The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-08-26
ana The government were closely in nc

ana the government were closely in nc
cord. 81 3 b.
81 From the foregoing figures, j t will. be
admitted that all the prospect Of ~ bum p
ser$ cotton crop In the South for the con
ing yea r must be abandone ed, and il tta Y II
for the NTH successive season! the BWor ld
is confronted with an INSULT clency In It's
cotton supply. Various reasons are as & i
signed for the deterioration, which has
SO invariably set in during the final
months OF the plants yelopemer,t for
the past five years nquestionably W the
first In Importance, is the boil z WecVll,
which now infest two thirds OF the cot
ton acreage In Texas. The impailrsmle NJ 4
OF the seed the exhaustion Of the land
and 81 tho Sinsufficiency@ ~ labor, g #: re
other theories upon which five, sue
cessive crop failures may be expla aimed.
tits possible that the seed impa lrment
theory has a basis OF truth. It lis prob
able thatkthe exhaustion OF the land has
mot heen counter bal ancedf by the use OF
but the opera lion Of neither ls
Of these in fluences is susceptib OF st "a
tistical proof. Z here can be mo cues lese =
labor, and i submit the q following facts
/as a sufficient explanation OF the growing
disparity between the acreage and cotton
production of the Southern States Thesef
figures are based upon the census return 8
81 1900, the average annual Increase IN
the population for the last decade having
been applied to the figures q 1900. IN Or, Of
der to approximat the facts q b soi
PoPuLATIONsAND CoTToN.Atcs'RI',El.AAlG~ifs,
835Ea SOUTHERN STATES ss;
s Acrea gel 800 46s 49, 500 ~ b
cent ~ 90 -.o5, 81 ISL 900 sfincreas four
teen years, SO per cent 800. q ), 975, 355 II
1900, 81 8. 766, O56 4 Is Increase ten years, "a
ner rs cent. so increase 1904, ~ ,lS9. FOG !;
fourteen years, 32.7 per cent
Rural population ~ presllmab bly, agric III IL
tural 1sso, ,1o2. 900. % SOS Z
Increase ten years. q per- cent; nal *
Gated 1904. increase ifourtseh \
years 20. s. per cen Z. sS N
Urban poplla ton In town of 4 900 pr
over presumably mona gricultural) ---1 IS o,B
873, 1O7; 1900, 4. 10 8, 1916, g per. cent?
increase 4 ten years. 4.737 1853; Indicated
1904, ss4s per cent. increase fourteen ''
years. HI US
Total negro popula ton t,lrban& nd ~ n
raj distribution not obta ble)--lSSeu, y, q
lao. 2O1 IS 900, ,24l, 3O1 increase ten Years.
I$1ss per cent; Indicated 1904. 7,6s3sS5 in;- =:
Screa sa fourteen years, 24,3 per cent. sS
These figures a s, oWss tina In the past
fourteen years tie ton acreage q the
South has Increased s. per cent, " nile
the rural population white and negro, mas fa
Increased only ESQ per cen til u y !. not
prac ticable to- determine what propo'r,t ton
OF tho rural oPula ton q ne cotto1aSS
n the teney years ending 1900, the num-
Her az manufacturing establishments n
l5thes cotton States, had increased & from
Al 334 in 81 500, to u .278 In 1900 or % q
ne,,3 "a 1. and the capital so employed
had Increased from, s4o2, $685. 80 To- " %. -
! s75 1853. or 97.18 per cent: .s}s
AS 4 the increase In the manure cturlns
Interests Of the South has been relatively
|5rrenterI than that i Of the cot ton acreage,
it IS probable that the dispropo be-
tween the rural population available for
j tl,e culture ofacotton.s and the Increase
In \ creaRe is even gren ter than the above
figures Indicate, but assuming that @ e
lin i've OF the populat ion ls enga SEQ g COZ 2.
i ton culture which Is a very liberal est
mate 1t would appear that IN isyv, ~ =,
4 4sO 900 acres OF cotton We're cultivated
i ~ 3, 600 900 people, or an average OF 3 "a
/ = cres per person, while in u 904, 81 81
4 n, acres must be cultivated BY 3, 29S 900
4 {people or an average OF near y ten acres
i per person. Il sss ii q. -. y
81 From this statement only one conclu a
i sion can be drawn, namely nat tsie
cultivation Is less efficient and the ylelal
i nor acre therefore smaller. W hen We
come "a study the elationship between.
\ the increase In the negro popula ton ana
i ihe cotton acreage, this view OF tho case
a eyen more impressive. The economic
consideratio thattled to the warsof the
4 EConfedeyacy, was the idea, tina tho con :.
trol Of the negro wa 8 essentia 70 the COZ
ton supremacy Of the South. II IS n 9,
1 improbable that this theory Is about 10
slStind lis economic proof. The negro alone
m = cultivate cotton effectively & under.
j the hot Southern sun. In The past four
/ tee1, years the cot ton crop OF the South
In q been Increased by 1890, 900 acres,
or ss per cent and the negro population
/ In tic same period has Increased only !, :
49s. lS4 Snr1 24,3 per sent. IS gensrally
admitted that tho tendency in the South
i IN the part OF the more intelligent negroes
/ Is towards northern migration or resi- :
4 donce in cities and employment In the
.ISfactorlcs, mines. lumber camps and ran :
ads. The resid,lms OF negro labor vail
\ able for the cul tiva ton OF cot ton, IS,
4 therefore, not only out OF proportion q =
compared with the acreage, bllt comprises
\ the least thrifty. ambitious and prosres-
4 siyc element. n The Southern cotton plan
] tations, which are for the most part
Operated under the tenant system. have
i under this system been less carefully ana
become less productive. Cotton land IN
4 the South for this reason, IS worth Tess e.
to-day than itIwas III years ago ana y
i value Is but tho exp oAent OF It's y prpuus,
/ tive capacity under existing conditions O.
4 labor, It is plain that until these COZ :,
/ ditions change, an Increase In acreage rs
l3unlkely to resutsin n substantial increase
i in produotion and as no change IN these
j conditions saems probable within the next
4 few years i am convinced the cotton 1raa :.
must adjust Itself; to the prospect q q g
/ c,imtilatively acute stringenoy In the SUP
4 ply, ataleast during this decade. ~ -,
4. - SIS a. THEODORE II, PRICE
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4 SEABOARD AIR LIME