The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-08-23
ENGLAND NEEDS COTTON
LOOKING TO AMERICA TO SUPPLY
THE DEMAND.
Economic situation in Lancashire Is
Acute-Mills Have Rum ON Short
Time Since f0O1--America's
Ability to Relieve the
situation IL n Matter
of the Gravest
Concern.
London Special to New Orleans Times

Democrat.
The Times says At no period since
the great cotton famine has the
moro acute than has been the case
there-owing either to actual shortage
in the supply of cotton or to the &C
tion taken to defeat American speeuia-
tion--during the last two or three
years. The mills have run on short
time since 1901. The losses thus in
Cured have been prodigious. The
president of the Federation OF Master
Cotton Spinners' Appreciation, Z. W.
year that the employers alone We're
losing at the rate of about $4,000
pounds a week. while. adding to this
amount the diminished wages In the
cotton and other dependent trades, he
reckoned that the total loss to capt.
tai and labor combined, as the result
of the short-time movement. was at
the rate of 10000 pounds a week. If
this estimate be correct, II means that
in the course of twelve months the
direct financial loss to the various in
terests concerned in this county has
been no less than 100000 pounds.
The prejudicial effect on the people
of Lancashire has been most serious.
1t has been a matter of reducing wages
rather than of stopping work. The
operatives, therefore, have still had
certain proportion of their former
wage; but severe economies have had
to be practiced, even when no resort
has been had to the soup kitchen
opened. In Oldham town practically
dependent on cotton, 1t was found in
April last that of houses, large and
small. there were then empty no fewer
than 1871, as compared with $50 year
previously, and of shops, large and
small. there were 139 empty, as compar-
ed with thirty. Since April forty
more houses and fifteen more shops
have been vacated.
nj - % AhA
houses do not mean that the population
has decreased: they mean that two
or even three families will now be
saving expense by living in a house
intended for one family only. The
closing of the shops is significant of
the effect that the present state of de-
preston is having on tradesmen of all
classes in Lancashire. Grocers, bakers
and butchers are doing decreased
business because the victims of short
time are buying less food: the tailors
and diapers find that the people are
making their old garments do" the
bootmakers get an increased number
of orders for repairs and a decreased
number of orders for new boots and
shoes, while even the brewers are be-
coming seriously disquieted because
the people are drinking less beer.
These various conditions would be
bad enough from the traders point of
view, If they related only to the opera
sion that has arisen affects various
other branches of the cotton industry
as well-dyers, printers bleachers,
finishers and subsidiary trades; 1t has
checked the building, the engineering
and the chemical trades; 1T has reduc-
ed the demand for coal; and 1t has been
a disturbing influence for bankers. in
surance companies, brokers and rail-
way companies.
Nor is it only our own particular
welfare that is concerned, whether as
represented by Lancashire. by the
United Kingdom or by the British
Empire. The same conditions that
have given our own cotton operatives
short time. and made the pull in their
belts, have affected continental coun-
tries as well. so that not only England.
but Germany, France, Belgium, Italy
Portugal have entered on series of
anxious inquiries and experiments as
to the possibility of developing new
sources of cotton supply for the cotton
manufacture that each of them Is
steadily developing. while even in the
United States a certain degree of un-
easiness as to the future is beginning
to manifest itself.
Stated in a single sentence. the pre-
sent position amounts to this: The
worlds supply of cotton is no longer
equal to the worlds demand.
On the first impulse one naturally
looks to the United States to make
good the deficiency. From Egypt we
have had substantially larger supplies;
but II is to the United States that we
have looked for most of our raw cot
ton. and there new conditions have
been arising which have a material
bearing on the whole situation. The
first important factor Is that, whilst
a large area is being planted with cot
ton in the United States the yield per
acre is decreasing, and the sum total
of the crop has been almost stationary
during the last three years
Whatever the precise cause may be,
the fact remains that whilst the
worlds needs are steadily increasing, a
total production in the United States
substantially larger than at present can
hardly be expected
Concurrently with these conditions
as regards the magnitude of the
American crop. there has been proceed
ing remarkable increase in the con-
sumption of cotton in the United
States. mainly as the result OF mills