The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1867-09-20
Cotton and Capital.

| It is common saying that cotton IS gold In
one sense it is true Other products are not golu,
| that is not exchangeable for gold because tney
are not available for export. Northern writers
sometimes boast Of the enormous value OF the nay
crop. But double or treble the yield OF nay, what
could be done with it The excessive supply
would only have the effect OF reducing tne niafses
value. Tt is tho bulky to bear exports to foreign
countries for the cost Of its transportation would
be more than it's value when it reached market.
This has been illustrated in our immediate VI
| cinity, with one Of our own staples. Inc time
has been when the price OF molasscs III New
Orleans would not repay the planter for the outlay
for barrels and transportationnay, harcly LOT the
| barrels alone. This applies as wen 10 mLh{ otne5
articles of produce. The people OF the uniteo
States might be overwhelmed by an excess OF pro-
duction, and yet, from similar good fortune among
| transatlantic. nations, they might have nothlng
that they could proftaby e1port-hothlnS that
| had an exchangeable worth. Cotton on the con-
lrary, from its little bulk and universal ytlue, is
to pay for foreign products, which it may be @ our
interest to import. In this view cotton IS gold.
Gold, the product Of the mine, is gold, the ex-
changeablo value. But although gold rs gold, II
up from The creeks and picked up iii tlo disHins5
But it requires capital even 10 scoop and PICK up.
/ The miner must have his subsistence his cloth
| ing his shelter his tools, all furnished heIore
hand. Without the capital Tor food, ralment, rool
and nick, he cannot be brought to the diggings
| and set to work. Gold may exist in ever such
masses below the surface, economically speaking,
il is not gold until labor has brought 1t forth ana
made it available for exchanges. 1t is not the gold
of commerce.
And 30 with cotton. The cotton States may have
the capacity for the production OF fonr and hall
million Of bales But OF What avail Is IL 10 theni
unless like tho iners .aey have tho SUBSISTENCE,
| clothing. tools and labor to bring it forth. NOW
ali these require capital-require gold-and with
out them the production OF cotton IS lmpossiooec; oc
| Let as see what is wanted 70 make available loo
bales cotton, even where the plantation is already
stocked and furnished with all the necessary I'M
make 100 bales will require the labor Of twenty-five
hands. The pork corn, ETC., for these twenty-five
hands can hardly rbe set down at less than sloOo
| The food for the cattle would amount to Soou.
The wear and tear of the machinery ana s.ans sane
The subsistence for the necessary servants Oh Lne
oyerseer or planter would be about S8OO. Ihe
wages of 20 laborers, at s15 per month, ior ten
working months wonld be $3.50. Now, without IN
Guiding rent OF interest on the value Of the panta
tim and stock here is total OF s7150. The pay
ment of this arnount-the advancing OF this capt.
tails condition precedent to the making OF the
crop. II the planter has his land, his lmple
hand.all ready and in working condition
still he cannot cultivate and pick his crop
without obtaining tho additional capital neces-
sary for the purpose. He formerly, got II from from
| his factor. His factor contributed part from
| his own capltal auu pSie ho jain "S
| tions. For this there was ample, security There
Was the value Of the land and slaves, the reh-
ance nhich would be placed on ultimate proouc-
ton because the labor could be relied on, tne re-
sponsibity of the planter, and finally the credt OF
the factor All Of these available to secure the
banker, and the capital was accordingly Iorth-
| coming. Now there is no slave value tor
basis. The labor of hired freedmen rs hoto-
riously unreliabe. Without labor the plantation
| is worthless. Therefore the plantation furnishes
| no satisfactory security. From all these causes
ultimate production becomes doubtful Hence, the
| growing crop cannot be relied, on. With such
| general unreability the planters responsibility
Tanishes. For the same cause the factors credit
lis diminished Itis not manifest, then, that COTTON
undeyeloped is not gold, any more than gold Is Inc
gold of commerce, until placed in the market by
| the aid of capital.
| II 100 bales require an advance OF S7l50, crop
of q 500 900 will need $118 10000. The expenses
| of transporting the crop to market, the lmpoltlc
and restrictive excise, the charges of factorsge-
even the balng and tiesas well as the rent or inter-
est ON the original Investment in tho plantation are
all omitted in the above, because they may be
| promptly collected from the net proceeds, pro-
vided the crop Is promptly sold on its arrival But
| without these, nearly two hundred mlhons OF ac-
tive capital are required to enable the Soutn 10
raise a two and half million crop. Supposips
that moiety of this sum is furnished from the
resources of the trade $50 00O 600 is still wanted
Hence it is that the South needs capital, and that
| the manufacturers, merchants and ship owners OF
the North and Great Britain are directly interested
i in supplying the want Without furnishing the
| capital they Will not get the cotton.
| [NetU Orleans Prices CarTent.