The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1870-01-06
COTTON .
VALUE OF HIRED
AND PURCHASED LABOR IN
PRODUCING COTTON.

The difference between hired and purchased
labor, in producing cotton, is worthy Of serious
consideration. We have reached an imror-
tant crisis in the cotton trade. The advent OF
q new year finds the cotton markets OF the
world with serious deficiency. The eqti-
librium between supply and consumption has
been more greatly disturbed than at any other
period Of that trade.
The history Of the cotton trade is susceptible
of fourfold division, by which greater meth
cd and clcarncss in the discussion Of the sub
ject will be attained.
T. THE INVENTION OF TIE COTTON GIN, which
led to general extension OF the cotton clil-
ture Of the United States. In the interval be-
tween 1900 and 1910, there was no interruption
to the G. owth, notwithstanding the war OF
1872 which so diminished the European de-
mand, leading to such depression and decline
in the United States that middling upland cot
ton sold in the Southern ports tor SIN cents per
pound. ,,..,-.
III. THE ACQUISITION OF COTTON TERRITORY
to a prodigious extent, by The purchase of
Louisiana and the cession by Georgia and Ten
ncssee out of which was formed the States OF
Alabama and Mississippi, which led TO an cX-
tensve emigration Of planters from Southern
Atlantic regions to those more productive lands
of the West and Southwest, to which they car
ried their skill and capital. adding prodigous-
ly to the agricultural resources OF that Sec
ton, and the augmentation OF the cotton crop.
Iii. TIE GOLD DISCOVERIES OF 1913. This
remarkable event, iu connection with the OK
tension of free trade, gave an extraordinary
impulse both to the supply and consumption Uf
cotton. The production of the United States
in ls59-'6O was 5,000,O 600 bales. Prices did not
regularly follow these transactions There
were considerable fluctuations at short perl
ods, but the general improvement received no
material interruption between 1850 anu lSGO.
These discoveries led to an epoch that de-
serves to be considered historical. The aug
mentation Of the cotton crop up TO this period
had been regularly progressive In the United
States Coeval apparently with those dlscov-
cries, the growth assumed the large figure in
1860 Of 6, ,2GO, 900 bales, with an average in
crease in five years of 100000 bales. The
tour years of our civil contlict-lS6l to 1865
were blank in the history Of the American
cotton trade.
". TnE Civil. WAR The last of these
changes eliminated in q sectional contest which
has been accompanied with arrangement OF
labor without parallel in the history Of the
trade. and disturbance of the relations be-
tween supply and consumption OF magnitude
that threatens its subrcrsion.
This brief historical survey leads to The fol-
lowing conclusions:
!. In periods of about ten years there was
progressive increase OF the United States cot
ton crop, Of about three per cent. per annuln,
1.-THE ratio Of increase of the slave populationl
except at those periods we have denomlnated
cpochs in the cotton trade, such as the invcn-
tion of the cotton grin, the acquisition OF large
bodies Of land by purchase, AND the gold dis
coyeries, which gave an extraordinary Stlmu-
lus to the cotton cultivation.
Between 1910 and 1850 The annual crop OF
cotton ranged between two and three millions
of bales. From 1850 10 1850 from three 10 lOllf
millions. and such was the progressive IN
crease, that fthe civil war had not INTERVIEWED,
the product would in 1870 have reached six
millions of bales So closely had the price
followed the increase Of quantity that, making
allowance for the fluctuations Of price from
temporary causes, the average price has
advanced showing the extraordinary pros
perity of the cotton trade.
2. In shorter periods where there were
great fluctuations of price, they were attrlGu-
table either to war, which greatly lesSened the
demand, or to general stagnation OF trade,
while the failure of crops was invariably pro-
duced by panical causes, such as drought, cX-
cessye rains, too early or too late ir0sts, In
sccts, &C., leading most generally to specula-
tions, followed by reaction of prices, panic and
insolvency.
1QeTC Is u olIIhltl5 SoihSiuSuCS W" wa
these alternations in the cotton trade and those
periods called commercial crises. The most
remarkable of these occurred in 1926, and
which was followed, in somewhat regular or
der, by panics in 1857, lS47 and 1881. Inc
period which has since elapsed, 1t Is thought,
has been pregnant with the materials of an
other financial explosion, indicating similar
crisis and catastrophe. were it not, perhaps,
that the system of private credit Is not SO eX-
Aal aS m fhnSn rpc0ilS.
Before entering into those more general
considerations connected with this subject, we
offer 'Comparative view of the expense OF
producing and the market value Of cotton nn,
der the two systems of purchased and hired
labor"
PURCHASED LABOR.
Let us suppose middling planter, the pos
sessor @ of sos acres Of land, average fertility,
and GO hands, rs of which are workers, for
which he has paid $500 round. 49,. $4,000 90
Interest at per cent. per an ---.-oo