Year: 1872

Prior to the war the prosperity Of the South


was proverbial. The earth bountifullv WELD
ed her increase, the whole world stood ready


to bid for II, and the gains of the Southern
country were proportIOnately large. These


gains were invested in negroes. and by this


accession of labor the productive capacity Of
the country was year by year increased. La


Dor produced capital, and capital increase ed


labor, each augmentlng in turn the other, and


both combined heaping up an enormous ag-


gregation of wealth. Since the war this has


been changed. Labor still produces capital


but capital can no longer find an inveSt tment in


labor A new outlet for Southern surplus is


necessary, and as each recurring season dem


onstrates more and more clearly that the an
cient prosperity of the South is revving, the


need OF some such outlet becomes more appa-


rent. What shall that outlet be- We answer


that Southern capital must henccforth seek in


vestment in Southern securities. Railroads


are needed and the bonds OF those roads must


be at once profitable and safe Cotton manu-


featuring is extending itself, and factory


shares must present desirable openings. Mu-


inequalities are growing and on the credit of


thriving towns and cities well founded re-


lance may be placed. State after State is re-


verting from alien hands to the control Of its


own people, and in such change a guarantee


of future honesty and caution appears Take


the South over, and the opportunities OF in


vestment are commensurate with the general


demand.


To be safe and to be profitable are the prime


requisites of an investment, and Southern


capital can find these requisites better ut home


than abroad. Take for instance the case of


some Northern railroad. What can any South


ern stakeholder know of the real condition OF


that road? Its distance forhids any personal


observation He knows neither the value of


the property nor the reliability of its mana


gers, save from hearsay, and IS thus compelled


to rely exclusively upon others for the safety


and increase of its capital. From the neces-
sity of the case, the Southern holder of North l.


ern securities is where the English owners Of


Erie were lately disclosed to be. His money


iS Loo oI hx-c ctpssr, ,tI,


their sweet Will, and resent impU-


dent intrusion any effort on his part to know


the condition and prospects of his own prop


erty. How different where the Southener has


his capital in Southern securities. The prop
erty is, as it were in the hollow Of his own


hand. 1t lies at his very door, and the slight
est circumstance affecting its value is appa-
rent to him at once. He sees for himself, and
is not obliged to rely implicitly on the obser-
vation of others. On the score of safety there
is everything to recommend a Southern over a
Northern security, and just in proportion as
an investment is safe ust in that proportion
is it really profitable


Butto facilitate the investment of Southern
capital in Southern securities market Is ne
cessary, and Augusta is beyond question that
mart. 1t is pre-eminently solid place. Its
reputation now and before the war is without


a stain In the days of the old Stale banks
Augusta money had the public confidence from
Virginia to Texas, and in the sale of the ante
bellum railroad bonds of Mississippi. Tennes-
see and Alabama possessed a virtual monOp-
DIV Since the war this distinguished finan-
cial character has not been lost. As shown by
the tax returns there are more than double the
amount of securities held in Augusta than in


any other city in Georgia, and unless New
Orleans be exception, and this is doubtful,
Augusta is the largest market for Southern
securities in the Southern States. II IS more
over the largest cotton manufacturing centre
in the South and possesses railroad interest
of the soundest and most promising impor-
tance. Further still ii is one Of the largest
intsrior cotton markets in the South, and since
the establishment Of the Exchange its facili-
ties for the management of cotton, both for i'm
mediate and future delivery, have greatly in
creased. With these attributes 1t Is marked
GU. as beyond all question the great financial
market of the South, and in the Augusta EX-
change appears the instrumentality for the
accomplishment Of its manifest destiny. Al
ready, though the institution is but IN its IN
fancy its operations have that so1idity which
peculiarly distinguishes Augusta, and already
an influx of capital seeking investment
through its agency indicates at once how great
| is the need of such market and how fully
| the Exchange is recognized meeting that
requirement. The excellence eff the guaran-
| tee given the Exchange by the reputation Of
| the business men composing II we need not
| enlarge on. To use commercial phrase, the
advertisement is made by the signatures ap-
| pended 10 il the shniest kind Of gilt edged
Daper