The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-12-08
THE COTTON SUPPLY.

We note that an eminent French statesman, M. Moline, who has been studying the conditions of the cotton industry, Is writing up the possibilities of the District of Uganda, and other parts of French and English Africa, for cotton culture. Commenting on his article The Toronto World says: Next to agriculture. the cotton man ufacture is the greatest industry In Great Britain. Any Interruption in the supply of tke raw material at once fn- ficts loss and brings distress upon t0ousands of homes throughout the Midlands of England. British manu- facturers agree with M. Moline when he declares that If the United States are allowed to retain their present mo- nopoly of raw material they will not always be content to export the nat l ural product. but will insist upon doing so in the form of the manufactured ar ticle. When it comes to that, and if there Is no other source of supply, the European cotton industry will perforce cease to exist. And in view of the fact that an interval must elapse before cul- soil and climate are congenial, it Is fn- dispensable, as M. Moline says to lose no time in avertfng the impending peril The situation presents another
 
 ish and French interests interlace, and of the manner in which joint action can result in mutual benefit These two nations m sn control tn the @ most likely parts of cotton, and in view of the favorable results already obtained 1t seems high ly probable the United States monop- ply will before long be broken and the under more stable conditions.
 Many and various have been the plans proposed and the efforts made to | break up the virtual monopoly which this country holds in cotton production. l That 1t Is not a complete monopoly Is true. because cotton is produced in | other countries. but statistics show that four-flfths or fixe-sixths of the total crop of the world Is produced in the United States. Tn parts of Africa, in the East Indies, in China and Ja- pan, and in South America, the staple is grown but neither in quantity nor quality has there heretofore been any serious competition for this country to fear. Whether because of local and climatic conditions, long experience, or whatever may be the cause, the United States has largely been the cotton pro- ducer of the world.
 | As long as English spinners can im- rort at reasonable prices all the cot ton needed for their factories and mills they can look with no great de- gree of concern on the fact that we lead the world in production of the raw material, but the extract from The World shows that danger that Flu ropean manufacturers may face In the future. Not only does each year show inc roascd manufacture in the United States as a whole, but the increase in the South within recent years has been wonderful, anJ lI ia almost certain that the industry will continue to grow in this section. We of the South have long depended on the Northeast for our cotton goods, and it has not been very greatly to our credit that 1t Is so, but that time is passing, and that fact. together with increased activity in the New England mills or with the removal of some of the largest of them to the South, will tend to bring on the conditions apprehended by European manufacturers. and bring on a perma- nent cotton famine, especially in Eng land.
 The World and M. Moline are correct when they argue that it will be folly for England and France to wait till the famine comes. and till its causes are firmly fixed before any measures are taken to obviate 1t, or break it's force. It must be apparent to any one that stoppage of cotton imports would be a serious calamity to England, at least for a time, and hence we need not be surprised if her statesmen and economists should set themselves to the task of seeking or making other sources of supply for the raw material. If they should succeed the United States will then be deprived of one of their best cotton markets and would be forced to manufacture much more of their own crop than they now do, but we. suppose thereewill always be a market, and an increasing one, for the finished products. At any rate, we do not anticipate an early period when our staple will not find a good market on the other side the water, but that ef- forts will be made to prevent the rest of the world from being entirely de- l nendent on us is pretty certain.