The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-10-21
GERMAN VENTURE IN COTTON
GROWING THE PLANT IN AFRI-
Prospective Rivalry to the south ern Planters In the United States.
C1.

Nothing has occurred to stimulate
 the cotton growing outside the United
 States since the cotton famine occa-
 stoned by the civil war brought to a standstill the spindles of Lancashire, and caused distress where cotton spin ming was the dependence of any num-
 Der of people, as have the high prices of last year and the inability of the
 foreign manufacturers, who delayed | buying early in the season, to get thelr supplies as they wanted them. The situation has been taken advantage or to urge the English and other govern ments to take such steps as shall ln- sure the growth of the staple in other parts of the globe, so that the manu- | facturers shall be less dependent upon | the American grown product. The et- forts made by the British government | to increase the acreage soWn to Egyp- tian cotton have become familiar espe- cially through descriptions given from time to time of the progress pelng made on the great dam at Assouan. The attempts to augment the raw cot ton supply by increasing its cultiva- | tion in India and in Asiatic Russia nave been exploited so that 1t is possible to | get fair idea of the progress mace | and the outlook for success ultlmately' There is however one very important l scheme for cotton growing that mas been mentioned but briefly and around which a veil of secrecy has been cast by order of its promoter, but which may prove of greater moment than any or all the other ventures This is the com prehensive attempt on the part of the German emperor to utilize the empires colonies in Africa for cotton growing and although a year has been spent in experiments in Togoland, the out side world has been kept in ignorance of results because the parties have been forbidden to relate any facts re- garding the enterprise, the object be- ing, presumably, to prevent other Euro- pean nations with African colonies from enlisting in a similar enterprise. Of late, however, it has been learned through special sources of information that great success is attending the pro iect, and that an expansion IS pelng quietly planned. Germany imported from the United Ststes in 1S90 ll6S,Sol bales of cotton, for which she pald us $37. .407, ,S09. In 1900 this had increased to 1, ,4S3, ,4S3 bales, coting German manu- facturers s6s ,922,915.
 It will be recalled that about year ago, at the request of Emperor WilIlam three negro experts in cotton growing gra duates of the Tuskegee institute were sent to the territory named. J. N Galloway. born in Tennessee, a college graduate from Fisk university and for ten years instructor in agriculture in the Tuskegee institute, was selected as superintendent, and Sheppard l.. liar ris, John Robinson and Allen Burks, all graduates of the Tuskegee institute each knowing well several trades, in cluding architecture. carpentry agri- culture, blacksmithing, dairying, etc. were the assistants. Flows, hoes, cot ton-planters, cotton gin, press. Ameri- can cotton seed, ties, etc, were bought here and shipped with them last No vember, reaching Togoland nearly two months later, after brief stay in Ger many
 A letter from Harris dated May 15 gives the following account of the un- dertaking up to that time:
 We left American, as you know, on November 3, 1900. After many hard ships on the ocean we at last got to Lome, where We saw and are still see ing strange things. As to my work here; I am getting along very well. ] find it very hard to get material to work with. This country like all other unsettled countries, is yet without modern machinery. The saw-mill, the cotton-gin, and in fact all modern ma chinery is yet to be introduced. Some of this machinery we hope to have in operation before our time is out here.
 When we reached Lome we thought we were at the end of our journey, but we had yet 100 miles to go in the "bushes,' as they call it out here. It may sound hard, but we had to walk this distance, carrying with us such things as we thought would supply our needs until we could get settled. The trip was made in four days. By the 14th of January we had about settled where our farm should be. We began work clearing away with the help Of the natives, and in a short while the site for our new home was selected. We have cleared away more than 100 acres of land and a part of the same is plant ed in cotton, corn, peanuts and other things, and some of the cotton has more fruit on it now than many of the farmers will make on their whole crop in America. There is no doubt about the growing of cotton here, for it has been demonstrated already. Six months ago men passed this place without paying any attention to it, for it was nothing but field of bushes and elephant grass, but to-day one is attracted by the number of buildings, the growing of cotton and other pro- ducts, also the pulling of blows, by horses and men guiding them.
 While MT. Burks and MT. Robinson are busy with their farm, I am at work trying to get the gin-house ready to gin the cotton when it is gathered. I find the natives like to work and will if they get plenty of chop as they call food, but they are not able to do much work. They soon give out.
 Supt. Galloway writes
 The natives do not differ very much from the uneducated negro of the "Rlack Belt" in the south. I believe the Africans have a better disposition. Color is about the same. If I did not know that I am in Africa I could easily believe myself in Alabama. The na lives are just as anxious to have clothes and to be educated as American ne-