The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1903-08-24
Cheap Cotton and Less of It.

| Qlrom Charleston News and Courier)
! The New York Tribune and other north
ern papers, which are deporins and CON
| demning the high price Of cotton" and
| solemnly warning the southern farmer
that If he does not grow the staple in
! larger quantity and at low prices. to meet
tho worlds needs and ideas respecting
the crop England and Germany and
France and Russia will grow it instead in
| their colonies and provinces, at % cents
a pound" or thereabouts, and he Will
| forever lose the business or the greater
part of 1t, to his great pecuniary loss
might, with more pertnence perhaps, dl-
rect their warnings in another quarter
and to nearer ears.
The fact is as w. p Brown, one of the
manipulators of the existing cotton cor
ner, has noted, that the increase IN the
price of cotton has not more IMAM kept
pare with the increase In the prices Oh
all other commodities in the United
States so that cotton at to 10 cents In
1905 is not relatively higher than cotton
at . and i cents d few years age Inc
cotton farmer cannot continue to grow
cotton a. former low prices and pay dou-
bic prices rUl all his supplies and every
thlne he has to buy. lie cannot do SO
without certain toss, anu therefore VIII
not do 50.
This brings us to the main point. When
tho price Oh cotton must De ilXed so row
tnat ne cannot AFFORD 10 grow the slap4e
the southern cotton farmer VIII, cheerful
~ OF al any rate certainty. surrender the
crop to AFRICAN and ASlatic colonies,
ana turn his attention 10 other crops
winch now he neglectS, much to his own
hurt. 1t Is u matter on common opsefVa-
ton in the south tnat even when cotton
ranges at fair prices. the all cotton farm
49, of n
ranges low in price he Is reduced to hope
less debt and in many cases to distress
The rule Is that the wealth of any farmer
IL this section is in inverse ratio to his
regular cotton crop and the exceptions
are few and marked. The most prosper
Gus farmers everywhere are those who
make their farm self-supporting in re-
spect of grain and meat and other sup
plies, and grow cotton as an incident OF
their business-as "a side crop"
Cheap cotton will make more such
farmers Ffve-cent cotton made many a
few years ago. Five or 6-cent cotton will
have the same effect at any and all times
"Fix' the price at such figures and the
southern cotton farmer will drop the
staple and grow all his grain and meat
and other supplies. and raise his own cat
tie and stock instead of buying them
from the farmers OF the north and west
as he does now and has been doing for a
generation.
ana tIeN Will ne greatly ana perdTn-
nently profted and benefited In every way
by the change; and all the south with
them Hoy it will affect the farmers of
the north and west to lose so many regu-
lar buyers of their corn and wheat and
hay and oats, and butter and cheese
and milk and vegetables and fruit. and
horses and mules. and beef and hog
products etc. etc. we may leave to
them to say. or to The Tribune and other
representative papers of their section to
say for them.
Our own view OF the matter IS that the
agricultural Interests OF that section will
have quite as much rea son to regard the
advent Of permanently Cheap cotton"
with as much concern as the asrfcQIltu-
raj interests OF the south ANY future
warnings" resa rdng that probable or I'm
probable. condition might perhaps be
more widely distributed accordingly.