Natchitoches populist., 1898-12-16
The Farmers Portion.

price of cotton, and it cannot ac-
count for the startling and para
doxical fact that the Southern far
mers are growing poor by making
big crops"
The Appeal also, truthfully re-
marks:
"Let the deserving and needy
people in Morehouse receive u fair
price for their raw cotton, then
debts would soon be cancelled and
the great stocks of cotton fabrics
now on the shelves and counters of
Morehouse merchants would soon
be on the backs and beds of the
producing classes. Merchants
would need more and more goods.
And this would be the case in the
millions of needy homes all over
the land.
Not very long ago, in an import
ant South American seaport, cot
ton prints shirtings, ETC., were re-
tailed at from 20 to IS cents per
yard, in the silver currency of
South America. One pound of
raw cotton will make in the aver
age four yards Of cotton fabrics,
which in the market referred to
brought from so cents to S1.40 in
said currency, which is equivalent
to about so cents to the dollar in
United States money. Thus the
share of our cotton grower in these
sales would not exceed at the pres
ert price of raw cotton, more than
10 cents in South American cur
rency, Is cents gold when the Eu-
ropean middlemen, manufacturers
and retailers, got the rest of the
50 to S1.40 in the South American
silver currency.
Tba. our cotton growers are not
getting a fair proportion of the
prices obtained for cotton fabrics
in the distant foreign markets,
goes without saying.
Why is this 500
In the first place our barbaric
maritime laws have forced the ocean
carrying trade into European hands
and we have, practically, no mer-
chant vessels to carry our raw and
manufactured cottons to China,
Japan, South America and other
parts Of the world, where they are
used in immense quantities.
Neither do we have American
merchants in these great markets
to distribute American goods and
products, because we give them no
direct means of communication
with the United States.
Consequently, we send to the
European markets, the bulk of our
cotton, where it is left to the ten
der mercies of the combinations
of capital and of manufacturers,
whose interest it is to decrease its
value to the lowest point, They
send it to the markets which we
have allowed them to control, where
they get the prices and profits that
the American cotton grower and
manufacturer could get if we dealt
directly with these markets.
Cotton is raised in comparative
ly few countries, but ii is used all
over the world. 1t follows that
no industry in the United States is
more interested in having direct
transportation and intercourse with
all the foreign markets, than the
cotton growing industry. To force
our cotton to seek tho European
markets is to give the Europeans
the power to fix the price of the
raw material and of it's fabrics,
1t is congress, and especially for
the representatives from the South,
to look into this vital matter. The
existing emhargoes against our
marine should be
promptly removed. The Nicara-
qua Canal and the intereontinental
railway, should be speedily con-
structed, which would give to our
commerce and industries start of
four thousand miles on the Euro
peans, to vast markets that we
ought to practically monopolize,
but which we have abandoned to
them.
Is it not time to get out of the
old ruts, and for the government
to give some returns to the people
for the mountains of taxes they
are paying into the national trea-
sury2-Shreveport Outlook.
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