The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1906-06-19
MR Smith AIES g
.5S5 THE SITUATION
A REVIEW or THE CONDITIONS
1ETHE COTTON MARKET. szs
South Should Stand Firm--C Cotton
Association Calls Upon Farmexs,
Merchants and Bankers to
ASHold Their Advantage. .5H

Mr.. f.. ID. Smith, president Of thu
I'd South Carolina division, Southern
Cotton association, who was here al
the offices Of the association yester
day, gave out the following interview
last night:
"In view Of the facS that such {
number Of planters and merchant.
throughout the South are selling thei,
cotton for next fall delivery at 1(
cents per pound, there are certain
facts which I deem it duty of myself
and others who are posted, to give tc
the members of the Southern Cotton
association and those interested in
the continued high price of cotton
and the consequent prosperity of the
South.
"In 1904 we made practically 14,-
100000 bales of cotton; in 1905 we
made Approximately 10,500,000. These
two items make an average of about
l2,250,000 bales for the two years,
1904 and 1905. Notwithstanding this
enormous yield of cotton, enormous
IN comparison with what we have been
led to believe was necessary for the
worlds supply, hear what the officers
of the British Cotton Growing asso-
citation have to say III reference to the
cotton situation published May 10Th
in the official journal Of the Manches-
ter cotton association. This journal
says:
aeon last Thursday what the prime
minister described what the prime
most Influential dcputations that has
ever waited upon the head of the gov
e1ment of this country, met together
in the forign office, London. Accom-
paying Sir H. Campbell Bannerman
were the Earl of Elgin, colonial secre-
tary; Mr.. John Morley, secretary for
India; Mr.. Winston Churchill, under
colonial secretary, and Mr.. George
Whitley, chief ministerial whip. This
deputation which represented the
British Cotton association, some of
the principal chambers of commerce
Of Great Britain, the various associa-
tions of labor and capital, some Of the
chief magistrates Of Lancashire, and
other towns outside of Lancashire
was introduced by Lord Derby, the
lord-lieutenant of Lancashire. He
was followed by the Duke of Marl-
borough, who in few pithy remarks
associated himself with the movement.
Mr.. j. a. Hutton, vice chairman of
the council of the association, stated
the ease for the dcputation. He stat
ed that the annual value of the pro-
duction of the cotton trade amounted
to over lO0,000,000 pounds sterling
(&500.000. 0.00M and that the capital
directly engaged represented over
400.000,000 pounds sterling, or $2,-
000,000,000. There was no need, he
said, to labor the point that trade
of such Importance vitality affected
the welfare of the country, and that
any disaster to it might be said to be
a disaster to the whole country. The
cotton trade, he went on to say, was
in very dangerous position. The
dangers were two-fold. In the first
place, they got Is per cent of their
raw material from one country, and
that they were consequently at the
mercy Of the weather in one part Of
the world. 1t was therefore quite
evident that they ought to aim at
broadening the base of supply, and if
possible to do so within the British
Empire. The second danger to which
he called attention was that consump-
tion was more or less overtaking pro-
duction. 1t was calculated that con-
sumption in the British Empire was
increasing at the rate of 100000 bales
per annum, and Lancashire alone had
IN the last year or so added something
like 100000 spindles to her spinning
capacity which represented an in
crease in consumption in Lancashire
alone of half a million bales; that the
United States had increased their
consumption from 100000 bales 10
years ago to 100000 bales at the
present. 1t was therefore clear that
in a comparatively short time the
United States would require the great
er part of their own production,
Whether they would get it was of
course another thing. For the cotton
would go to those who paid the best
price for it; that. a scramble was ex.
pected, nobody would deny. The