The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-12-22
COTTON IS MORE
 KING THAN EVER Question is What Will King
 Cotton Do Next2 WORLDS ACTUAL SHORTAGE interesting Facts and Figures About the Great stape-Prloe Higher
 Today Than It Has Been
 In Twenty Years.
WORLDS ACTUAL SHORTAGE
BY FRANK V. EVANS.

BY FRANK V. EVANS.
 What will cotton do? This is the great question of today, of more importance to the grower. the dealer, the manufacturer and the consumer than any question of social or political economy under consid- eration.
 The world has long ago learned that agriculture is the basis of all wealth. It therefore enters into the very foundation of civil government
 Of all American agricultural products cotton yields most money. because cotton clothes all of the world that is at all held by the greatest staple crop of the universe.
 The South's Product. It is a product, almost exclusively, of the southern states. It's value made the south rich before the civil war; it has sus- tained this people yet, extricated them from the losses sustained by that war, and is today lifting them up and fast restoring them to that lofty position in the financial world which they held in ante -belum days
 Mir. Carnegie has just given expression to his appreciation of the value of the services of the southern negroes declar- ing that they produce about 100000 bales of cotton every year, now valued at S650- GOO GOO, and absolutely sustaining the bal ance of trade in favor of the United States, therefore the actual basis of American prosperity today
 Exclusive Function.
 Cotton as a staple product for the ac- tual use of the world performs a most important and exclusive function and in this lies it's supreme value.
 The present price of the staple is higher than it has been for the past twenty years and those who have watched the market and studied the speculative boards express the opinion that it will rapidly reach a much higher mark.
 Legitimate Demand.
 While spectators have always had much to do with the rise and fall of prices, there is no doubt that now the legitimate demand for cotton is the basis upon which the prices move. The truth is the opening of new foreign markets
 
 shortness of the crop this year, remove all doubt as to cause. 1t is the simple proposition of supply and demand
 England is most effected adversely by present condition of the market and the southern states. most. affected favorably of any other part of the world, for England manufactures more cotton than any country in the world.
 Distribution of spindIes.
 Of about 103, 100000 spindles running at the present time about 47, 900 900 are credit ed to Great Britain, 34,0OO,OOO to continen- tai Europe and only about 22,0O0,O00 to the United States. England therefore manufactures more than twice the quan- tity of goods produced, in this, the great est cotton-growing country. Out of16,0OO GOO bales raised in 1902 about 1O,0OO,OOO was produced in the southern states.
 The mills without supply of raw ma terial at this time, and which have sold cotton cloths for future delivery are the great sufferers. Of course present quo- tations of cotton goods are upward in sympathy with the movement of raw ma IeTldl. "REMINISCENCES dIc puHlitu lOudyt and the dealers in futures are at loss to estimate the future movements of the cotton market. rla
 The whole remedy may come through a forced strike of mill employees. It Is said that the recent cut of 10 per cent in wages of operatives in the eastern mills Is to be followed by d similar reduction. 
 Actual Shortage.
 It is estimated that there is an actual shortage in the worlds cottcn supply of 300, 900 bales, and while spectators may be able to hold back double as much more the specuator is not to be blamed for the in-effect of present prices upon the manu- lecturers and consumers, nor accredited with the happy effect of these prices up- on the cotton producer. The supply and demand rule is governing the cotton mar ket today.
 N.s4 MI.rran TvIar nead