The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-03-10
POSSIBILITIES OF
 COTTON IN AFRICA Enormous Continent is We'll in
 the Cotton Belt FACES TO BE POWDERED In the End Law of Darwin Will De- eide the Question as to What
 Land Shall Supply the
 World With Cotton.
 
FACTS TO BE POWDERED

Charlotte, N. C., March S.-(special)- The American Cotton Manufacturer will say in its next issue:
 Africa to most Americans is little more than an aggregation of six letters the descriptive term of an unknown continent. It's latent possibilities are a sealed book to most of Us. In this wave of cotton agitation which has envolved the United States 1t is not uncommon to hear the efforts of European cotton manufacturers to supply themselves with most. of the raw cotton they use from that continent, derided and brushed aside as utterly chimerical.
 1t would be a pleasant thought if we could with reason be assured that our present monopolies absolutely entailed, but to ostrich like, blind our vision by burying the head in the sands of ig- noranee, will not serve to preserve our present mastery of the situation.
 What Is Africa.
 Africa is truly continent both in size and inhabitants. It's area being i1,514, 000 square miles, and it's population 1o7, GOO, ,O0O It is almost twice as large as the whole of North America, and is just about as densely populated. This enormous country Is practically every bit of it in the cotton belt. The area of the American cotton states is trivialJn comparison to 1t.
 Our cotton planters and tkeir leaders. with imperfect knowledge, are fond of asserting that their territory alone has the elements essential to successful cotton growing on a large scale. These are eli mate soil, transportation facilities, labor and the machinery for collection and dis tribution. Only the two first are rudi- mental. The others will grow with the development of the business. It has al- ready been demonstrated that Africa has the requisite soil combined with suitable climate. This Is a fact carried by inves- tigaton and experiment beyond argu- ment. The facilities for collecting and dis tributing the fibre are keeping pace with the development of the lands planted in cotton. IL only remains then to ascertain how the fibre grown in the interior can be brought to the sea1Dard
 Railroad Building.
 That empire builder Cecil Rhodes, long talked of a railroad from tho cape to Cairo. At first his magnificent ideas were scoffed at as those of dreamer. Today the world moves fast. The rapidity with which today's giant undertakings are completed would have been ridiculed as l day dream'' of the uncrowned African Emperor is coming true with incredible speed. His famous railway will be 5500 miles long and a full half Of this Is com pleted. The shovel and pick are now at work 300 miles north of the Zambesi river.
 Another line bisecting this is now being laid which will open the continent from east to west, starting at Hombrosa on the Indian ocean and stretching to Matadi at the mouth of the mighty Congo. Parts of this at both terminii are already in op- erations Another steel track is being laid from the Nile to the Red sea, a short 470 miles haul to the out port, opening up the Soudan, than which there is no more suitable cotton area in the world.
 Keep Thinking.
 American growers should ponder these things keep thinking. It is palpaby dis dressing to them when they present the world with a plethora of cotton. But when adopting curtament and diversifi- 1 cation as remedies they ought to remem- ber that a famine will be more fatal to them in the long run. If abridged acreage and less fertilizers this crop ear should be colncident with an unfavorable sea son. the kiting of prices will he inevitable and this will surely exasperate the for eign users to such a pitch tfat they will redouhle their efforts to free themselves 1 from us
 In the end the law of Darwin will de- eide the question as to what land shall supply the world with cotton. We have the control now and 1t remains with us tc act conservatively and with Intelligence if we are to survive as the Attest.