The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-11-24

had to work short time. and some mills have had to shut down altogether, and as consequence there has been and Is now very much suffering. especially in the Lancashire district. So great Is the pres- ent distress in this county that public soup kitchens have had to be established. and the uncertain condition of the market has recently caused several serious fail- ures in Liverpool. The depression has been almost unprecedented-perhaps ex- ceeded only by. the dreadful period during the American civil war. It may be doubt ed. however, whether the 'cornering Is re- sponsibIe 90 much as charged for the Famine in cotton in Lancashire. The real cause, 1t is pointed out. fs the com sumption overtaking the supply. conse' quent on the partial failure of last years crop.
 British Hope for British Cotton Sup
 ply.
 The significant growth of the new 'im' perial sentiment among the British peo- pie has led to the desire to produce within the Empire, as much as possible, the things the Empire consumes. There Is now @ widespread and profound belief among the cotton spinners of this coun- try that the only salvation of their trade Is British-grown cotton. By this 1t IS not meant that British-grown cotton will, at least within anything like the near fu- ture. altogether take the place of Ameri- can-grown cotton. The hope and expec- tation ts that the British product will be supplemental to the supply drawn from the United States. It is argued that this supplemental British supply will not only meet the expected shortage in American cotton, but will prevent the cornering and manipulation of American cotton. It ie claimed that this cornering and manipu- lation Is possible largely because of the l fact that the supply of staple cotton try, but that 1t would be impossible for these operations to go on to any great extent if other supplies in fairly consider able quantities came from other parts of the world,
 The experiments which have been made during the past two Or three years have demonstrated that good cotton can be grown in various parts of the British Empire. As to the quantity obtsinable. the regularity of supply. and the trade conditions, these are matters which only the future can show. The Secretary of the British Cotton Growing Association said to me the other day: Progress will necessarily be slow, but the associa- tion is confident of ultimate success. Here in Liverpool, which is by far the largest foreign market for American cot ton, great skepticism has been expressed; and the movement has, indeed pooh poohed" as hardly worthy of serious consideration. But the movement has now compelled attention on the part of local cotton men as well as those of Man chester, and a number of leading brokers of both cities have become active mem bers of the British Cotton Growing As sociation, and the Liverpool Cotton As- sociation has subscribed 5000 othe ex- perimental fund. Still, 1t must be said that Liverpool is not very sympathetic toward the movement. This can be ex- plained by the fact that most of the Liv- erpool brokers are interested in maintain ing the status quo. It Is possible that the entire European cotton trade of the world. supplemental to the American shipments. And if the outside supply came in in sufficient quantities make the English consumers virtually inde- pendent of the American supply. 1t is not unlikely that that event would mark the destruction of the present potentiality of the manipulator, so far as this market is concerned Speculation aside, the Liv- erpool broker naturally does not favor the new conditions and the disorganiza- ton which would probably at first char acterize the trade when Britsh-grown cot ton became an appreciative influence in the local market. This consideration also affects the shipowners whose vessels now bring the cotton from the United States But the movement goes on just the same, and its success is a contingency which must be faced, both in the United States and on this side, as an event quite possl- ble. The men who are back of the move- ment are mostly master spinners. and they look at 1t as almost a question of life and death.
 MT. Chamberlain, the ex-Colonial Sec retary, has taken a great interest in the movement, and through him the aid of the Governors of the colonies has been obtained. The British Cotton Growing Association (with headquarters at Man chester) has a fund which it Is intended shall be increased to $250.000 lover $150, 900 having already been subscribed) for the purpose of purchasing seed, hiring experts, and conducting experiments. Most of the seed so far purchased and the experts employed have come from America.
 The following is a summary of what Is being done in the various British colo nies and dependencies:
 Africa.
 West Coast-Through arrangement with the British Colonial Of1ce, cotton will be carried on the West Coast govern ment railroads free for two years, and a Liverpool steamship line has also agreed to bring free to England the first 1000 tons. The various colonial governments pay the salaries and travelling expenses and furnish the land for the experiments, and the British Cotton Growing Associa- ton furnishes the seed. mechanics. agri- cultural implements. ginning and press ing machines. labor. etc. and undertakes to buy the cotton that may be grown. Cotton is indigenous to much of this ter ritory. The statement has been made that cotton will not grow we'll fin West Africa because there Is no frost to kill the green trash after the picking, but those who have investigated the matter say that experience disproves the state rnent The torrential rains seem to be a great difficulty, which, however, it Is