The Washington herald., 1910-12-04

we do. The United States should get
ships. No matter how. Then there ought
10 be government warehouses so that
cotton may be stored-negotiable receipts
being given-and held until the demand
of the spinners insures the farmer fair
price for his crop
where is the price Of cotton made.
and by whom
up to the year 1903. except during the
civil war in this country, the price was
coerced abroad in England, by British
spinners. Their best markets for cotton
goods were in warm cOuntries-lndia,
especially. Their customers being on the
edge of poverty. they were compelled TO
sell cheaply. Controlling the market for
raw cotton, being the largest purchasers,
they kept the price down TO our farmers,
giving them about cents a pound in the
field for their crops, on an average. Since
1903. however, the law OF supply and de-
mand has regulated the price in Egypt
and America. "
Profits Of Spinners.
rs II true that cotton manufacturers
in this country ordinarily make from Is
per cent TO Co per cent profit on the cap
itaI they have investea?" ] asked.
NO Taking the industry by decades
and as a whole. ] think the net earnings
of our spinners will amount 10 about s
, per cent on their capitalization. Now
and then some mill viii make a lot of
money. 100 per cent in year. perhaps,
because the owners and managers had
the intuition 10 buy a large supply of
cotton I'm advance. or because they had
some novelty. a new fabric. that seemed
10 have the elements Of popularity, and
have found their judgment Endorsed by
the public Il is such exceptional and
isolated cases that have given rumor TO
abnormal profits in the cotton industry. "
rs anything new being done with cot
tonseed?"
ut has been learned that cottonseed
flour makes the best kind OF bread. Emil
nent Watchmen on the walls Of business
James ]. IIill among the rest-are saying
that our food supply is running short,
and that we shall be importing some OF
the things we eat if we don't return TO
the farm, or consume more corn and
oats If good, white bread IS In their
minds. they have blundered in their prog
nostications.
There are 100000 acres Of cotton
lands IN this country The present yield
VI tNlARiA tlAt1 nNft n6No RaAf "AiAAhA VI a
bale 10 the acre. IL should be one bale
or one bale and a half on 20,00o.0o0 acres
OF the area ] have mentioned and Il will
be. by and by. when We better our Gull
tural methods The yield OF seed then
will he enormous. There are 500 pounds
OF lint and LOCO pounds of seed In every
1850 pounds OF cotton brought In from
the field Seed ranges in price from 81
10 $40 d ton. 4 ton of wheat at 81 a
hushel is worth $33 The process of
making cottonseed -four has not been
perfected. but il has gone far enough TO
show that such -four Is 10 he one OF the
big industries Of our people
What has become of the boil weevil
that seemed 10 threaten the impoverish-
ment Of the South a few years ago.
Not an Unmixed Evil.
1T is now operating in Mississippi. and
IS going eastward at the rate OF seventy
miles year Coming across the Mexican
frontier, il did great damage in Texas
and Louisiana. Long ago / said that II
was not an unmixed evil. Texas planters
put more headwork into their business
after the appearance OF the weevil. They
planted earlier and placed their seed
farther apart Weevi want shade, and
close DtdNtlHE was t&fGLAF WHAT Atttf re-
quired IN their business. The pest has
practically driven cotton out OF Louisiana.
but the farmers substituted corn, and are
rapidly growing rich
How did you get into cotton?' I asked.
AT the age of eighteen I left an Epis-
copal academy in Connecticut and found
employment with a coal dealer at Provi-
dence. my birthplace I took up mechan-
ical drawing in an attempt TO convert
myself into a craftsman. When ! was
twenty-one / went into a mandatory
that made cotton machinery, at 500 a
year. The salary looked large, aud ] was
married I soon saw that a craftsman
would always be a. hired man and never
be independent. Leaving my wife and
baby at home, I made a Decline for
Sherman, Tex, where I wotked a year
for my board, learning the Gotten bust
ness from the field to the warehouse, and
then 10 the railroad. Having accom-
plished my purpose. I became a salesman
for one of the most important firms of
cotton merchants in Boston. / bought
cotton in the South and sold il TO spin
ners in New England
But my employer had sons coming
into the business. Dan Sully. il appeared.
would always be a salesman. So I went
to Providence. and hired out to a man
whose integrity aid knowledge were
more than locally famous. The second
year he gave me a one-fdirth interest in
the profits. The third year he made me
an equal partner. In TN years I bought
him out"
And then?'
81 made some money, smelt the frost,
saw the chilled seed, wrought out the
DRY. and put the squeeze of 1893 in mo-
ton Before ] forget H. let me also re-
mark that wars are fought as much with
cotton as they are with steel and lead"
Copyright. 1910. By James B. MorroEl