S62: in IS.
| thew were s698 194; in 1890 s., 2,3G31&t an
: n 1890 they reached total OF S12,362
3S7
= | OF the total exports Of cotton manu-
e | factures to all parts Of the world, IN
: | Orient took in 1870 IS per cent in 18S
{ per cent in 1890 % per cent, and
/ 1900 % per cent. The value Of the ea