The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1898-10-26
COTTON BELT.
Momentous Development Of the South.
crn Industy.
Mem Y0rI. SIM.

|
mills within her borders to spin every
bale of cotton raised i'll the State and
q li'tlc to spare, and in few years the
same will be true of Georgia, South
| Carolina and few other Atlantic
States. But now it is predicted that
within 10 years these great southern
mills will be as far from the centre OF
cotton production as the Few England
mills, when the distance is measured
by freight rates. The reason for this
| is not far to seek. The cotton belt has
| been changing and shifting year by
year. The great bulk of our cotton
came from States east Of the Missis-
sippi 90 years ago, but to-day about
sevcn-tenths of the crop is raised be-
yond that river. The cotton belt was
supposed originally torm only through
the best lands of Virginia, Georgia
and the two Carolinas, with the edges
| overlapping parts OF the contiguous
States. Texas was not thought Of,
Arkansas was too far west and Mis-
souri, and Kansas were supposed to be
good only for corn and cattle.
The map of the cotton belt is entirely
altered, and each successive year it
must be enlarged to include new terri
tory where cotton tlourishes abundant
ly. Texas has forged ahead in cotton
raising so rapidly that growers wonder
where it will stop; Arkansas has more
recently started upon a similar career,
viii the farmers of Kansas and Mis-
souri, are beginning to raise cotton on
large scale. At the present rate OF
increase this great belt west OF the
Mississippi will soon be raising three
fourths of all our cotton. Then the
mills of the south. around which so
much interest centerS to-day, will have
as, great Il problem as the New England
mills are struggling with.
But the growth and development Of
the cotton mills in the south will con-
tinuc, now that the movement has been
once started. They will not stop in
the cotton belt east OF the Mississippi,
but new ones will appear i'll Kansas
and Missouri, and south to the gulf.
There is something i'll this new cotton
belt that promises great things for the
future. The climate is in some re-
spects better suited to cotton growing
than the Atlantic seaboard States. The
cotton plants demonstrate this better
than any scientific theory. The bush
grows higher and bears longer, while
open, rainlcss falls make the harvest
ing easier and the injury from insects
and weather less.
1t is estimated by the department. of
agriculture chat cotton cannot be
raised successfully in nearly one-third
of the territory of the United States.
At present the cotton belt covers "a de-
grecs of longitude and about 10 degrees
of latitude, but only about one-twen-
tieth of the land is actually used for cot
ton growing. Thus the 20,000,000 acres
of cotton plantations represent only Il
fraction of the vast empire OF cotton
soil that has ever been titled.
The fear that cotton growing has
reached it's zenith, and that it must
soon decline, in view of the low prices
received for it, looms up every season
but like similar nightmares, it fails to
world has just begun to use cotton.
Our invasion of the japanese markets
with this product is but u promise of
what we may expect on larger scale
in other quarters. There are over L.
500, 100000 human beings existing on
this globe, and OF this number about
half are imperfectly clad. They live
in climates where little protection is
needed, but that protection must come
in the form Of cotton clothes. The
vast hordcs of the orient, OF the islands
of the Pacific, and of the great African
continent, require cotton goods for
clothing. To-day they go without
them only because they are not obtain
able ut prices within their means.
The worlds yield of cotton has
trcblcd in % wears, and it has nearly
doubled itself in the last 10 years. Our
own product has represented Il large
percentage Of this increase. India,
China and Egypt can raise cotton on Il
large scale. too, but. with all their
cheap labor, the southern planter can
raise and the American manufacturer
can work up into Salablc goods our
cotton and place it in eastern markets
ut prices lower than the natives can
ever hope toaccoinpliSh.
Much of this depends upon lie snpc-
rior mills which are being erected III
the cotton hclt aud upon the more III
tclligcnt operators i'll them; but the
low price of cotton is Il factor oi the
greatest Importance. Cotton has stead
ily declined in price since the acreage
has been increasing. Planters have
fought this downward tendency, indi
vidually and collectively, but without
avail. No one is sure that the bottom
has been reached yet. There are plen-
ty who predict 4-cent cotton within
another decade. This seems utterly
inconceivable to the growers, especial
ly in many Of the older cotton districts,
but SD did scent and 6-ccnt cotton
years ago. The attempts to restrict
the acreage Of cotton have failed re-
Dcatcdly. If our crop falls below Il
certain point in the worlds supply
lhcrc will be a corresponding increase
III the acreage in other countries. Eng
lisll capital and brains arc working
hard in Egypt to control the cotton
iladc Of the far east. and any tendency
90 loosen our hold upon the great cot
ION industry would be the signal for
thc rapid cXtention Of the cotton fields
of Egypt. India and even China aud
,Janan- The liiw Of supply and demand
must regulate the price.
The new cotton belt is more able to
ra;sc cotton to-day than many OF the
older regions. This is due to the bet
ter soil and climate. Texas forced
prices for cotton down more than any
other factor. In that princcly donain
King Cotton iourislIcd so wei! that
planters who had beer Struggling Tor
years with Indifferent cotton soil could
no longer compete in the open market;
They were showed to the wall and
;'orccd to raise other products. Some
of the counties in the cotton States
partially or wholly broke away from
cotton i,ld turned their attention more
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