The Savannah morning news., 1903-10-12
THE COTTON SUPPLY.

English manufacturers OF cotton
goods are in earnest about looking
elsewhere than the United States for
a supply of raw cotton. They have
formed a cotton growers association"
and purpose conducting experiments
and fostering efforts to raise cotton
in the British colonial possessions, with
the end in view of making British
manufacturers independent OF the
American cotton crop. Sir Alfred
| Jones, president of the association, told
the first meeting of the organization,
| as reported in our dispatches Satur>
day. that the cotton manufacturing
/ industry in Lancashire was in a criti-
| cal condition; that the supply of raw
/ cotton from America was steadily di-
mnishing, and that British spinners
must begin to look elsewhere for their
raw material. He went on TO state
that there were millions of square
miles available In British African ter
ritory and millions of available cheap
laborers. 1t only remained for the man
ufacturers TO teach the blacks to grow
cotton in order to enrich both the ma
tives and themselves. The West At
rican territory could produce fair
factory staple, Another speaker stated
that in Nigeria there was territory
one third the size of India available
for cotton growing.
Sir Alfred Jones reference to the
diminishing supply of raw cotton from
America undoubtedly had indirect ref
erence TO the increased consumption
by American mills. Statistics show
that the American cotton crop is al
most twice as large now as it was in
1880. Not until 1898 did the crop reach
as much as 10000, 900 bales. Nor does
it appear that there has been. in round
numbers, so great falling off in the
exports of raw cotton to the United
Kingdom. In 1S94-95 the exports to
Europe were 6,63O,OOO bales, while in
1s01-02 they were 6,440,0 900 bales The
relative decrease, however, was greater
than the figures indicate, because of
the larger consumption of cotton goods
by the world. In the latter commercial
year the consumption of cotton by the
world was about $500, 900 500-pound
bales greater than in the former COM
mercial year. The increase in produc-
ton had been in the United States,
India and Egypt, and the increase in
consumption by manufactures had
been very largely in the United States.
AS we consume more and more of our
raw cotton in our own mills it follows
that we have less and less to export
to Europe, and that is what has alarm
ed our British cousins.
Nor can we blame them for looking
elsewhere for source of supply. IN
der similar circumstances we would do
the same thing. 1t is a matter of self
preservation. But will the Britishers
be able to develop a source of supply
in West Africa? This is not the first
time they have been put to it for a
cotton supply and have endeavored to
find a way4of making themselves in
dependent of the American cotton
fields. During the American civil war
the cotton famine was much more Sc
we're than it has been at any time since
or is likely to be for a long time to
come Then the English mill men made
extraordinary efforts to develop other
sources of cotton supply. They tried,
if we are not mistaken, the West In
dies and various parts of Africa. Many
of the experiments were promising for
time, but none fulfilled its prom |
Use. Senator Morgan of Alabama once
said that England could produce cot
ton abundantly in Africa, or In Asia,
when she could protect one side of her
cotton fields with a Gulf stream and
the other side with an Appalachian
range of mountains, and not until then.
And sundry students of climatology
have agreed with Senator Morgan. The
South Atlantic and Gulf states of the
United States seem more peculiarly
adapted to production of cotton than
any other part of the known world.
1t may be that hereafter we shall not
have a monopoly of cotton production,
but 1t seems assured that we can grow
cotton more cheaply than any other
section. If we can do this. and man.
ufacture the cotton at home, we have
not a great deal to fear of other pos
sible cotton growing sections.