The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-01-07

Eow the Nicaragua Canal Will Relp Us
Mr.. H G.. Hester. the secretary Of the
/ New Orleans Cotton Exchange, has pre-
/ pared for the president Of the New Orleans
Board of Trade an interesting and valuable
article showing the immense benefit tho
| Nicaragua canal would be 20 the United
| States
The canal would give US a short route TO
China and other eastern countries, which
consume a large amount Of manufactured
/ products. AT present this country gets a
very small percentage of that trade. Why
it does not get a much larger mare it is not
now necessary to explain.
For the year ending June 81, 1891, Eng
land exported to the British East Indies,
China, Japan and other eastern countries
manufactured cotton goods Of the value OF
$40 ,000. 900 During the same period the
United S ates exported to the same coun-
tries articles of the value Of $43. Sl4,0 900, OF
which sc ,496. 900 were agricultural prod
ucts and S37, 1918, 900 manufactured articles.
OF this t37,31s, 600 worth of manufactured
products, however, less than S9,0O0OO
worth were cotton fabrics.
Commenting on this condition Of affairs
Secretary Hester says: "While England
sends of the products of her looms and
spindles the worth of ore hundred aud
seventy odd millions of dollars TO clothe the
people Of the far east, we, who produce the
raw material in the greatest quantity and
under the most favorable circumstances,
send considerably less than one-twentieth
Of that amount" The Nicaragua canal
would make vast Improvement in our
competitive facilities. IL would give US a
great advantage over England, as 1t would
bring us much nearer the great consumers
of cotton goods. With such an advantage,
and with the lower tariff which the Demo-
cratic party has promised, this country
ought to be able to get a very large part Of
this eastern trade which is now about mo-
nopolized by England and other European
countries.
With the canal completed the manu-
featuring Of cotton goods in the southern
states would receive an immense impetus.
The bulk Of the cotton crop instead Of being
sent abroad to be manufactured for export
would, in all probability, be manufactured
in this country. In fact, it would be manu-
featured in proximity to the cotton fields.
In 1891 the cotton crop was over 10000
bales, and less than 8 100000 OF them were
consumed by the mills Of this country.
Over 100000 found a market abroad. 1t
carry two-thirds of the cotton we produce
thousands OF miles to her mills and then find
a market, for the products manufactured
from it. outside of her own limits. 80
1t is clear that we ought to manufacture
the greater part of our own cotton into
articles that are In demand the world over.
And the south should be the field for manu-
featuring. The number of her cotton mills
is steadily increasing, but the increase is
not nearly SO rapid as 1t shonld be- She
had 1914 mills and sol 900 spindles In 1880
and sos mills and 1893, 900 spindlss ip 1890
This increase is quite gratifying, but it is
not es great as it should have been, nor as
great as it is likely to be during the next few
years.
II We should manufacture the bulk Of our
cotton crop the price Of cotton would not
be dictated from Liverpool, and the prices
Of cotton manufactures would not be fixed
by English spinners.
The opening of the Nicaragua canal
would be followed by the investment Of
millions of dollars in the south in cotton
mills. The knowledge that we could reach
the markets Of the east sooner, and at less
cost, than they could be reached from Eng
land. would have a very stimulating effect
upon the cotton manufacturing interests in
the south. The south would supDlv the
world with cotton and the greater part of
it with cotton goods.
The picture that Mr.. Hester draws OF the
benefits that the Nicaragua canal would
confer on the south is an exceedingly at
tractive one, and the day may not be dis
tant when what he now merely predicts
will be realized.