The patron of husbandry. (Columbus, Miss.) 1875-1883, 1879-08-23
FACTS ABOUT COTTON-IMPOR-
TANT To THE SOUTH. fs#


utmost value, every product before expor-
tation. The cotton fibre, as fabric, is the
most useful and valuable of all staples, and
is used by all nations, from the savage to
the most civilized. 1t can only be pro-
duced in 10 of the 80 States of the Union,
IN which it is produced of better quality
than IN any other country. The product
tor the last two years was about 4, soc, 900
bales each. It's value at $40 per bale
would be about $ISo,ooo,ooo for the raw
cotton. Two-thirds of a crop sells for as
much as a full crop. The price rises and
falls as the crop is small or large.
Cotton is the most valuable of all our
exports.
There is no money in growing cotton
only. 1t is unwise to rely upon single
crop, the failure of which causes utter
ruin. The producer should make his own
food and clothing. No people are indie
pendent who do not. Cotton would pay
well if grown only as a surplus crop. The
South can produce every article of prime
necessity, except coffee and spices.
If farmers and planters would diversity
their labor and crops, producing first of
all the necessaries Of life, deyoting only
their surplus time and labor to cotton,
they would convert their cotton into yarns
before shipping, itwould add I25 per cent
to its value-equal to tS225, ,ooo-an-
nually. f~...-.t III ..a...-..z ....--. .---s.-
Large fortunes are made by middle men
in handling cotton. Immense riches have
been accumulated in New and Old Eng
land by manufacturing the staple.
The Southern producer is bankrupt, and
remains SO. The population of New Eng
land are mostly manufacturers. The pop
u1ation of the South almost entirely agri-
cultural. The enormous protective tariffs,
of about 40 per cent, in favor of manufac
turers, operates very injurlously to the
South. Many millions of dollars are an
nually collected by the Government from
the masses (mostly producersJ for the
benefit of manufacturers.
Protection should only be extended to
manufacturing in its incipiency, when, if
it cannot sustain itself, or if labor in other
directions is more profitable, the duties
should be removed, as they are oppressive
to the masses, unjust to the consumers,
fostering an unwise application of force,
and falsely taxing industries. When the
South diversiies her labor, utilizes her
water power, develops her vast mineral
resources, manufactures her forests of tim
Der and great staple, her interests would
be assimilated, identified, with those of
the North: then, protective tariffs would
not operate so unjustly; there would be
no antagonizing interest. We would have
not only nuiou but unity.
The South manufactures annually about
100000 bales of cotton; the North. manu-
features about I,Ioo,o 900, and Europe takes
the balance, about 100000 bales.
The conditions to success in manufac
turing are: cheap raw material, motive
power, labor, food, skill. and capital. The
South has all these in great abundance,
except the last, which can be supplied by
combination. She has abundant and more
reliable water power, cheaper land build
ing material, labor, food, fuel, shorter and
milder winters than the North, and, more
than all, full supply of unchanged law
cotton on every farm. 1t costs to prepare
seed cotton fo1- transportation about $500
per bale, and the expenses, perquisites,
speculations, dryage, wasteage and steal
age, on a bale of cotton III tn,ausitu from
the gin to the picker-room of New Eng
land factory, will average about $I7,
which added to the cost of ginning, bal
ing, bagging, ties, ETC.. as above, So, is SIS
per bale from the field to the factory, and
if sent to Europe the expense will be $40
or $I2 more. The price first paid for
a bale of cotton is predicated on
the price, or prospects of the price,
in some great cotton mart; all these
expenses are anticipated, and the proper
allowance made in the first purchase of
the cotton, even, for the bagging and ties,
for the Manchester spinner buys only the
net cotton, nevertheless it would be diff
cult matter to find farmer who did not
believe he got more for his bagging and
ties, in selling his cotton, than they cost
him. ...e f..,.-...--s .f.....s ..=...
Henry, writer on this subject, says:
sThe expenses and losses by damages
and waste, which bale of cotton is sub
iected to from the time it leaves the plan
tation until it reaches Manchester and is
converted into yarns, the planter in effect
paws all loses, (although he may sell it at
his gin house and receive pay for its actual
weight there which arises in this way:
The price paid for it in this country is
predicated on the price or prospective
price in our ports, and the prices in our
ports on those of Liverpool, and that in
Liverpool on the price the manufacturer
at Manchester will give for it, and the
manufacturer at Manchester predicates
the price he will give for it on the weights
of yarn the one hundred pounds of cotton
will produce, or, in other words, deducts
the waste accruing during its manufacture
from the price he will pay. So that every
expense, charge and loss by damage or
waste, that occurs from the time the cot
ton leaves the plantation until it is con-
verted into yarns in Manchester, is de-
Quoted by the buyers. But, say you, how
does the buyer arrive atthis9 1t is by
long experience and repeated calculations
that he arrives at the average of these
items, and which he deducts; and it is re-
markable how unerring they appear to
be, land should there be an error, it is not
likely to be in favor Of the planter.) For
example, if you could shoot one hundred