Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-07-16
THE COTTON SUPPLY
SOUTHERN STATES GROW THREE
FoURTHs OF THE FIBER.
Worlds Yield is About Sixteen Million
Bales, Worth About 100000, ooo-
Troubles of English Spinners.


From the London Post
The cotton trade is one of the most pc
cular besides being one of the most inn
portant in the world. In the first place,
1t Is absolutely dependent upon plant
which can only be grown in tropical eli
mates. and which is exposed to exceptional
risks from wind, rain, cold and parasites
The southern states of America supply
three-fourths of the crop, which may vary
considerably from year to year. Last year
the prodact of the American cotton fields
was ten million bales and all Europe went
on short time. This year the crop Is thir-
teen million bales, and every spindle Is in
full use. A fair estimate of the worlds
crop. including Egyptian growths. is six
teen million bales. Averaged at hvepence
a pound these bales are worth f1600O,OOo,
which may be accepted as the annual value
of years growth of cotton. The value
of the products of this huge quantity OF
the raw material has been estimated by
Mr.. c. w. NIAGARA at no less than $780,
100000. This represents the amount that
the world spends annually upon its cotton
goods, and makes good the contention that
next to agriculture the trade of spinning
and manufacturing cotton is the most i'm
portant in the world. 1t is obvious from
this brief survey that the cotton industry
Is one that is capable of deriving much
benefit from international unity. Three
fourthS of the material having to come
from America, and the rest from the East
Indies. Egypt and other distant places, ev-
cry European spinner is deeply concerned
with questions of transit, packing and bal
ing. If the cotton be damp or badly
packed or the charges for freight be too
high 1t IS the spinner that suffers, and he
loudly complains that he is a frequent suf-
ferer. The complaints of individuals about
these drawbacks apt to be ignored, but
the members of the International congress
which has just concluded at Manchester
hold the view that their united protests
are bound to have weight even with the
heads of the cotton exchanges of New
York, Liverpool, Bremen and Alexandria.
Search for Fresh Fields.
The one thing. however, that has welded
the international congress together in bonds
that seem likely to become closer as the
years progress is the desire to expand the
cotton fields, to grow the staple wherever
1t be grown profitably and of good
quality. in order that the huge industry
may not be dependent upon the climatic
vagaries of one region of the world. and
may not be ruinously disturbed by the
operations of gamblers who, when the crop
is small. attempt to corner" 1T and to send
up prices to an extent which makes the
products of the looms of Lancashire too
expensive for Lancashire's most numerous
customers, the Hindoo, the Chinese, the
Japanese and other eastern races. Moth
ing met with heartier support at the Man
chester congress than the report on the
work of the British Cotton Growing Asso-
citation. The foreign delegates listened
with the greatest satisfaction as the story
was unfolded of how British colony after
British colony had been tested with the
object of finding out how far its soil and
its climate lent themselves to the growth
of cotton, and how. with many parts of
the world, complete success had followed
the experiments, thus giving practical
proof that in few years to come the de-
pendence upon the southern states of
America for supplies of the raw material
will not be nearly so complete as it is to-
Low