The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1897-05-28
STATISTICAL
COTTON FACTS
INFORMATION
Especially Prepared for The Items Special Spring
Trade ELi.iOn.
Shows That New Orleans, Which is the Greatest
American Cotton Port,
Should Also Soon Become the Very Greatest Gotten
Manufacturing Centre.
The Great and Modern Improvements That Have Been
Made In Port Facilities.
Competition for Cotton Export Business is Very
Strong From Oher Ports.
Resume Of the Past and Prospects for the Imme-
diate Future Of the Cotton Business.

7 Ing the last few years a great deal Of
cotton has been manufactured in Ala
/ hanna. Georgia, North and South Caro-
| l ma Manufacturing as well as raising
OF cotton has become great industry
OF the South.
Wages paid In the cotton factories OF
the States have Of late declined great
~. and are probably now about q per
cent lower than they were in 1889 al
though about 70 per cent higher than
in lS59
Cotton is truly regarded as one of the
principal agricultural industries OF this
country. And from time immemor.al
the cotton receipts OF this port have
been regarded as the largest in the
country. There has never been an al
tempt Or desire 10 SQuto thls aSssr-
ton. In fact Aew Orleans has been
. the largest cotton market in the coun-
I try since the ueecy staple assumed
stsf rank As tie leading AGRICULTURAL
! prodact Of a erCa portion OF America.
IN fact. mere IS oaly. one gre ttr 1t
( ton port in tAe wari5 than New orr
/ leanS-LiVeFp9ol Liverpool however.
Is handler OF original bales, wAjie
/ New Orleans Is q distributing centre.
! 7 ne measure Of the power Of cotton
! 10 enrich the South has never been
fully realized or t:uiy compreheniei.
mis- IS difficult question and q SUBJ
( 3C2t har1 20 comprehend, as cotton Is
! such . peculiar aud marvellous product
/ that one cannot fusiV realize its value
lion of agriculture in the South, ana
/ of vast manufacturing interests. en-
! ployins hundreds OF millions Of capita
I In Great Britain. the New England, the
Eastern. and Of later years. the South
( ern States. This manufacturing indus
/ Try IS surely tending towards the South,
INA nothing con check it. In The very
near future cotton VIII nat cuiy be
worth TO the South aD average OF S55A
ss4fF2 pet year as the raw material IS
! no~ worth. hut It VIII create In this
Southern section OF the country q
I manufacturing business which will
( more than treble the %alue OF the cgop
Of The South and give employment 10
/ many thousands Of hands I; will Pc
( c1ire tile investing Of hundreds Of nil
I lions IN mills and manufactures before
! MS section VII even he enabled q
manufac ure It's own crop. And why
/ not the South manufacture its own cot
/ ton pFoduct2 The best raw cotton pro-
cuced anyw here IN the world 81 pro-
( d1ced here, besides the chesvness OF
: fuel. the excellent water powe! an3
+ facilities for transportation are W.
/ eaGailed The vast amount Of chap
/ IA nor atone would as an tnducemenl u
capita IN cotton marUfac' u"iag ta THIS
section II there we're 10 other indBce-
/ uen's. And thus labor, too, Is the best
+ In the world adapted 10 the cotton
! raising and manufacturing business
! one might say that Southern labor s
peculiarly adapted to il. CheRp coal.
/ the labor and the climate OUGHT soon
/ % give the South monopoly Of the
manufacture II cot-en, jus, % 1t now
/ has monopoly in the production OF
/ cotton.
COTTON SEED UTILIZED.
| Added TO the wealth of the cotton
| crops OF the past. Is the new wealth
! realized by the utiii2atio OF cotton
/ seed. This industry is developing most
| astonishingy and every year sees some
( al al ea4 9r.s. IN
i infant industry. and in few years Ii
/ wili be one of the great Industries OF
/ commerce In this sertion OF he United
/ states, Even now 4 IS estimated that
! ii adds over 81. 001 on yearly 10 the cot
! ton business of the South.
/ ALL EYES TOWARD THE SOUTH.
! So long as the cotton business of the
4 South vas handled exclusively by the
/ Southern people il attracted only mod
t crate attention throughout the New
England and the Eastern States, but
! when a number Of the strongest ana
/ richest cotton mill corDpa mes Of Mas
/ sachusetts decided that Il was neces-
! sary 20 huild large mills somewhere In
/ the Southern States in order 70 hold
! their cotton trade. cotton mill investors
! throughout the world began to study the
/ advantage OF the South for the location
/ Of cotton mills
/ This has aroused the New England
/ people 10 realization Of the fact that
I their cotton manufacturing Interests
/ which have been so largely instrumental
I in developing and crea ing the wealth
/ Of thar section. have probably about
/ reached the limit Of its growth. AXIS
! viii doubtless be enlarged in the New
/ England States ans others erected for
I the purpose of manufacturing the finer
grades of goaas. but the real growth of
the cotton rn2nufa turing Industry " 4
fro tbs time or without doubt be In
the Southern States.
/ CENTRE OF WEALTH.
/ All over this country, and even In
England and Europe, the New ENGLAND
Z States are referred 10 as the centre of
/ wealth and refinement for the American
continent. This may he true. but wealth
/ is the creator Of refinement aad By the
/ means of wealth the highest possihili-
| ties Of an enlightened and refined COM
| munlty are put into existence. A rich
| country Is always filled with schools and
| libraries. places OF amusement and
learning. A poor country has not the
( possibilities OF learning and refinement
/ and scarcely has the inclination to ac-
/ quire them. II the cotton mills have
been so large an Instrument IN building
UP the opDlence and refinement OF the
! Eastern and New England States Ii can
do for the South even more than that.