Fitzgerald enterprise. (Fitzgerald, Ga.) 1895-1912, 1906-07-31
The SOuth's Material independence.
From the Atlanta Georgian.

striking indication of the growth and pro-
gress of the South was furnished by the fact,
presented in yesterdays issue of The Georgian,
that five Georgia counties show an increase OF
SLIPS, 600 intheir tax returns for the present
year over the year previous. One county show
ed an increase of 20 per cent while another came
forward with an increase of % per cent. Such
figures as these cannot fail to make strong I'M
preston upon any student of our commercial
and industrial development, and the facts will
become more impressive still when the returns
are all in.
In this connection we present. To-Day some
facts taken from recent address by Mr.. Fes-
tus J. Wade, president of the Mercantile Trust
Company, of St. Louis, one of the most prom1-
nent and substantial of the business men OF the
South. At a recent meeting of the Bankers
Association of Tennessee he dwelt at length on
the independence OF the South IN its agrlcultur-
al resources it's manufacturing industries, COM
mercial esta bshments and financial institu-
lions. He showed what wi come as matter
of surprise, perhaps, to "a numbe OF readers,
that while cotton was still the principal product
of the South, still only "A per cent of the farms
of the South now derive their principal income
from cotton. Cotton is still king, but there are
a great MANY other things which contribute to
our commercial and industrial greatness.
The cotton production of the South has
grown by leaps and bounds since the period,
20 years ago. when the crop was something like
100000 bales. At about that period the valua-
ton of the crop was nearly $30O,OO0,OOO year.
Last year it exceeded 49, OOO 900 bales, valued at
$628,OOO,0OO.
Mr.. Wade might have stated that the ex-
ports of cotton from 1895 to 1899 average $685.
378, 900 per year in value. For the fiscal year
ending June 80, 1905, the exports of cotton were
valued at practically $38O,OOO,0O0 while the
manufactures of cotton added nearly $4,000, 900
more
Mr.. Wade points out that ''the home grown
cotton demand by the mills of the United States
is now over 100000 bales annually. In 1890 it
was 2,325, 900. Yet Notwithstanding this re-
markable increase in cotton manufacturing,
large percentage of it in the South, we are sell
ing to other countries more than ever before.
"Agriculturally speaking, the southern
states are an independent people, even of King
Cotton"
Nothing will more thoroughly demonstrate
the independence of the South than the statistics
winch snow constant anu yearly lASledSS III
improved farm acreage. We find that the i'm
proved acreage of the farms of Alabama, Arkan-
sas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, louisiana
Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina,
Tennessee, Texas and Virginia was by the gov
eminent reports as follows:
IMPROVED ACREAGE OF TWELVE SOUTHERN STATES.
1880. Observation-Disclosures. 0,O92,4o4
1890 ....................9 S, 663, OO8
1900. ...-............. .lO1, I5o,b|9
Let us see to what conclusions our figures
of production and growth bring us:
The marvellous increase in the output of the
manufactures of certain Southern states has
been placed before you in some detail. If we
take only the Southern states south of the Poto-
mac and Ohio. not including West Virginia. we
find that the products of their manufactures
were $450,OO 600 greater in 1900 than in 1890.
IF we take the increase year by year from
1890 to 1905, we find that in the aggregate they
exceed $4,000, 100000
The value of the farm products of the same
states was 5000, 100000 greater in 1900 than in
1890. The increases ia farm products of the
South, taken year by year, from 1890 to 1905,
will be found to aggregate more than So, 100000,
OOO
THE permanent value of farm property in
these states increased $1,O00,000,O00 in the ten
years from 1890 to 1900, and at least $500,0OO,-
600 more ia the five years from 1900 to 1905.
THE deposits in the banks and trust COM
panies were 5000, 100000 greater in 1905 than in
1890.
add these permanent increases of farm
" @o &Lo