The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-08-21
Secretary Wilson Says Cotton h.
 dusty is Seriously Injured
EUROPE IS BECOMING WEARY
All Cotton Producing Countries In the Old World Are Anxious to Be ln- dependent of Our Ameri-
 can Spectators.

Washington. August 20.-Secretary Will son of the agricultural department today declared that infinite mischief is done to the cotton manufacturing industry and to the cotton growing industry by the speculative move in cotton.
 "The spectators have cornered the mar ket," said the secretary. "and put up the price so high that manufacturers cannot use raw cotton. At existing prices there is no profit to them. The price of man. ufactured goods cannot be manipulated as the price of raw cotton can.
 .The manufacturer found 1t more profit able to sell his cotton to the gamblers. Mills were closed down because there was no raw material left and in some in- stances cotton, which was sold to Euro pean manufacturers has been brought back to this country and used in gambling operations"
 Secretary Wilson said that most Euro pean nations. which manufactured cotton and also owned lands in outlying provinces where cotton might be grown, were anx- lous to become independent of our specula- tors. and were organizing and holding out inducements for the development of the cotton raising industry. The British, the French, the Germans, the Belgians and others owned the lands in Africa and they had been for some time organizing to produce cotton.
 Trying to Learn Our Methods.
 'tThey know said Secretary Wilson, that we are training scientists here to study the cotton plant and they have been anxious to get our high class men over there to organize for them. The, United States sent SS,000,000 to Egypt last year to pay for long staple Egyptian cot ton The department of agriculture Is trying to grow as good staple at home by hybridlzing and creating new varieties. The secretary of agriculture for Egypt paid me visit not long ago and said that with the irrigation of enlarged areas along the Nile valley, growing out of the com pletion of the great dam, the production of Egypt would be greatly increased. They pay 15 cents a day for labor there. There is a breed of cattle which does all the work and stands the heat better than mules. Those European nations owning territory in Africa have been coming to our southern states and engaging expert labor to go over there to organize the na- tives.
 "Twelve cent cotton in the United States a people to increase their output. The na- tions in Asia are doing everything to in- crease the cotton production so as b bee come independent of the United States. There has been a feeling for somn time that 1t would be wiser for us to grow more cotton, but gambling operations this summer had the immediate effect of stim- ulating efforts for increased production
 Department Exerts Itself.
 The secretary said that every effort was being made by the department Of agri- culture to help the cotton growers of the southern states to a better system Of ag- ricuture through which a larger yield of cotton could be had, but that increased output necessarily would come slowly. The United States had not been increas- ing it's output for several years the Texas crop having suffered considerably last year on account of the ravages of the boil weevil Mir. Wilson said the prospect for the present crop had nothing whatever to do with the operations of the specula- tors The shortage of raw cotton to the manufacturer, he declared, was not due to shortage In the crop, but to the fact that the corner in cotton had put the price of the raw material to a point where the manufacturer could not profit ably use 1t. The producer had not profted by these high prices as the cotton was all out of his hands. Secretary Will son said he saw no prospect for the relief of working men who were thrown out of employment by the mills closing down because of the scarcity of raw cot ton until the corner in cotton burst and fhe. price of the raw material was re- duced The new crop of cotton would soon begin to come in.
 "of course" he said, 'the corner can continue if the gamblers have enough money to buy in the new crop"