The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1903-09-23
Facts VS.. Rhetoric.

Mr.. Richard II. Edmonds has de-
voted his talents, for a number Of
years, in helping nightly to upbuild
the South. He has met, from time
to time, with much discouragement,
but his faith has not faltered and his
work has never Jagged. In a recent
letter to his paper, The Manufactur-
ers' Record, he shows by invincible
facts and figures, tbs great progress
that the South has made in the past
few decades.
The text for Mr.. Edmond's article
is the recent lectue delivered by
Hon. John Temple Graves at Chau-
tauqua and in Chicago in which ne
advocates the separation of the races
as the solution of the negro problem.
In order to set forth this problem
which envelops the South, aud to con-
vince his hearers that there is crying
need for this race separation he
draws somewhat highly colored pic
ture of our conditions as follows:
ssTo the white men of the South the
problem hampers its material develop
ment. It halts our growth, By the
records Of the census, it frightens i'm
migration from Industrial competition
with the negro. It largely deters capi-
tai from investment IN the shadow Of
an unsolved problem. 1t makes a
standard of labor that prejudices all
our Southern poor against menial but
honorable service. It depresses agri-
culture on the farms and property in
the suburbs, and drives all who can
afford the change to the safety afford
ed. by proximity and police protection
in the cities. The South is unequal
led in the four great basic raw materi-
ais of coal, iron, cotton and lumber.
And yet, while 500, 000.000 of our
money goes yearly to Europe at 4 per
cent, these great fields are scantiy
developed. And thus, while one great
section Of our country IS halted IN
development, the free movement Of
men and money in all sections is him
dered toward the inviting field of op-
portunity."
With these statements Mr. Edmonds
takes issue and perhaps is extreme in
estimating the injury to the South
from Mr.. Graves remarks, as the lat
ter is in his>rhetorical picture. He sees
many thousands, perhaps millions, of
copies of Mr.. Graves speech eds
tributed by Northern and Western
railroads seeking to keep immigration
from the South" and declares it
will counteract the good work of
hundred immigration agents working
for the South We don't forsee such
serious results, but we take pleasure
in giving circulation to the encourag-
ing statistics that Mr. Edmonds cites
in refutation of Mr.. Graves's state
ments.
He starts out with showing that the
South of today has at last captured
the cotton market, thanks to W. z.
Brown, one Of her own sons, and that,
through his lawful strategy the crop
of this year will net US $500, coo, ,0o0.
He says:
Estimating this crop at $500, 00o,-
600, the total value of the last four
crops, seed included, has been about
81, 200, 600, 900, while the total value Of
the four preceding crops seed lnclud-
ed, was about 81, 600. coo, 600. Let US
take this years crop at $500, 00o, 600.
Of this the South will consume in its
own mills over 50, 600, 600 bales, and in
doing so will add to the value of the
raw staple about 200, 600, 600; the value
of the cottonseed-mill products will
add another 500, 600, 900 SO the South
will this year have poured into it en-
tirely from other sections and other
countries for cotton products alone
about 5000. 600, ,000.''
He shows, too, that the value of
Southern agricultural crops other than
cotton will be in excess of 5000, 900,
600, making grand total of 81, 500, 600
against $500. 900, COO in 1880. During
the same period the South's manufac-
tured and mineral products have grown
from s474, 4,0oO,G COO to 81, 100, 600, 600.
The grand total is from 81, ,074, 600, 600
to S3, 200, 0C0,00
In 1880, the pig iron production at
the South was 397, ,000 tons. 1t is
now over 3. 500, 900 tons. In 1880, the
South's coal output was 9, 0G0, 600 tons.
It IS now over go, 009, COO tons. In 1880,
the South had $4,000 miles of railway.
It has now $4,000 miles. In 1880 1t had
lumber product value Of s39, coo, 600.
It is now s1SS, ,0e0, 600.
We do not think there is as much
contradiction between the positions of
Mr.. Graves and Nj. Edwards as the
latter does. 1t is not our idea, that
Mr.. Graves intended to play the role
of the pessimist, and imply that this
section had not marvelously advanced; ;
but simply that it had labored under
dreadful incubus and serious
handicap as compared with other sec
tions of the country. We know that
with the negro the South has made
the marvellous advance that Mr.. Ed
wards sets forth in his convincing sta
tistics, but it has been in spite of the
negro handicap. and not because of it.
Under vast trials and in the face Of
greatest distractions, the South has
done mighty things. Mr.. Edwards be-
lieves in setting these forth and boast
ing of what we have done, rather than
1 g