Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-05-24

ION pfouucblOn constantly oA Tap Win
many of the so-called agricultural papers of
the South. Suppose we of the Southern
states had never heard OF cotton, and that
it had suddenly dawned upon us that there
was within our possibilities of production
to perfection such a crop as the cotton
crop-don't you know we'd all be cup in
arms" and wild over it, We'd at once pro-
claim it the great Moses that was to lead Us
out of the wilderness But now that it is
here, and well understood, and known to be
the greatest crop of the world secured to US
by local conditions, as it were, we sit back.
fold our hands and honor il after the ira
ditional plan of honoring a prophet in his
own country. This is all wrong, and the
writer of agricultural literature for the
South who opposes the production of cot
ton, and all the cotton it is possible for
US to produce, is simply directing his eff
forts against the best interests of our sec
ton Of country. Cotton is the very saliva
ton of the Southern section of our common
country. It gives Us a special advantage
over all other sections and over the entire
face of the globe, for that matter. Other
portions of the world may produce cotton,
and do produce cotton, yet we really have
the crop as monopoly, owing to the fact
that no other country can produce as good
cotton as can the Southern United States of
America. Our cotton always rides in on
the top of the market. leaving the product
of other parts of the world to get in at best
it can after our supply has been exhausted.
If we could produce enough of the staple to
supply all countries of the civilized world
incapable of producing cotton, no cotton
would be produced anywhere else save
possibly in small quantities for local con-
sumption.
1t is therefore our duty and to our inter-
est to encourage cotton culture rather than
throw cold water upon it, as many are do
ing. Cotton is simply clear advantage
peculiarly OR own. We can raise most of
the common products raised in the other
states of the Union, and do it with as much
profit as results to any of them from the
same crops. If we confined ourselves TO
those crops we would have to compete
against the whole country, but we have no
competition in cotton and never can have.
Let US, therefore, encourage cotton cult
ure in Texas. At present not one-tenth of
our best cotton lands are devoted to the
crop. Let US hope to see every acre of this
land yielding bale of the feecy staple,
after enough land has been put to other
crops to give US our needed home provision
supplies. There need be no fears of over
,ati cd 1aor 70
at the lowest possible figures.
We hope it will be understood that we
are referring to our best cotton lands only.
We are not advocating the conversion of all
Texas into one unbrOken cotton plantation.
We have immense areas of land well suited
to cotton production, and immense areas of
land better suited to the production of other
crops. Our notion is that the land and
other conditions best suited to the produc-
ton of some particular crop should be spe-
c::ally devoted to that crop, and that there
should appear no kind of opposition to such
devotion. The stale plea of possible over
production is childish, to say the least of it.
While most persons let it pass, and appear
to think there might be such a thing as
overproduction, every mans actions prove
that he don't believe word of it. If man
believed that there was danger of overpro-
duction why would he be so anxious to find,
as a location, the most productive regions
known, or to possess himself of the most
productive lands to be had2 With cheap
production there can be no overproduction
of any staple product.