The San Angelo press. (San Angelo, Tex.) 1897-1907, 1905-01-12
Argument for Smaller Cotton. Fields.

The British Cotton Growers
Association asserts its determine
tion TO succeed in throwing off
the yoke Of the American cotton
grover. 1t might not be very
bad thing for the latter if the b.
g. G.. A. should succeed. In time
we may have to be driven away
from the economic policy which
thousands Of years ago led the
Chinese TO wall themselves in,
and probably the sooner the bet
ter. If we could not sell cotton
TO great Britain we would certain
ly go to sea vigorously to find
buyers in other lands, and TO these
buyers we would carry mostly the
finished product, ard would have
to trade with them freely besides.
The British Cotton Growing
Association was chartered last
August, and few days later the
Colonial Secretary and other Min
listers met n great gathering Of
commercial and civic representa-
tives from the manufacturing
towns of Lancashire and York
shire to exchange ideas as to the
position and work of the associa-
ton. This organization began
operations in 1901 with the spe.
cial object of showing that plentl-
full supplies of suitable cotton for
the Lancashire trade can be grown
in various parts Of the British
Empire. 1t aims at producing u
condition that, whether the Bri-
ton is shut out from trade with
foreign countries by their tariffs,
or, as i'll the case of the shortage
in American cotton, by causes Of
another kind, he may have u
chance TO redress the balance
from abundant resources within
his own dominlons.
Three-fourths of the cotton used
in Lancashire is now produced in
the United States. The. increase
of factories IN our own country
tends to cut down the allowance
for the Old England mills yearly,
and the question, in the course
Of change, has come to question
of living with the Lancashire mill
men. They must do something.
Then came the high prices of the
present year. The Lancashire
men referred to it as the "tyran-
ny of the American cotton raiser"
on the very day the convention
met ut Shreveport to combat the
boil weevll and the bear. While
the cotton raiser was declaiming
against the fate and the gamblers
who had brought product down to
q luminous price, the man at the
other end was bewailing the
Tyranny Of the cotton raiser"
Anyway, the Britons are de-
termined to develop a cotton sup
ply of their own, and this an
other argument in favor of cut
ting down the cotton acreage.
1t was agreed that to increase the
area of supplies within the En-
pire was the evident remedy, and
this is the work now going on un-
der the energetic direction Of the
British Cotton Growing Associa-
ton. Since 1901 the organization
has raised successive guaranty
funds of $250,000, 100000 and
~ 800, 900, Consignm nts of
machinery have been sent to vari-
Gus parts of the Empire through
out the world, and financial as
sistance has been given to plant
ers who needed help at the earl
Ter stages. 1t is claimed that re-
suits up to date are most encour-
aging. In fact it is announced
that, $50 far the efforts of the
ASSOCIATION have been encourage
ing, so much 80 IN fact that even
now it ID predicted with conf
dence that the British Empire can
produce cotton both in sufficient
quantity and of proper quality to
meet all the requirements of Lam
cashire-where it is estimated the
cotton shortage IN America has
meant loss of S75, 100000 year
and has affected 100000 peo-
pie engaged in the numberless
trades dependent on or collateral
nj 4 hn Il