Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-08-06
WEST AFRICA COTTON.
Little Prospect of Sufficient Quantity
to Offer at Market.

SItcidl Correspondence OF Inc star.
LONDON, July 30, 1905
The correspondence of the London Times
relating to the British experiment of
promoting cotton cultivation in west
Africa indicates that there is very lit
tie prospect of obtaining enough of this
ma teral from that quarter to have any
perceptible effect upon the market, at least
for a long time to come. So far there is
little promise of any return for the money
and energy that are being expended 1t does
not appear yet that the native plant can
be made by better cultivation to produce
this most desirable staple, and there is a
tendency in American cotton to deteriorate
in that soil and climate The difficulties of
obtaining sufficient la Dor of the right kind
and of providing adequate means of trans
portation are such as to be rather diScour-
aging. The correspondent of the Times
referring TO assurances given last year that
in five years 100000 bales of 400 pounds
each would be derived from British West
Africa, says that if one-tenth of that GUAM
tty is TO be obtained by the end of 1909
economic conditions there will have to
change very rapidly.
There has been no better progress in
German and French efforts in the same
quarter which have not been pushed with
the same earnestness. Nothing has been
heard lately of actual results in east Africa
but reports some time ago We're more favor
able for the Soudan and the British pro-
tectorates there. But a great deal of the
same difficulty has been encountered, espe-
cially in the matter of transportation. The
production of Egyptian cotton, which, like
the American Sea Island has a place of its
own, may be considerably extended, but it
has natural limit, which will prevent it
from becoming an important market factor.
In the meantime little is accomplished in
improving greatly inereas sing the product
in India. For the most part ii is used and
is likely to continue to be used in the native
manufacturing industry. In all probability
it can never become a rival of American
cotton. Nothing is heard of any substan-
tial growth in the Russian cotton fields of
central Asia, and there is little evidence of
progress in South America or the West
Indian colonies.
the consequent recession in price had the
inevitable effect of relaxing the European
effort to develop a supply from other
sources. but another short crop and re-
turn of high prices will revive this with re-
newed determination. The American cot
growing states undoubtedly have an i'm
mense advantage in the development of the
industry and in the pos sion OF the worlds
market. This may be lost seriously i'm
paired by a short-sighted policy of restrict
ing production to keep the price above a
fairly remuneratSe level. The worlds de-
mand is steadily increasing and the aversion
of Europe to being dependent upon the
American crop undoubtedly grows keener
every year. There is need in the southern
states of America of better methods of Gull
tiVating and of conserving the crop. Much
can be done to reduce cost and to save
waste and loss, and also to adjust the fuc-
tuating supply to a steady demand running
from one year to another. The United
States can undoubtedly continue to supply
the world with the bulk of its cotton while
increasing its capacity for converting it into
manufactured forms before exporting it,
but it will require conservative handling on
the part of the planters of the south.