The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1906-08-21

"a eAoASEd tine WOTi0 wa
Idusht tnat the south was no longe,
that the southern cottor
PLANTER could 20 longer be robbed
win IMMUNITY; that he intended anf
Ado the power TO enforce his in
11n'.ohS 10 secure profits for this rovaI
oCapie' when you read OF the efforts
"hich are being made BY the spinners
anu the governments of Eurooa r.
ue'eIop cotton-growing In other conn
'rles IN order to lessen their danand
ence upon the south, 90 back seventy
I'VE years o Will find that at ave,
mat early period Europe was making
q greater effort to accomplish this
yer! tnlng than il is now doing Rv
.He sue OF the agitation at that period
- parliament and in cotton mill cir
oleo' al mat Is now being done in this
ie0Pect seems like child's plav. Ye,
ueSpiIe ne active propaganda carried
on LOT nearly half a century before
1901 n now revived, the south's mo-
hopoly OF the worlds cotton trade va
never SO strongly intrenched as II i
To-Day. An official report made in F,e~
land about 60 years ago took The
ground that the English peonIa shon1d
hCVp CpIlOu dI the lowest
price possible, not only because Of tho
pIont 10 England in buying cheap cot
~ out because, as the report stated
~ "ouid nus secure a larger supply.
since the cotton planter in the southern
states IN America would undertake. To
increase the number of his bales To
make up for the smaller amount he
received per bale.
England and the continent have ever
since persistently and consistently fol-
lowed this policy, and, from their point
OF view, they are justified in doing So.
win cotton at five or six cents they
could buy their entire supply of Amer
lean cotton for about 5000. 900. 600 2
year, but with cotton at y cents they
nave to pay to the south $500. 600, 600
d year., or more than 81, 900, 900 every
DAY. No wonder Europe would seek
10 save this 5000, 900, 900 a year. and no
wonder that the south. having learned
us power Il knowing the business
Oh us cause, is determined that never
again shall it cotton be sold at I'M
profitable figures.
Moreover, the economic develoDment
OF the south makes it wholly unneces-
sary for this crop to be sold at q loss
IN the future. Diversified agriculture
has opened to the southern farmer fha
possibility of turning from cotton II
fruits and vegetables, to alfalfa, to
STOCK raising and to many other Dur
SUITS which afford more profitable en-
plOyment tina cotton would be at les
than 3 or 10 cents a pound. With the
Improvement that is being made in our
methods Of cultivation and in the res
toratlon OF soil exhausted by bad crop
ping systems W. could easily double
the present agricultural productions Ct
the south without increasing the area
under cultivation, and we have area
enough to duplicate the entire agricul-
tural output Of the United States.
The cotton of the south furnishes
the basis for much Of the wealth OF
New England and a very large portion
OF the wealth of Great Britain; it may.
in fact, for the bulk of Great Britain's
wealth outside of that based on coal
and iron. 1t has been estimated that
nearly one-quarter Of Great Britain's
population is dependent Upon the cot
ton Industry, which draws it's raw ma
terial from the south. Over 81, 900, OO0,-
600 Is invested in cotton manufacture
ing and cognate industries in Great
Britain, while New England has $780,
100000 invested in cotton manufacture
ing.
We of the south think that we have
been making progress in the develop
ment Of our spinning industry, and it
is true that we have done remarkably
we'll, but if we would judge what we
have accomplished by the possibilities
before us WI would be amazed at what
the future holds in store. It is no long
err a question of finding capital for
southern cotton mills, but it is a Sc
riOus question at present to find a
labor supply adequate to the needs Of
this growing industry. This, however,
can be overcome; labor can be brought
in and will be brought in in the near
future to an extent which will prevent
the hating of our cotton mill develop
ment. We have, as | have just said,
made great progress, and yet Massa-
chusetts has nearly as many spindles
as the south. and Great Britain last
wear alone added 5000. 900 spindles to
it's cotton mills, or twO-thirds as many
as the total number in the south. The
world has upwards Of 110. 900, 600 spin
dies, for which the south furnishes
more than three-fourths of the raw
material. but out Of this vast number
We have less than 10. 00G. 900. The pos
sibilities in the extension of cotton
mill building are only limited by the
question of labor. We could ~quadruple
our entire mill industry and still fan
short Of the magnitude Of cotton spin
ming at Manchester.
Of what avail is it, however, if we
have these bOundless stores unless they
can be utilized? And, if utilized, what
may We anticipate in the development
of wealth? Possibly no better illus
tration of the illimitable possibilities
that stretch before us can be given than
bv a brief comparison with Massachu-
setts, That state, but 5000 square
mites in area, or only one-ffth of Eir-
ginia's. practically without a single
HOY hr