The Washington herald., 1907-06-08

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State in the Union 1t has been estimated
that twice the annual product Of the gold
mines Of the world would be required 10
pay the Southern planters for one years
yield Of lint and seed OF the four great
staples that provide man with clothing
cotton, silk. wool and fiaX-cOttUn, by
reason of its cheapness and the many
uses 70 which il may be put, is by far
the most important. Fifty years ago
2.5G0c09 bales. or less than the present
production Of Texas alone were aunu-
ally converted into clothing The spin
dies Of the world now use more than
100000 bales each year and the normal
annual increase i'm the demand IS not
less than 10000 bales Yet less than half
OF the people Of the world are supplied
with cotton goods made by modern ma
Chinery. and # would require annually a
crop of 42mo0d0 bales Of 560 pounds each
70 raise the worlds standard Of COnsump-
tiOn 10 that of the principal nations
These figures are important when we con-
slider the fact that the use Of cotton fol-
lows the flag of every civilized nation into
new territory.
England has recognized the fact that
cotton production IS not keeping pace with
the demand, and recently the British Cot
ton Growing Association, with S2-50ooo0
capital stock, was incorporated TO pro-
mote cotton growing in the colonies, de
Tendencies. and pr0tectorates Of the Brit
ish Empire. In a prospectus issued when
the association was formed, il was stated
that no matter how large the American
crop might be- I'm the future efforts 10
promote production I'm Egypt India, and
the West Coast of Africa should not be
relaxed. No less than 100000 persons in
the United Kingdom are dependent upon
the great cotton manufacturing industry
Cotton production I'm the United States
began during the last quarter Of the
eighteenth century, but it was not until
after Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin
that the crCp assumed large proportions
and became an important factor in COM
merce When young Whitney came 20
Georgia from Massachusetts. i'm search Of
"a position as school teacher, and failed
20 secure the place he had in view,
sIthy widow offered him the hospitality
Of her plantation home while he was seek
Ing other employment. At that time cot
ton planter were having their product
separated by hand and from one o. four
pounds a day was an q hand could sep
arate. Whitney determined 10 invent
machine that would do the work. After
working an winter he produced a model
of the gin that. with minor notifications,
is I'm use to-day. and il became possible
for a planter to separate his crop I'm a few
days with q saving Of profits that put cot
ton production on commercial basis.
Before the inventor secured q patent his
Office was broken into and his model
stolen He instituted a suit but never
reaped the full benefit Of his genius.
After the Invention Of the gin the cost
Of picking cotton still remained a heavy
expense and a bar 20 large profits. but
recently the many uses found for the seed
have made the sale Of the bi-product equal
70 the expense of picking. The average
cost Of picking the annual American crop
is between S73,0oo.o90 and Tt0oo,Glo a for
tune awaits the genius who can invent a
cotton picker. for although the dead loss
Of picking has been obviated. a substan-
tial profit would result from a labor-sav-
ing device.
The gin IS not the only machine that
has reduced the cost Of production. For
merry one man and one horse, with a
ploTv. opened the furrow, a second man
strewed the fertilizer, third dropped the
seed. and a fourth with another horse and
pl0w. covered them One machine now
does all Of this work. and the cost Of pro-
ductiOn is usually no more than half Of
the selling price. AS no crop makes so
slight n drain upon the land Il is pre-em-
iueut among farm crops, from an economic
standpoint. and IL is an axiom of the cot
ton country that from one 10 three or four
crops will pay for the land that grows il.
II is an interesting fact that the fluctua-
ton in the yield of cotton per acre. TAX
ing the cotton area as a whole, Is less
than that of almost any other product of
the soil This Is due TO the greater uni
formity Of the climate in the cotton belt
as compared 10 that Of other sections.
With the exception Of the Pacific Coast,
there IS no portion Of the United States
where the variation in temperature is so
small particularly I'm Summer, as In the
Southern States and on the Gulf coast
The same climate renders that section of
the country a most favored one for diver
slfed farming. and the cotton planter who
is prOvident is not dependent upon the
great staple alone. The average Weld per
acre is about $50 pounds, but improved
methods OF cultivation. more widely ap-
Piled are causing a gradual increase in
production, and the time is not far dis
-. D q
and the standard of the best planters, a
5OO-pound bale 20 the acre.
The comparative cheapness Of Southern
land. making it easy for thrifty tenants
20 buy it, tends to decrease the number
OF tenants. the size Of the plantations.
and the number of nonresident owners.
There are. however, a few plantations IN
Georgia. Alabama. Mississippi and Texas
ranging from 2o.0oo to 10000 acres in ex-
tent They are managed as systemati-
cally as any great business enterprise.
and return excellent profits upon the cap
ital invested. Although negroes operate
a large proportion Of the cotton planta-
tions, only 19 per cent Of the negro farm
ers own the land they work. while IS per
cent Of the white farmers are owners. As
the negro farmer usually has a large
family, which is economical rather than
expensive on cotton plantation. where
girls and boys are useful. his opportuni-
ties for purchase are excellent Many
negroes rent land. mortgage their crops
before they are planted TO supply stores,
and run through their profits before pick
ing time but not all of them are inprOvi-