The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1915-02-16
EioN II. BUTLER.

EIDN II. III lATh
b1rham. Feb. lo.--The stranger
,an drops into Durham and asks nan
~ -, Questions about the industrial
s,stus Of the community has 20 take
F. bat off TO the unique situation he
M G here tor as far as 1 can recall
hora never seen any thing ike 1T
under the Sun
T,ne workers OF Durham are paid
more than a quarter of u million dol
,@rs q month. to say nothing OF what
| : naid 10 invested capital in the way
of diyidends. and to say nothing OF
| ubat j. paid TO farmers for tobacco
and cotton. and to say nothing OF what
;s Maid for freights and for the other
Incidental expenses OF carrying on
rraat producing line OF industries, and
tbe whole gigantic structure that pays
tho bill is based on the products OF
the farms of the county.
As far aS / could see about the only
things that Durham uses that it does
M. produce is electric current and
Ubr,catins oil
Primarily the community was a to-
baeco town Then because it needed
cotton sacks TO hold the tobacco 1t
became a cotton manufacturing town.
The tobacco used in the factories IS
raised in the eighborhood. Day after
day wagons drive into Durham haul
ing leaf tobacco to the warehouses,
and day after day wagons drive from
the warehouses hauling the leaf to
the factories No packing in hogs
heads for shipment. no expense OF
gathering and transferring and pack
ages Simply move the baskets in
which the leaf is exposed on the floor
~ NO 81 1t-h
away 10 age until ii is needed for the
factory
When Durham began to pack to-
bacco extensively the Durham tobacco
folks built cotton mill to make the
sacks to pack the tobacco in. So 9
cotton mill industry started here, anC
the cotton mill, like the tobacco fac
tory, goes to the farm in the vicinity
10 obtain the raw material for the
mill Durham farms make the raw
material and Durham factories worl
II up. and when the finished produc
Is loaded on the cars for shipment i
Is a commodity raised in the county
manufactured in the town, produced
by the people of the community, man
uiactured in the town by the peopl
oil the community, for Durham wa
made by folks from the surrounding
country. and il is Durham clean u
from the first principles TO the banl
thdt handles the exchange that pay
Tor The cargo of tobacco shipped t
NINA Atrlca. South America, or tn
Pacific islands.
II there Is another town in the cour
uy so completely established on it
own resources | do not recall it. Bu
that IS only half of the story. TIL
O'het nail Is just as remarkable. an
possibly more so.
Durian's Back Country.
'He day Maj. w. A. Guthrie We
,'iAuE mp the street and he was az
uS''o ey a stranger of good appear
V' ,L VINO stopped him to ask som,
.lH- about the town. Il see tn;
80 80 nave mere quite q community
sla the stranger, "but I am disaJ
p''u'ed IN your back country. Whel
town" 0ppoi' 9o'
s, N"J"f Guthrie was taken by IL
tIISef appearance, and he el
NJ INTO conversation with the ma
CO. "" proved 10 be from Chicago. Tt
CbiS' man spoke commendingly
tai0e1o ti,v"So ana the big West that su
a." me town but he could not u
gra'''u ''l'u what made Durham a pr
SreSS.ve place and again referred
It's back country.
nC",'Jor Guthrie finally said to hi
ub1. with me and l will show "
gs'E t our back country is" 7
To-" 'ney went down to one Of t
Ger vo factories and there the stra
Hnn"w saw cases and cases marked t
sn,,7 hong, Honolulu, The Punial
niern ni''@tfa' e.!' Cape Town, Rio de j
b,ro Sitha. Stockholm. St. Peter
whssro Cnicago, and nobody can t
VIII N said the Major, "you s
tho gu our back country is" And
tnnsJ te.lsef nodded the Major &C
'n'c2eo and all the rest of