The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1904-01-13
THE COTTON SITUATION
Is the Sou,h's Great Staple Menaced
by Poor Seed.

New York cotton dealer, the present
serious condition in the cotton markets
of the world, and the danger threaten
ing the textile industry OF the United
States, of England, France, Germany,
Russia, Switzerland and Spain can be
traced to only one cause.-The Steriliza-
tion or inpoverishment Of the cotton
seed. He says: Serious as is the
situation to-day and high us prices
are. the situation will be more serious
and the prices higher each year until
measures are taken by which proper
seed can be planted for the growth OF
the cotton crop. Paradoxical as 1t
may seem, the curtaiiment OF the
cotton crop is natural result Of the
growth Of the cotton seed Industry. a
quarter Of a century ago the cotton
seed was the bane of the cotton plant
er. He had great difficulty in getting
rid of bis surplus seed. 1t was burned.
cast into the rivers, used to fill gullies
and hollowS and hauled away at o.
little expense. But since the dis
covery OF the uses of cotton seed oil
cotton seed hnlls and cotton seed mea
the demand for the seed has grown t
great proportions. The South is dot
ted with cotton seed oil mills, an
what was once regarded as refuse now
brings nearly 100000, 900 a year
the South.
This would be a magnificent as
set were it not for the fact that The
oil mills demand the heaviest ano
richest Of the seed, Having only The
poorest for the planter to put back il
the ground for the planting Of hi:
next crop. The ferceness OF competi
tion is such and the prices for seed ar,
so large that within The last five U
six years the planters have impoverish-
ed their seed supply to the utmost
limit. Poor seed brings a poor cottoi
yield. Increased acreage is no remedy
even if it were possible under present
conditions to extend the acreage mucl'
beyond its present limits. Thought
ful men Of the South see no pro, pecl
Of change in the immediate future.
Surely none can be expo cted as long
as the spinners have to scramble fol
cotton to keep their mills going ano
the cotton seed mills pay top-notch
prices for their supplis.
The statistics Of the last six OF
seven years show more conclusively
than anything I could say how i'm.
portant a part this impoverishment o.
the cotton seed is playing in cottor
affairs. Since 1897 the acreage plant
ed to cotton 10 the United States has
been increased from 24,000,o0o tc
approximately $4,000, 900 acres. Yel
the yield has steadily decreased. IL
1897 the South raised II. 200, 900 bales
Of cotton on an acreage Of $4,000, 900.
This season with an acreage Of 28, ,000,.
900, the governments estimate is g..
962, 900 bales. Take the average
yield an acre year by year aud the
detoriation is shown more convincing.
Ily. In 1s97-sS the yield Of lint pei
acre planted was 224 pounds. IL
1898 SO, it was 232; in 10000, 2l0:
in 1900 OIL. 2ll; in 190l.02, 1873; in
10000, 116.
But even these figures do not
show the real decrease in the yielo
per acre. In 1897 and 1898 cotton
was extremely cheap, and what re.
presented hundreds of thousands Of
bales Of lint we're lie unpicked in the
teld, because the planters did not
think it would pay for the picking.
This season, however, there isn't
cotton plant in the South that hasn't
| been picked of every ounce Of it's pro.
duct. The world absolutely requires
10, 100, 900 bales cotton this season: 1t
could use 100000 bales and there
would be no surplus. Cotton is the
most valuable money crop of the
world to-day. 1t is used in more u
the world staples than any other oI
the earth'S products. Its uses are
constantly widening, and yet we are
face to face with the condition Of
constantly shortening crop. It is idle
to charge the big advance in prices tc
manipulation Of the market, to wealth.
er conditions in the cotton belt, tt
lack of moisture, lateneSs of planting
or to any other Of the stock causes.
Every student Of the cotton world
who gives serious consideration to the
subject will come back to the basic
trouble Of the impoverishment Of the
seed.
This subject is of far greater i'm
portance than the average man realiz-
es. 1t is Of as great Importance to
North as to the South, not only be.
cause of the manufacturing industries
Of the North that are dependent upon
the cotton crop, but because every
oody wears cotton goods and because
the financial world depends upon the
cotton crop to maintain the financial
parity between this country and Eu-
rope. Without our cotton the money
market of the United States would oe
in sad way. Cotton bills are pay
able in gold, and it is through the
payment for cotton exported to Europe
that We maintain the gold balance
with the rest Of the world. You can
not look for any change in the South
until the danger from the impoveriSh-
ment of the cotton seed is brought
home to the planter. At present he
is blind to this menace. The present
crop will bring to him at least $780,
900, 900 more than any other crop be
ever raised. That would seem to
prove that he is favored by fortune.
The crop Of next year perhaps will
bring even much greater returns. But
there is an end to all things, and soon-
er or later it will be realized that
what is now godsend may bring
about disaster.
The world must have cotton. II
it cannot get enough from the South