The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-12-10

CoUteTS prevented tIIdL= VI
people which was necessary to break
down the prejudices born of divers
racial elements and political section
aliSIn.
The effect Of this condition of trade
upon the Piedmont was especially
harmful. With the exception of Fay
etteville it's markets were Charleston,
South Carolina, Petersburg and Nor
folk, Virginia, and Philadelphia. No
one can read the accounts of the dis
advantages of the Piedmont farmer
and the large amount he added to the
profits Of the South Carolina and Vir-
ginia merchants without being re-
rates which Virginia cities enjoy to-
day. Doubtless this disadvantage in
matters Of trade was the basis of the
characterization of North Carolina as
"a valley of dependency between two
mountains of cOnceit."
But the details of this condition Of
trade are scarcely known; for instance,
what was the cost Of living in that day
Of distant markets? The standard il
Illustration in the pamphlets dVocat
ing roads and railways was n cost
Of salt in Statesvi1le. fifty cents a
bushel; might not other prices be OBJ
tanned from diaries, account books,
family correspondence, and ADVERTISE
ments in the newspapers? Then, how
did these prices compare with those
paid by the planters of eastern Eir-
ginia and lower South Carolina? No.
until an answer is found to these in
Quiries can the actual loss sustained
by the Carolinian Of the inferior
through trade conditions be estimated.
Furthermore, the distance of markets
retarded the growth of a credit sys-
TEN in commerce; this in turn created
a demand for bank notes; and the
consequent imitation Of the currency
- n Io,4 40 ovid ~ rin,
Now the printed sources at present
available describing this situation are
limited; there is need for information
showing the influence of commerce on
the life Of the people in various com
munities and sections, and the result
ing attitude Of the electorate toward
public economic questions, State and
national.
Such a condition Of AIDE gave rise
to the movement for better transport
tation facilities by State aid, first for
canals and waterways, then for turn
pixies and railroads. This was the
chief economic feature of the epoch
from 1850 to 1860, and it did much
to create a prosperity that stands in
strong contrast to the preceding years.
From the reports Of urVeys and the
various navigation, turnpike and rail-
way companies, an outline Of the new
means of transportation can be OBJ
NGAAAS0t ouN ~ A4AS Nl4SSl1 VII AAlS AkAS
of the people, the sources are almost
entirely silent. Illustrative Of this fact
is that nothing is known of the rise
OF land values, except that which
comes from the reassessment reported
by the treasurer; nor to what extent
prices were affected, or how the ac-
QUESTION of wealth was improved, or
the way in which sectional antagon-
ism and prOvincialiSm were alleViated.
A good example from unWritten local
history is found in Arson county. For
years its people had been compelled
either to Fayetteville or Charleston in
search Of a market. In the thirtieS
the Fayetteville and Western Turnpike
was chartered to cOnnect Fayetteville
and Salisbury; the surveys marked the
road through Arson. At once p: p
was established along the proposed
route which, by virtue Of location,
promised to be commercial emporium
for h surrounding country. Its name
was Sneedsborough. But, alas; the
| Fayetteville and Western Turnpike
never reached the Arson line. De-
prived of it's commercial asset, Sneeds-
borough languished. became a strag-
Cling village. and today is hardly
known beyond the confines OF the
county. Now a student of Georgia
history has enumerated a score Of
- IFS ia hid oldLE, ~1AOS0 IdlT was
determined by the roces Of economic
Development Who can tell how
many Sneedsboroughs rose and de-
clined during the g Of road and
railway building in North Carolina?
The material for reconstructing
these phases of the life Of the past
lie largely in local or family records
that r fast disappearing. For in
stance, a few ear ago one Of the
contractors engaged in building the
| North Carolina railroad died. He had
been a large trader under the old
system of commerce.; his correspond
ence was extensive and he had han+
the letters he had received: but these
were sold with a lot Of old furniture
at the executors sale, and the buver
burned them: How many similar
collections OF letters, old account
books, diarteA or bills Of sale vet s1r-
vive in your community and mine?
Transportation was by no meaneth.