The Washington herald., 1909-07-11


ing OF the commercial secretaries was
that delivered by c. Grosvener Dave
managing director Of the Southern Com
mercial Congress. Mr.. Dave spoke spe-
cihcally in behalf OF that organization
telling how it came into being and some
Of the things for which it is working
Mr.. Dave also gave an exhaustive sur
vey Of the progress Of the South in re-
cent years, and from the data presented
arrived at the conclusion that the move
ment for giving publicity to facts about
the south's resources and possibilities is
not only justified. but necessary If the
South IS to have that addition OF work
ers. capital, and brains needed to bring
It into tine with other parts OF the coun-
try. notably the Middle West and the
NeFthweg
Leads with It's Coast Line.
In his reEaew OF the South's resources
and progrssSs Mr.. Dave said that by right
it should assume and maintain the coast
line leadership Of the United States. In
this connection he said:
Viewed from the point OF coast line, II
Is well TO understand that the Southern
States possess an enormous advantage
over the other two-thirds OF the United
States. for the coast line OF the Southern
States is 3OJ7 miles. while the coast line
or the North Atlantic States Is SIS miles.
OF the Pacific Coast 1861 miles.
The natural advantages Of coast line
ere already asserting their influence, for
we are able 10 say that q Southern port
ftill holds the second position for exports
among all the ports OF the United States
New Orleans. in 1900, and now a Southern
port that nine years ago was wrecked
and rent by stOrm-the port OF Galveston.
we are able 10 show that the exports
along the Gulf now exceed the exports OF
Philadelphia and Boston by SO per cent,
and they equal more than 66 2-3 per cent
OF the total which belongs 10 the over
shadowing port Of New York. The tables
OF exports for 1900 and 1903 show that q
per cent growth in exports has taken
place IN New York, Philadelphia, and
Boston regarded together. During this
same time the Southern exports from
points handling more than S1.O0O.6O0 in
creased "a per cent.
SOuth's Record f1 Imports.
In the matter OF impOrts-goods COM
ing 10 America for distribution-you viii
find that while the three great ports
above mentioned have increased q per
cent. the Southern ports have increased
1O2 per cent Look at this another way
In 1ssS imports along the Gulf We're S13,-
O62.729 In 1905 they had grown 10 SO 30
7S5. an increase Of S54 per cent. In 1898
exports along the Gulf were 500, ,sf7, 200
In 1908 they had grown to S396, So, ,I36. an
increase OF &c per cent. Is Il not fair to
claim that the Southern States, by reason
OF their coast line, are bound to occupy a
vastly important relation 20 the future Of
the United States IN the commerce Of the
world?
When we consider also that all this
swing Of commerce Is taking place prior
70 the completion OF the Panama Canal
and that the Panama Canal win help 10
pull southwark every interOceanic move
rlent, you must realtize that the Southern
ports VIII be on the very front door step
Of the worlds future commerce. with
South America and the Pacific. by reason
of their nearness. peculiarly available
FOR their growth"
Mr.. Dave then spoke OF the navigabIe
rivers Of the South and their availability
as carriers Of commerce and for the de-
velopment OF mechanical power. demon
strating that in both these fields the
South has an undOubted leadership in
the way OF natural resources. He then
reviewed briefly the mineral leadership
Of the South. its agricultural leadership
in the production Of cotton. rice. fruit.
and truck; its forests, its accessibility
by railroad and water. and ended this
part Of his address with references 10 a
table OF the products Of Southern Indus
try which went far TO show its present
leadership In that field. and clearly DEM
1r4u uHw w1Hs Il e.
certainly be in future years the indus
trial section Of the United States.
Coming to need Of seIf-knowledge re-
gardtng the South and it's exploitation by
means Of proper publicity. Mr.. Dave said,
In part:
SeIf-lmOwIedge Needed.
You win ask me how the South should
proceed to secure the development which
destiny has indicated as belonging 20 It
IN the future years. answer you. Know
thyself.' The South viii never come TO
its full power until the leaders and think
ers Of the South take q view broader
than that OF their own Congressional dis
tricts or of their own State lines and ap-
prehend what the South as a whole
means. This is a vital need. The prime
thing to do to build a greater. South is to
create a self-lCnOwledge that shall thrill
every man with the sense Of the impend-
ing destiny OF the South Let such a
sense OF coming greatness touch the
minds and hearts anG hands Of the men
OF the South and they are then IN the
right position to speak with assurance
regarding that which is to come to the
South
Thus lay before you. gentlemen. who
az
thai you and the :ssen you touch and the
men they touch and the communities that
your communities touch must all become
fred with the knowledge Of the South's
greatness, and then you are in a position
to make the South known 70 the world
The men in our various communities
whose souls are on fire with the sure
greatness Of the coming days can be
counted on the fingers. Where there are
tens there should be hundreds. where
there are thousands there should be mil
lions The resources OF the South will be
irresistible in their power to attract at
tention when the men OF the South have
an unquestioning enthusiasm based upon
knOwledge-and not before
Our work as commercial organizations
has been In most cases extremely intelli- |
gent We have pushed for the recogni- !
tion Of our own little town or city ana
we have pushed hard, but doubt wheth-
er there is a single man In this conven- |
ton who has felt at all satisfied with the |
results secured from any one definite ef- |
fort that he or his organization made. |
The answer IS not within ourselves. the |
failure IS not ours: the hindrance Is the /
condition Of misrepresentation regarding |
the South that has nUllihed in large
measure the work done for our individual |
communities.
Cooperation Now the Slogan.
The greatest method for acceleratiDg