The republic., 1851-07-09
Crusade against Cotton.

Crusade against Cotton.
Philosopher GREELEY went to the Worlds
Fair with many philanthropic purposes in his
teemng brain.
He desired to cooperate with the cosmopo-
Titan socialists He has conferred at Exeter
Hall with abolitonists upon the most etfectuaI
method Of rendering odious that portion of hls
fellow citizens who have the misfortune TO look
upon slavery with the least grain Of allowance;
and having been fortunate enough to find ne
gro who did not object, he has given crowning
proofo his triumph over every prejudice Of color
by walking the streets of London arm and arm
with his colored friend. But these demonstra-
tuns of hostility TO the Compromise are but
trifes to the blow which this savan meditates
against the institution of slavery.
He proposes to supersede the great Ameri-
can staple by what he styles the ''Flax-cotton
revolution" For this purpose he publishes a
long essay upon the manufacture of cheap fab
RIGS from flax, which he alleges can be made
much cheaper than out of cotton. True, he
seems disappointed with the European machine
~; but derives encouragement from the fact
that NJ CLAUssEN has discovered a cheap
chemical solvent of the fibre whereby its
coarseness and harshness are removed, and
the fneness and softness of cotton are induced
: in their stead. Moreover, where warmth is
desirable in the fabrics contemplated, the
staple is made to resemble wool quite closely,
and proves the adaptation of the fibre to almost
every use now subserved by cotton or wool"
Having assured himself that flax will answer
every purpose to which these two great staples
are applied, the philosopher next proceeds to
consider the important question, twlll II payF'
And, after expatating upon the ease and abun-
dance with which flax can be produced, arrives
at the somewhat dubious conclusion that unless
cheaper fabric, all things considered, can be
produced from flax cotton than from the Mis-
sissippi staple, these facts are Of little worth"
But, upon this question of cost, he gives US
the testimony of the gentleman who medicates
the flax, which we extract. He says:
'sTLs fax-straw, the ripe, dry plant it
comes from the field, with the seed taken off, may
be grown even here for SO per ten but he will
concede its cost for the present to be Sl5 per ton
delivered, it is necessary that liberal induce
Six tons of the straw flax in the bundle will yield
Of dressed and clean fiber the cost of dress-
ing which by his methods, to make it flax.
cotton, is $35 per ton. (Our superior western
machinery ought considerably to reduce this }
The total cost of the laxcoton, therefore, will be
Sl25 per ton, or six cents per pound, while flax
it comes from the field, is worth Sl5 per ton
should this come down to Sl0 per ton, the cost of
the fiber will be reduced to S95 per ton, or lees
than five cents per pound"
This brings the peripatetic opponent Of the
Compromise TO the comfortable belief that, "at
that rate, good field hands" must be rather
slow Of 'sale for cotton planting at 81 600
each, or even 500" M. CLAussEN has thus
removed the doubts intimated in the quotation
Immediately preceding, and made a convert Of
him to the superior economy Of the flax cotton
In another column the Tribune, from which
this letter is taken, contains an editorial article
in favor of protecting the present manufacturing
interests of the country.
We advert to this absurd project Of super
seding cotton with flax for the purpose of show
ing how enemies of the Union, North as well
as South, strive to impair its interests and
jeopardize its existence.
As the purpose of the ''fa1 cotton revolH
tion' is to supplant cotton as a raw material
and thereby destroy the value of slaves let US
consider whether it would produce that result
1t is but comparatively short period since the
culture of cotton was introduced; yet, preyiou:
to that period, slave labor was employed in the
culture of tobacco and grain. There were
more than fifty thousand north Of Maryland
before the revolution; we may infer, there
fore, that cotton is not indispensable 10 thu
employment of slave labor Since the intro
duction Of cotton, sugar has become an impor
tant American staple; this absorbs large
amount of slave labor. Possibly the phi6sophe
recommends that Hyde Park be set out in sugar
naples. and thus cut off this source Of slave
employment. The tobacco crop of the United
States is Increasing annually, and must b.
superseded. We suppose the substitute 70
this would be TO chew waste paper, whcl
would Of course, create an immediate de
mand for the Tribune and Times. limitation
rice would be more difficult TO accOmplish bu
Gallo ingenuity is adequate we imagine to an,
fraud upon the stomach and would provide
some succedaneum, which, being called Riz
la Greeley, would stop the production and re
store the lacustrine portions Of Georgia ant
South Carolina TO the serbonian condition de
scribed by the geologists.
But seriously, when slave States have a