The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1903-09-20


made to drive machinery. 1t is almost lit
orally true that every gallon of water is
pressed into service of man. A wag said
that he was surprised not to find water
wheels attached to the rain spots of the
houses. This utilizing of natural adj
vantages has made Rhode Island proba-
| bly, the most thrifty Commonwealth in
the Union. Her textile industry is amaZ-
ing. The largest individual cotton manu-
featuring interest IN the United States
is here. The largest bleachery in the
world is here. Almost every productive
industry in this great country is repre-
scented in this little State.
l. in common with many others, have
been accustomed to regard Little Rhody"
as a sort of joke on the bigger states.
l will never do so again. She is bigger
than North Carolina in many things that
go to make a great State. No, she is not
a ioke-she is an object lesson in pro,
gress. She has better roads, better
schools and fewer people who do not live
we'll than we have. 1t will do to say
that she is richer than we are, and can
therefore have these things easier than
we can. Her enterprise made her rich,
and her rich men are paying for these add
vantages. One of the great Universities
of the country is here. 1t was founded
and has been fostered and maintained by
the beneficence of the rich men of this
State-men who made their money here
and have given it TO the cause of educa-
ton. Our people cannot do these gener-
Gus things because they have not I'M
proved opportu ity as these people have
] Il
the future we will be as big as Rhode
Island.
Since I have been here, I have thought
of what can be done in North Carolina in
a material way. We have one river-the
/ Yadkin-that could turn every spindle and
run every loom in this State. We have
the means of doing everything more
cheaply than it can be done here. Houses
cost less, clothing costs less, fuel costs
less-everything except bread and meat
costs less than it does here. Therefore,
we ought to be immensely richer than
Rhode Island is. We manufacture but lit
tie more cotton than Rhode Island. We
could easily manufacture six times as
much Sometime we will. We have
climate that is incomparably superior to
this. 1t is true that in the summer it IS
delightful here, but from what l have
heard of the winters I would not care
| to spend one here. If this is a better
place in many respects than the good old
North State, it is because the people
have made it so. And this again re-
minds me that State is at last what
the people make it. If these people have
made this State a little center of pros
IND, hot no Of
our State?
/ wish to say word about the people.
Forty per cent. of the population of
Rhode Island is foreign born. / stood at
the gates of great manufacturing estab-
| hshment the other day at noon and watch
ed the four thousand operatives going out
for dinner There were Greeks, Italians,
Russians, Turks, and perhaps a dozen
other nationalities represented in that
thong One of the officials of the cor
poraton SAID to me that if he had some
Chinese and negroes all the races and
tongues of mankind would be represent
ed. They were a very respectable look
ing lot of working people. They looked
healthy and happy. / asked a superin-
tendent what nationality furnished the
| best help. He said there is not much
difference-that he had found that there
is not so very much difference between
white folks, no matter where they were
born. He said that Italians, as a general
class, were perhaps little the most de-
sirable. This was a wOrsted mill, and
requires rather high class of help. There
are very few idlers here. The great idle
class in the United States consists most
lxr s. hn 1YaD4 Inss IN hi Loeb
does not thrive here. What a blessing
it would be if the South could exchange
five millions of negroes for as many for
eigners! Look at these Industrious and
thrifty foreigners all about here and pom
der over the great mistake the South
has made in not attempting to locate some
of the millions of them in our own borders.
/ wonder if we ever will? l wish we had
hundred thousand italian families in
North Carolina. Yes, Italians They
would be worth more than twice that
many negroes, and they would not furnish
near so much crime. l wish the State
would take some of the money it has
wasted on exposition junkets and adver-
tise our agricultural advantages in Eu-
rope That would pay. 1 doubt seriously
if the other ever has.
And what do these people have to say
about the South? you ask. They speak
kindly of us. They admire what we have
done in the last few years in material
way. They have learned to understand us
and our peculiar problems and they sym
pathize with us. The truth is that they
understand US about as well as we I'M
derstand them. There Is not much diff
ference between them and us, and the
difference is growing less. They tell me
that we will have all the problems growing
out of labor that they have had. They
have no negro problem, and they are
thankful for 1t. They are willing that
we should settle our own affairs iii our
own way-that is the business men are
and so are the masses. Here and there
is cheap politician who would like to
help us about election time. He is the
only fellow that / have heard of who
40 roe IN ,,,aJdla with o,r b,,vfoacs