Omaha daily bee., 1899-12-17
THE SOUTH AND EXPANSION.


Jones of Arkansas in favor of territorial
expansion has ELECTED so much favor
able comment in the south as to indicate
that there is a great deal of this senti-
inent in that section and it is probably
growing. The leading democratic
paper of Arkansas cordially endorses
the position of the governor, saving that
his views are in line with those of the
business men of that section, 'who be-
lieve that the south will be more bene-
fitted than any other portion of the
country by the United States holding on
to the sovereignty of the Philippines"
1t declares that "the south is no longer
blind to its own interests and when
public sentiment is fully developed it
will be found that this section is pro-
nouncedly in favor Of retaining the Phil
ippines and all other newly acquired
territory in the Pacific" There are
number of other influential papers in
the south that favor expansion, as we'll
as some prominent statesmen, among
them Senator Morgan of Alabama and
Senator Lindsay of Kentucky.
1t is business question in the south
aud concerns chiefly the great staple of
that section, cotton. 1t is believed that
the retention of the Philippines and the
enlargement of our trade in the far east
which that Is expected to promote would
greatly add to the demand for American
cotton and there are very good reasons
for this view. Our trade in cotton tex
tiles with north China has been growing
rapidly during the last few years. AS
recently as 1895 our whole exports of
cotton cloth to China were only 35.OOO,-
600 yards. In the last fiscal year the
exports of cotton goods to China
amounted to 100000 yards, which
was gain of 70 per cent on the amount
Of the previous year. This trade Is still
advancing and in the opinion of some
who have studied the matter we have
as yet merely scratched the surface.
One writer on the subject says: "The
consumption of raw cotton per inhabi.
tant of these United States was reck-
oned in 1898 at twenty-five pounds per
annum. If the Cinnamon ever attain
that standard, as they might readily do
were their purchasing power equal to
their desire to possess an abundance of
what is practically the only material of
their clothing, they would require to
meet their demands some II, 100000
bales of cotton year, or very consider
ably more than the total annual product |
of the world. The potentialities of the |,
demand for our cotton textiles in the |
Chinese market are thus virtually |
1t is the promise thus held out of |
vastly increasing the demand for
American cotton in China that is Gre
ating sentiment in the south favorable |
to holding the Philippines and has
moved many of the commercial bodies
of that section to declare for eXpan-
sion. There are other interests In the
sugar, tobacco and rice producers, but
these are greatly outwelghed by the
interest, which is the
chief source of southern industry and
The feeling was expressed
by a southern cotton manufacturer who
said that If we are to hold the Chinese
market there are not enough mills in
the south, but that If we are to lose 1t
there are already too many" Such az
cannot fail to impress a peo-
pie who are eager for industrial ad-
and who are dependent for
this chiefly upon securing markets for
their. staple products.
1t remains 10 be seen what will be
the political effect in the south Of the
expansion sentiment. This is likely to
ind its first manifestation in the demo
,ratic national convention of next year,