The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1880-08-24
COTTON IS KING.


Ia the days of slavery cotton was king,
and to dethrone the Heecy monarch the ne
groes were set free The south was too pros
porous; her people too lordly and indie
pendent, and aristocratic, and elegant, and
all because cotton was king They must be
humbled, and humbled they were. The
negroes were set free; want and penury was
the portion Of thousands and thousands
who had been rich and never known
q desire unsatsfed. Desolation and misery
reared their affairs throughout all the south
land, anguish filed the hearts of strong men,
and women were bowed down in agony Of
heart, and weeping and waiing filed the
homes of the southern people for their loved
and lost who slept on the cory fields of battle
where they had died in front of the invader.
With spirits bowed down with sorrow, hands
that knew not the cunning of toll went brsvely
to work to rebuild the fortunes that were
shattered. Bravely has the work gone on
for fifteen years, aud again is the south smil-
ing under a generous prosperity, again is
there plenty on every hand, again is cotton
king. He cannot be dethroned; the world
cannot do without him. Stop the looms
and spindles of Europe and of this country
and commerce comes to halt, count
less thousands of people starve to
death and millions 60 naked .
AS time has sped on since the days of slavery
the full value of cotton has begun to be
more and more understood and appreciated.
In ante bellum days cotton was valued only
for the fiber. Only its fiber was known to
be of use for thread and for cloth, but now
the seed is beirg utilized. Oil mills are
springing up all over the south TO express
the oil from the seed, the refuse being used
for fertilizing purposes and as food for
stock. This oil is used for lubricating
machinery and a great deal of it is shipped
70 Europe, where it undergoes a
refining process, and then it is sent back to
grace the tables of our epicurean friends in
the north as genuine olive oil. Mr.. Edward
Atkinson, in recent paper, says that the
value of cotton seed is as yet an unknown
quantity. The fact is, on y Il small portion
of the seed crops utilized. If that which is
now wasted was used as that small portion
which goes to the mills is treated,
the result would be enormous, I'M
less Mr. Atkinson greatly errs in his figures.
The crop this year is estimated in round
numbers, at 100000 bales, and reserving
enough seed to plant next years crop and
there will be left 100000 tons Of cotton
seed Mr.. Atkinson says this will produce
9O,0OO,OO0 gallons of oil, 100000 tons of
oil cake or meal, 1,500,0 coo tons of hulls, from
which recent experiments 60 to show $780,
900 tons of paper may be made, or if not
used for paper, the hulls can
be converted into cake for stock food,
making in all 100000 tons of that
product. Suppose a sheep'raiser has
to feed his focks six months
in the year; one ton of this food will
keep FIVE sheep fat for these six months, or,
in other words, what is now wasted from the
cotton gin or the cotton press would keep
from 100000 to 20,C00,00O sheep, which
would enrich the soil instead of impoverish-
ing it, There are the conclusions of Mr.. At
knsen. OF course all calculations on paper
are more OF less rose eolored, but if one
half of his calculations can be
realized, it shows that by wise management
cotton becomes an emperor instead of king,
a mighty monarch, before whom all people
must bow in abject homage. The southern
people are beginning to realize that a u,il-
izaton of the raw material at home is more
remunerative than sending it abroad. To
raise the cotton and convert it into spun
yarn pays better than to sell the cotton, and
in few years this will be the practice all
over this section. Yes, cotton is king-just
as lordly monarch as he was in the days of
slavery, and the south is his home.