The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1909-05-12
EGYPTIAN. COTTON
SENATOR FLETCHER URGES
THAT 1T BE TAXED.
Egyptian Cotton, Grown in the Nile
Valley, Competes Seriously With
Southern Long Staple Cotton.

Southern Long Staple Cotton.
The Washington correspondent Of
The News and Courier says in
speech on the floor Of the Senate a
day of two ago, Senator Fletcher, of
Florida, declared that South Caro-
lima long staple cotton was the bast
raised and commanded better price
on the market than that grown aay-
where else in this country. In
adding to this he threw considerable
light on long staple growing along
the sea Islands of the South Atlartic
coast generally
Speaking of this industry the Flor
ida Senator said:
The production of cotton on an
important scale began about 1889,
when we produced 5000 bales and
the price was 2S cents per pound.
In 1898 we produced $4,000 bales
and the price was A cents. In 1900
the production was $4,000 bales and
the price was % cents. In 1920
the production was over 100000 and
the price II cents. From lS4C to
1850 it reached the low price CT
cents per pound, and again about
ten years ago. The Introduction, OF
the factory, the utilization of the
seed and by products, the use Of cot
ton in place of wool and silk and
hemp in increasing quantities Lave
made the crop today worth more
than double what it was ten years
ago. and the increase in the value OF
the crop in one year, caused by the
presence of factories at the fields
doubtless would more than pay TOR
all the spindles in the South. Even
now the grower, labor and supplies
having gone up, is making no ire
mendous profit.
The value Of the exports from this
crop amounts annually to s4S2,eO0,-
600 It is said that if Europe had
stacked up all the gold and all the
silver mined from the earth for the
past six years and shipped it to the
South she would still owe US $780,
0O0, 900 for our raw cotton aloLe.
The protection given to cotton
warns and cotton cloth may to some
extent help the price Of cotton. l
question if the former is benefited
thereby materially. There is but lit
tie of the short-staple cotton import
ed. There is produced in this coun'
trv, however, the sea island or long
staple cotton, which competes with
that grown in the West Indes and
in the Valley of the Nile.
On the free list in the pending Dill
are cotton and cotton waste OF
aocks." The annual crop of long,
staple cotton fuctuates, but the aver
age production may be fairly estl-
mated as follows:
Florida, $1,000 bales; Georgia
$4,000 bales, and South Carolina
1900 bales-of about 400 pound:
each.
The Growing Area.
The producing area being abou'
! Charleston and extends down the
coast to the Georgia line, and theI
it leaves the coast and extends soutf
through Georgia into Middle Flori
da. About one-third of the Soutf
Carolina crops gives a staple 2 te
2 1-2 inches long, and it is sold gen
orally for export at from 40 to 81
cents per pound, it is the finest staple
produced. The EAST Florida sta
| pie is l 3-4 to 2 inches long; the
FLORIDA" 1 SIS to / ga inches. The
Georgia staple is 5-S inches long
but not so fine as the FLORIDA.
Fineness is factor with the spinner
and only the superlative fine fibre
brings the fancy price. Outside the
islands of South Carolina the price
is about 20 cents per pound.
Egyptian Cotton.
The West Indes is the origina
home of the plant and produces abou
1000 bales annually. 1t was in 1TSe
that the plant was transplanted OF
the American Continent from the
West Indes. There is produced II
the Valley of the Nile cotton VIII,
is capable of competing with our ses
island cotton. This rich region pro
duces about 100000 bales of 40(
pounds each annually. 1t is long
staple, fine fibre cotton, and abou'
10000 bales of it are imported, BY
American mills every year at a price
ranging about Is cents per pound
1t spins we'll and wastes about 8 pei
cent less in going through the va
rious processes OF preparation for the
spindle than does the sea island cot.
ton. The Egyptian cotton wastes
about 25 per cent, while the sea
Island wastes about 33 per cent. The
Egyptian staple is about 5-S inches
long; but is preferred to the Ameri-
can for some purpose because Of less
waste duQ SISdIGl SIlCaSlA oAo @|S
| color.
1t seems that while the Egyptian
cotton is near relation of the sea
/ island, it cannot be grown IN our
country. 4 duty of cents a pound
on the lint cotton would yield q reve-
nue. of $4,000. $1,000 bales be-
ing 60,000,O00 pounds.
This cotton is used in the manu-
facture Of mercerized silks and finer
goods of the highest and most ex-
pensive class, on which this bill pro-
poses duty of 81 per cent, while
the total wage cost is about 20 per
cent.
The actual cost Of producing the
cotton is about s21 per acre. The
avearge yield is about 10 to 15C
pounds OF lint to the acre. The
price now is less than 20 cents per
pound.