The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1905-05-12

over 200 delegates present from all
parts of the United States, the ninth
annual session of the American Cotton
Manufacturers Association began this
morning in the woman's building, with
President r. S. Rheinhardt, of Lincoln
ton, n. c., presiding. While the dele
gates were assembling in convention
hall, the whistles On all manufacturing
plants broke loose in a chorus of noise
that formed industries salute to the
cty's guests.
Addresses of welcome were delivered
by Gov. John I. Cox and Mayor ".
H Glass; for state and city respective
ly, and by w. B. Lockett for the bust
ness interests.
Mayor Gass presented the convention
with a magnificent souvenir, being
set of keys carved from Tennessee
marble and enclosed in a case made Of
native materials, cotton, wool, iron and
timber
Governor Cox's appearance on the
stage was greeted with applause. In
part he said:
I'VE want your push and energy to
help make this the wealthiest section
of the entire western hemisphere. A
thrice hearty welcome to the South
with your mills; especially welcome to
this state. The cotton planters ana
manufacturers should be friends; they
have q common interest. The price OF
cotton should guarantee profit on the
product | believe the manufactures
and the planter should fix the price,
and not the gamblers and spectators,
so that it would be impossible to have
seventeen cent cotton and now, after
only six months, six cent cotton.
The governor closed with a picture
of the Souths prosperity with the Pan
anna canal completed.
On behalf of the city, Mayor VIII
liam H Gass spoke words of welcome
and presented the keys of the city to
the association. They were three keys
of marble, a large one for the president
and two smaller ones for the vice pres
ident and secretary.
They were in q handsome case and
every part of the gift was made in the
city, the pick Of Knoxville's marble,
timber. copper, coal, cotton and steel
industries.
After another welcoming address on
behalf of the commercial bodies by W.
3. Lockett. Arthur Fl. Lowe, of Pitts
burg, Mass, made pleasing response.
He held that the first need is ample
cotton: to this end there should be
perfect relation between the grower
60 o4,r 4
ulator. he said, neither grows nor helps,
but unsettles values. The world ex-
poets the cotton states of America to
wisely discharge their duty in produc-
ing cotton. To curtail crops, he de-
clared, was a child of the SPECTATOR,
and the policy was short sighted ana
suicidal. The South needs more labor,
its resources are already greater than
it can manufacture and already there
is a cry for laborers to come over and
help. He touched on the need of ware
houses, better financial methods, bet
ter laws, more technically educated
men, better methods of power appl1ca~
ton in solving present problems. Ii
all plants We're now operated at full
capacity the market would be supplied
in a few months. More markets must
be obtained.
Technical education in the South was
discussed by DR.. Brown Ayres, presi
dent of the University of Tennessee,
and his remarks struck a responsive
chord in the convention. The hope of
stopping the export of new cotton from
the South and the turning of the
South's energies to its manufactures he
held depended large on the technical
training of the young people of the
) South He wanted this section to quit
talking so much about its resources
and more about how it can convert the
resources into products, and put them
on the market A few thousand dol :
lars placed among institutions attempt
ing this work would do much. Only
three Southern states have done any
t1ing definite in technical training.
At the close of DR.. Ayres' address,