Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-12-12
The Shortage in Cotton.

The Shortage in Cotton.
For everybody commemorative oper-
ators, the manufacturers, the specu-
lators. the consumers,-the cotton Stu
alton has of late furnished fertile and
extremely important subject for
thought. The shortage in this years
crop. while 1t is not great enough to be
considered 4 calamity. nevertheless is
a most unfortunate circumstance. and
one which will cause hardship in GER
tain quarters. 1t is to be noted that
most OF the estimates OF the seasons
crop offered by the bureaus. which
make n speciality Of that sort of
thing, are larger than the governments
estimate. But many of the former are
open to suspicion as an attempt to
influence the market in one way Or the
other. The government estimate is
$500 bales. This Is $4,000 bales be-
low the average cpop Of the past four
years. On the pther hand. reference
10 the figures ofaarlier years shows that
the crop is alIays several hundred
thousand bales larger than the govern
ment bureau estimates. in fact, two
years ago. it was a million bales larger
than the governments estimate. and
five years ago over half million bales
larger. The past year, the under esti-
mate was 3l0.559 bales. Taking this
into consideration, it is evident that
this years crop is likely TO be the
average crop of the past few years.
But the average crop of the past few
years has not been equal to the in
creased demand for cotton. so there is
s.rall prospect that any material de-
crease In the prices can be expected.
In fact the world will be fortunate, If
it can get the balance Of this years
supply of cotton at the present price.
It is likely to be considerably more.
Cotton Is the worlds greatest staple,
and the crop failure or an insufficient
supply is especially disastrous from the
fact that there is no substitute for it.
In this 1t differs from the great food
staples, although Il failure or shortage
In any one of them is Il serious matter
enough.
The cotton shortage and resulting
high price of this staple come closely
home to New England, and it has al
ready resulted in q very general cut in
wages, and it will he fortunate, indeed,
if it does not cause the total shutting
down of many great mills through
their inability to get raw material. In
general our northern mills keep a
relatively small supply of cotton on
hand. Many of them live from hand
TO mouth, Us it were. with only n few
weeks supply in their storehouses.
The English mills. it is said are faring
better than ours. Most Of them have
stocked up, as far as possible with the
raw material when its price was lower
than it Is now. Here in New England,
p
imnosslbility of the cotton mills to run
ut Il profit. owing 70 the disparity be-
tween the current prices of the raw
cotton and the finished product.
There is only one bright spot to the
present cotton outlook, and that is the
large returns which the southern
planters are getting. as Il result OF
the shortage. With a crop of lo.-
O0o,n00 bales raised in this section.
commanding the average price Of
$GS bale, the South will this
year get the enormous sum of $3.50, OO0.-
O0J for cotton alone, 10 say nothing of
$780, 900 more from the sale OF cotton
seed and the by-products. These times
are exceedingly prosperous throughout
the sunny South. and the optimistic
verse in negro dialect, which the
columns of the Atlanta Constitution
abound with, have Il better basis of
fact than for many years.