The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1893-09-06
American Cotton Capacity.

The New York Sun shows that, exclu-
sive Of the cotton grown and consumed
in Asia, Africa, South America and
Mexico, the United States furnish rs per
cent. Of the worlds supply, the cotton OF
commerce. In 1870 it was go per cent,
the proportion having increased to Is per
cent. in twenty years, and this though
the American acreage shows no expan-
sion in recent years. The demand for
American cotton increases about per
cent. per annum. GAS here used the
term commercial supply includes the
quantities used by the mills Of the United
States, Canada, Europe and India, and
the quantities exported from India,
Egypt and the United States to China,
Japan and Mexico, Europe and India,
is consumed in the district ofgrowth. The
Sun has recently shown that India's
relative importance in supplying the
worlds progressively increasing require
ments for raw cotton dirninishes instead
of increases. This is true of all sources Of
supply except those of the United States
and Egypt"
The SM,,'s article concludes with the
following paragraph:
"If the population of European lineage
continue to increase as during the last
/
cotton at the same rate per capita, and If
we furnished no more than ~ per cent.
of the commercial supply, it will be ne
cessary to restore at once the 5000, 600
acres diverted to corn culture; to con-
vert 100000 acres more of Southern
grain fields into cotton bearing lanes, and
to add yearly more than 5000 acres to
the area under cotton. Is this practica-
BILE or even possible"
This is an astonishing statement, at
least surprising, to those who know the
South, even superfcially, and the extent
OF Southern cotton lands, that have never
felt the plow. There are millions on
millions of acres of these lands in the
very heart of Texas, that are either IN
broken prairie or rich river bottom,
along Trinity, Brazos and other streams
that flow through that great State. Any
one may convince himself of the truth of
what we say by simply riding on the rear
platform of train on any Texas railroad
when it is crossing the cotton region. 1t
is we'll understood by those who have
scientifically explored its territory, that
Texas is fully capable of producing the
equivalent Of the entire American crop,
and also enough Of the food and feed
crops to support population of l., 600, 900
SOu1Ss LuO COtgO4 SloP va AOAoo k1cAo AA-
creased from about 300, 900 bales in 1880
to 1000, 900 in 1892. Alongside this there
has been developed rapidly the produc-
ton of wheat, corn, sugar cane, rice, hay
and livestock. There are millions of
acres lying fallow, of as good wheat land
in the Panhandle region, as are now cul-
tivated, and other millions Of acres Of
fine corn lands all over Northern and
Central Texas.
Nor need we look to Texas alone for
virgin cotton lands. Vast areas lie in the
delta of the Mississippi river, on which
are standing immense forests Of the
finest timber in the world. Georgia,
Alabama, South and North Carolina and
Florida, have as much unused cotton
land as would make the whole crop they
now produce. The Southern States,
given the necessary population, the capi-
tai and the demand, will produce 20,O00,-
600 bales Of the staple, and besides raise
her own food, also millions OF dollars
worth of fruit, melons, truck, etc., to sell
to the people of the North. The assump-
ton that in order to increase the cotton
area of the section, grain, grass and the
lands devoted to other crops now must
be surrendered, is wild nonsense, known
for that and nothing else by every North
ern and Southern man, who knows the
South in anything approaching detail
Chattanooga TTadeSman.