THE COTTON TRADE AND FACTORIES.
A. D. 1878.
1873.
Previous to the introduction of Whitney's cotton gins there
had been much attention bestowed by the people of the State upon
the cultivation of flax. This crop was never reared for
exportation, but for family use at home. Few of the ancient
spinning-wheels can now be found, but they were once abundant
and the manufacture of home made linen was common in North
Carolina. This was even more the case than is now the
preparation of woolen fabrics upon the handlooms of the families.
2. So soon as the lint cotton was cheaply separated from its
seed, the great question of its universal use was solved. It
could be so easily produced that no woolen or linen fabrics
could hope to compete with it in the markets of the world. The
good women of the State soon learned the economy of buying the
cotton warp of the cloth wove at the farmhouses, but it was long
before even this common domestic necessity was prepared for use
in the South.
3. The cotton yarns were, until about 1840, almost all spun in
New England and bought by the merchants in the large cities when
laying in their semi-annual supplies of goods for the retail
trade. The purchase of slaves and the cultivation of cotton so
completely absorbed the energies of our people that no one
invested capital in anything else, except, perhaps, some who
preferred real estate for such a purpose.
4. But even before the civil war and the liberation of the
slaves there were wise men who urged the propriety and profit of
cotton mills in the South. Since the war there has been an
immense development of this industry, and now the sound of the
loom and spindle may be beard throughout the State. Hundreds of
persons are employed in a single one of the cotton mills. In
this way not only the wealth but the population of the section
is increased by bringing in new settlers. The railways find
added employment, and in some cases private residences are seen
that are rural paradises in the beauty and comfort of their
appointments. There is, in some of the western counties, large
capital invested in mills for the manufacture of woolen yarns
and cloth, from which satisfactory profits are realized.
Another one of the important industries of the State is the
manufacture of paper. The daily and weekly newspapers of North
Carolina are now largely supplied with printing papers by the
mills of the State. The first paper mill in North Carolina was
erected near Hillsboro, in 1778; the second one was built at
Salem, in 1789, by Gotleib Shober.
5. North Carolina has ever been slow to change in the habits of
her people. The ways of their forefathers always seem best to
most of them until abundant example has shown the wisdom of an
innovation. Steam, however, is usurping a place in every
species of labor and motion. The great seines of Albemarle
Sound, the printing press, the cotton gin and nearly everything
else is now obedient to the tireless energies of this great motor.
6. When North Carolina shall have developed her system of
transportation so that the coal and iron mines shall be more
largely worked, and when, as now in Vermont, not only cotton but
woolen factories shall be found in every section where such
staples are produced; then, and not until then, will the
civilization of the State be complete. They who merely produce
raw material will ever be "hewers of wood and drawers of water"
to others who prepare such things for market.
7. Second alone in importance to the State at large, after the
cotton factories, are those devoted to the handling and
preparation of tobacco for the market. The western powers of
Europe had, for many years, realized immense revenues by means
of their imports and monopolies of the Virginia weed, before the
government of the United States ever realized a dollar from all
the vast production of this crop in the different States. So,
too, in North Carolina, enterprise and capital had remained
almost completely blind to the possibilities of the situation.
8. Though great quantities of tobacco had been grown in many of
the counties, and the soil and climate were suited to the
production of the finest and costliest grades, yet the farmers
were content to raise such as commanded but humble prices, and
but a small proportion of this was prepared for use in the
vicinity of its production. In a few villages and on some of
the farms were to be found small factories, which, with the
rudest appliances, converted into plugs of chewing tobacco such
portions of the crop of the neighborhood as could be probably
sold from itinerant wagons.
9. These vehicles were sent to the eastern counties and even to
portions of South Carolina and Georgia, to supply the farms and
country stores. This traffic continued until the strong arm of
the Federal government, by means of "Internal Revenue Laws," was
interposed between the peddlers and their ancient profits. The
bulk of the crop was sent, before this, to be manufactured at
Richmond, Lynchburg and Danville, in Virginia. The fine brands
of plug and all smoking tobacco used in North Carolina were
received from these cities.
10. If he who adds to the number of grass blades is a public
benefactor, then the creators of new industries and towns may
well claim consideration along with the warrior and statesman.
In many towns and vast productions are modern States enabled to
sustain the great and costly appliances of our new civilization.
With the railroad and factory come population and those
advantages that can never be enjoyed by the people who lack
numbers and wealth.
QUESTIONS.
1. What was a principle crop in North Carolina before the
cotton gin was invented? What is said of the cultivation of flax?
2. Why did the production of cotton so rapidly take the place of flax?
3. How did the people invest nearly all their means?
4. What can you tell of the various cotton factories?
5. Why have not our people entered more largely into this class of industry?
6. What better future prosperity is yet to be attained by the State?
7. What other great industry is now considered?
8. What had been the production in North Carolina?
9. What is said of the tobacco peddlers?
10. What sentiment animates the people of North Carolina?