The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1902-05-04

until recent years. distinctively an agr1-
cultural country and yet, after all these
wears. its agriculture is still in its youth.
But little more than half OF its agricul-
turaI lands have been cleared. BY rea-
sn of it's sparse population, not more
than two-thirds of that which has been
cleared is cultivated, and because of it's
inefficient system of labor and lack of
capital, that which is cultivated does not
WELD much more than half Of what it
is capable of producing.
And vet even under these adverse con-
Citions, its agricultural products during
he last twenty years have enormously
increased. The cotton crop of the South
for the year 1880 was $5.000,000 bales; in
1890 1000 900 bales; in 1899 11,275,0OO
bales. 1t is difficult to estimate the ex-
tent of the tobacco land of the South.
Only a part of the land adapted to the
growth of tobacco IS cultivated i'll that
way. In my own State in the last fifteen
wears the tobacco area has been more
than doubled The same thing may be
said of the truck industry and OF varl-
ous other agricultural products
Manufacturing and mining in the South
are in their infancy. They are capable
of indefinite development. The record
Of the last twenty years is history oil
marvellous growth, and yet it is only an
earnest of what can be accomplished and
will be accomplished in the future when
ever the needed capital shall be employ
ed in securing development. Let me
give few of the figures showing what
has already been done in manufacturing
in this section that was formerly SO eX-
clusively agricultural.
In 1890 the number OF manufacturing
establishments in the South was-I only
give round numbers-43 900; in 1890. 3d.
900: in 1900. 80, 900; capital invested IN
manufacturing in the South in 1880
amounted to S251 .OO0, 900: in 1890, $780,
COO 600 in 1900 $1,111 000,00O Value OF
nroducts of Southern factories in 1880,
$I55 600 0OO in 1890. $S78, 900 0G0; in 1900,
81 AIS. 900 900. Lumber and timber pro-
ducts in 1880. $39. $50 00O; in 1890, $40,
72S 900; in 1900, $1S8,144 900; Manufac-
1rre of sugar for Louisiana in 1880, ST.
$50 900; in 1890, 2,603, 900 in 1900, SAL
891 900.
In North Carolina, my own State, the
number of manufacturing establishments
in 1890 were 1867; in 1900, 1925, an in
crease Of 90 per cent. Capital invested
in manufacturing in North Carolina In
1890. $32, 745 900; in 1900, $40, 100000, ar
increase of l33 per cent. Value of prop
erty employed in manufacturing in 1890
$43 1915 900; in 1900, $144, $4,000, an in
| crease in ten years of 1876 per cent.
AS wonderful as this record is the
growth If manufacturing at the South
as l said before, has been retarded by
! the want of capital. The increase Of
these twenty years is but fraction O.
! what will be the increase of the mex
/ twenty years if the capital which we eX-
| pect will find investment there is not un
/ fortunately diverted from us for the pur-
poses of exploitation in distant parts o
| the world. Certainly no other part OF INC
world today offers more profitable IN
vestment than the South. What is true
of the South is also relatively true OF
large area in the western part OF oui
country.