The French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1896-1912, 1907-09-05
Col Watson.of South Carolina,
Writes Encomagingiy
OF SOUTRS FUTURE ON COTTON
A Thoughtful and Optimistic Article
Written. by Request, for the South
ern Mills.

known publication for a special az
ticle ON the cotton crop situation. Col
Watson has prepared a very thought
full article in which he expresses OPP
timistic views as to the future of the
cotton growers. His article is as fol-
lows:
The cotton situation as / see it, par
ticularly in the South, is one full of
promise to the grower, the buyer, the
local consumer and the exporter.
| Cotton is a monopoly that belongs to
the Southern States of the United
States and neither greed, science nor
treachery can rob the South of that
monopoly. 1t is God given. tits 8
monopoly whose power must of neces-
sity grow as the population of the
world increases.
The great mystery about it all is
that the Southerner persists In fail
ure to realize his potency-the value
of his wv strength. Why the pro-
Queer of cotton sits down and serene
ly permits the man who knows the
power of that monopoly-the middle
man In distant marketing centers-
to rob his bucket of milk of all the
rich cream, is almost beyond comprc-
hension. But he has been doing it for
years; he is doing it now and it al
most seems that he resents the at
tempt of any one to show him where
his interests lie and how he can a
the millions of dollars which now go
from his crop to sustain the high liv-
ing Of the men who handle cotton
and cotton products in New York and
across the water.
Let the Southern planter once real
ize that he has the power to say how
his crop shall be marketed; let him
begin to export his product to the
markets of the world, dealing direct
ly with the important consumers
through direct shipment from a strict
cotton belt seaport, and then you will
see rolls of money now spent In COM
missions, terminal charges and 30 o.
ad ininitum-all of which the farm
er himself pays-remaining In the
hands of Southern producers.
No crop In the known world is ham
died to the consumer as cotton is ham
died; no crop pays higher tribute to
men whose Interests are merely to
make as much out of the original pro-
Queer and owner; no crop pays higher
tribute to the gambler.
The cotton situation In the South,
as / have said, Is full of promise; so
it IS; but not as full as it might be
If the Southern producer would but
claim his rights, put a stop to costly
and indirect marketing and deal di-
rectly with the consumer, shipping his
product direct from his own ports 10
the foreign ports that the cotton
reaches. / have had occasion to in
vestigate every phase of this feature
of the handling of the South's sta
pie crop at home and abroad and off
ciaIIy / am now engaged In a work
that may perhaps sooner or later eff
fectively break some of these artif-
ciaf bonds now holding the producer
of cotton to only q share of his OWE
profits and a very small share at
that. The same thing is true of the
Southern manufacturer. Let him once
get his product direct to market, to
the consumer, and an era of prosper
ity and a tide of development viii
sweep over the South Atlantic States
that no power, real or artificial can
stem.
Can the imagination picture the ar
rival of the time when the worlds
demand for crude cotton will not be
ever-increasingq Not so long as the
worlds population increases, and not
so long as cotton, as it must do, con-
tinues to be the chief article going to
clothe two-thirds of the population of
the known world. l use the term
"ever-increasing'' advisedly.
The demand for cotton products
grows more rapidly than the develop
ment and increase of production and
1.-The time is not far distant when the
production of twice the acreage of to-
day will be In demand and when BY
better and more careful methods of
cultivation the yield per acre will be
double what it is today.
Many have thought that the i'm
mense development of cotton manu-.
featuring in the Southern States and
the increase of this industry in New
England would curb foreign develon-
ments, but this is not true. I'm Eng
land this year In one district alone
there will be put in operation new
mills equalling almost the entire man
ufacturing capacity of the State Of
North Carolina.
Over on the continent engagements
and new plants are the order of the
day. Even the cotton gamblers in
New York can not under such condi-
tons, force down the price of cotton
beyond a reasonable profit, and I do
not believe that there will ever be a
period of serious depression again.
The farmer should see to it that he
does not sell his cotton cheaper to the
foreign consumer and that he puts in
to his own pocket all that proportion
of what really belongs to him that is
now being indiscriminately taken in
freight charges for roundabaut harfs