The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1870-02-12
Cotton.

prices obtained for cotton AFTER
the close Of the war, the South
must have relapsed into a hope
less poverty, and her whole terri
tory become a wilderness. There
is no example in history of a more
complete overwhelming revolution
than that which followed the sub
iugation of the South and the
emancipation of it's slaves. The
rapid progress we have made since
the close eff the warts often brought
forward as full proof of the bene-
fetal effects Of free labor; and
many of our people give their ap-
prevail to this illogical conclusion.
On the contrary, the monopoly of
cotton production, which was the
result of slave labor, was the sole
means of resurrecting the South.
Slavery built upon the cotton mo-
nopoly, and the cotton monopoly
has saved the South from a terri
BILE fate. Had we prior to the
war diversified our industry and
raised a variety of products, or
had we devoted our attention to
the cultivation of cereals, or any
thing else that the rest of the
world can easily produce, our
post bellum history would have
been perhaps the most appalling
in the annals Of mankind, and an
entire century would scarcely haze
repaired the waste.
But our fortune came forth
from our misfortune. The down
fall of slavery enhanced the value
Of our great staple to almost fabu-
lous prices, and under every diff
Guilty the planter has been enabled
to regain a portion Of what he has
lost. The time which has elapsed
since the war has been ample tC
develop the course of cotton fol
at least the next decade. The la
bored and valuable annual circu
lars, of the most intelligent Liver
pool firms, whose whole time is
employed in watching the staple
now come over to us all bearing
the same good tiding to the South
ern planter. The statistics of tht
past year teach a lesson Of en-
couragement to our people, ant
ally the fears Of cheap cotton.-
They do not support the views o
those who sneer at the efforts o
England to build up rivals in othe
countries, but they do establish
the fact that the South may We
retain the scepter.
That high prices check con
sumption is abstractly true; bu
the condition of the world ha
been and continues to be such
that the manufacturer, to suppl,
the growing demand for the pro
: ducts Of his loom, may well affort
: to pay present rates. for the ray
material. The whole world a
peace, the intrepid industry @
commerce opening new fields 9
) enterprise, and cheap breadstuff
over the whole globe, all push o
consumption and maintain price
: which somewhat astonish thos
most familiar with the trade
Notwithstanding an increase i
4 the yield of the world, there wi
not be a surplus at the end of al
ether year, as the trade will r.
I quire 100000 to $4,000 bale
S more during 1870 than in 1869.
! The most important consider;
u tons which upon the steady e.
:. tension of cotton culture in I'll
;. South is the maintenance of pI
ces. That the incoming crop
/ the largest the South can produt
with her available labor seems
admit of little doubt; but the gre;
9 law of labor, that which tends
S equalize the profits Of every brand
- of husbandry, will at no distal
= day supply the present deficienc
.. The supply of cotton to be o
q tanned from other sources than o
own fields seems to have abo
l. reached its highest point. In l
dia, though an increase is expe'
ed from the extended area und
s cotton, yet she stands in dang
of famine from the scarcity
breadstuffs. The imports in
s. Great Britain from the East Indi
s during 1869 more 12,340 bal
less than in 1867, and 351 $50 le
III than in 1866. Receipts Of Braz
is ian staple were short oflast ye;
- and there is not so much hope O
large increase in that directiC
Egypt gives signs of having reat
. ed her acme. The West Ind
= are not making much progre
u Turkey and Greece show a har