The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-04-23
A CHAPTER ON COTTON.
Edward Atkinson's Suggestion-Letter
From G. II. Massey of Alabama.
Especial to News and Observer.)

This weeks issue of the Manufacture
ers' Record that cotton mill interests
of this country appoint committee
of one to investigate Great Britain
export trade in cotton IA cotton Ia
brics says:
81 assume that there have been no
great changes in the conduct of COM
merce in cotton goods in Great Britain
| for many years. On one of my visits
to England | went from London in
| railway carriage with a German eX
porter of goods to South America,
man of great intelligence. On the
wav TO Manchester he told me that he
| had Just bought 1000 bales of our
drills to send to South America, adj
| ding: They are better goods than
! the British They are preferred by
buy more, as l am now going to Man
| chester to buy 1000 bales of British
drills to send to the same market l
| expressed my surprise and asked him
| "Why?' To which he replied: Il
have put all the cash / can control
| into your American drills, and have
ordered them to be shipped and that
| closes the transaction. In Manches-
| ter shall go to a warehouseman who
will buy enough British drills to meet
my order, will take them to his ware
| house, stamp and pack them accord
| ing to my orders and ship them to
| South America. He will then draw
| four months bill on his London bank
| ers for the amount of my purchase,
requiring no cash from us. That bill
| may be renewed once or twice II
necessary. All my goods will be
brought together in South America,
many of them packed in small bales
| to be carried on mule backs to inter-
rlxaf sold
| principal cities customary packages;
| my agents will dispose of them. They
| will then buy on my orders wool, hide
! and other products of South America,
ship them to London under arrange
ments with the same bankers who
| hold the drills as security. These
goods VIII be shipped in parcels on
! any vessel of any nationality that
may happen to be available. They
will be entered in London free of taxes
or duties in the custody of the bank
| ers or the Warehouseman, and they
will there be sold for further distribu-
! ton i'm Europe or in the United States,
! and the proceeds of the sales of this
merchandise will be applied to pay
ment to the bankers of their advances
on the original purchase of the drills
THAT is in a general way a state
ment of the conditions of export and
! import in Great Britain. Manifest
| ly the export of the drills may be as
| sumed to have paid the German mcr-
| chant a profit. Manifestly a larger
! sum was therefore invested by him in
! the crude products of South America.
! ManifeStly these crude products OF
| South America were entered in Great
Britain for a larger sum imported in
| pounds sterling than the drills mad
| been entered in the exports. The bal
/ g Of AiC11 n a \ Il =
| ed and misapplied, was therefore in
| favor of the merchant, and the I'M
ports of Great Britain being much
| greater in value than the exports,
| therefore show a favorable balance OF
| trade on their merchandise account,
while we in this country adhere to the
absurdity of believing that when we
| exDort more than we import We have
| a balance of trade in our favor OF
| course, there are many other elements
| entering into the balance of exchange,
but this example shows the total mis-
! apprehension and ignorance of the
| methods of commerce Witnessed by the
| popular way of thinking that we have
| a favorable balance of trade because
we appear to export a higher value OF
| goods than We import.
The Letter From Massey.
Bearing upon the same subject is d
| letter from Mr.. G. II. Massey, d manu-
! facturer of Huntersyille, Ala, to the
| Manufacturers Record, IN which ne
| says:
what the country wants is more
cotton. better cotton, more mills ana
better mills. In my opinion, We have
none too many mills, but we often
make too many mistakes; that is 10
say, when there is a fair profit in a
certain line OF goods too many mills
| are apt to take advantage of any
| Slight advance, and often find out that
! they overstock the market on that
| class of goods and have to change
| their product at heavy expense. This
| has been the case with print cloths.
| A few years ago there was good
| profit in this class of goods and many
| new Southern mills started to make
| print This was kept up to such an
extent that owing to cheaper labor,
| fuel living and nearneSS to raw ma
! teral in the South many of the large
| Fall River and other New England
| mills were forced into idleness. The
| profit is now so small ON this class OF
| goods that only the newest and most
! up-to-date mills can compete on these
! goods, while other mills which have
made prints are finding more profit IN
| heavier weights and colored work. Ii
| this reverse iSAnOt carried to the Oppo-
|
| become more normal in the future
than in the past That is what we, the
cotton manufacturers of the United
States, need today more than any
thing else, foreign markets for our
/ goods. With sufficient markets we
| can supply the world, and / feel sure
| that the time is not far distant when
We shall accomplish this end.
THE mill industry and cotton-rais-
| ing will continue, and it is my opin-
| ion that the mills will increase more
rapidly in the Southern States than
! in any part of the globe. All railroads
have practically level run to our Gull
| ports, and naturally rates are lower
/ from the Gulf than from New York,
/ Philadelphia, or Baltimore, as to reach
these shipping points mountain ranges
must be passed. The Panama CanaI,
! which must inevitably be carried to
! completion, will open a short route to
| our new possessions and the Far East.
| Our consular service should in some
respects be improved, ineAnuch as
pertains to our foreign markets. Some
! curb should be put on wildcat specu-
! Iation, and the earliest possible statis-
| teal reports should be made by the
! government so as to protect the far