The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-10-24
What Will Be the Effect OH Prices of Present Eu-
 ropean War?
FRANCO-PRUSSIAN
 SAW HEAVY SLUMP
Number of Factors Today Indicate, However, That War Will Cause Good Increase in Price of
 South's Staple
By C. E. STEWART

Washington, October Specialo Ono of the great maxims of trade, es- l pecially relating 10 the commodity markets used to run In substance-- war will create higher prices for wheat, and lower prices for cotton.@ So far as wheat Is concerned the pro- verb has been fairly descriptive of Inc course of the market in case of hositlli- ties between the great world powers. High prices have always been recorded tor grain during certain stages of great wars The causes are purely economic and traders recognize that With great armies to feed and with fewer laborers in the field the demand for food may easily become a severe drain upon supplies.
 In the case of cotton the records arc not quite so clear because cotton ha5 not figured world commodity for more than century. or since the in- yention of the Whitney gin. The old est inhabifant will have no trouble in remembering that one instance cer- tainly when war did not put cotton cown was during the late unpleas- antness" between the north and the south, when. on account of blockading the southern ports. cotton sold in New York. as we'll as in Liverpool. at 4s much as g. per pound.
 Examples of Past Wars l Generally speaking. however, there has been in the past very sound req son for expecting lower prices for cot ton in the event of great International disturbances which would have d | paralyzlng effect upon trade Spinners | f m ia bt3a .f.a.l when they are sure of the sale of the product of their factories. Any dis turbance 10 commerce would effect tho l distribution of merchandise and conse- quently put II check Upon the purchase of raw material The Franco Prussian var had a bearish effect on cotton. In | 1869 the range of prices for middling l vas from 25 cents per pound, the low lnricf, tc S5 cents the high price Tie i following year which Witua9srn ths outbreak between Francs and Ger many. saw cotton range between the low price of 15 cents and the high price of 25A cents The following year cotton dropped still lower, with the high price of 21h cents, and tho low price of 14A cents. The fluctua- tions may, or may not have been | caused by the war, but if any conflict over could have influence on the price Ot cotton this war, 1t seems, certainly should have.
 The Boer war was hardly factor. as there was no disturbance of interna- | tional trade relations, nor was there during the Spanish American war
 Russo-Japanese War
 When war broke out between Russia and Japan the bears on the cotton ex- change, hoping for relief against the aggressive bull speculation of Daniel J. Sully and his following were free In | [ | aI4.4Fa low It's usual course and decline. Sul- ly's answer was that cotton would 20 up cents. And il did but mostly because he and his following bought enough contracts to put 1t there. Viewing the effect of the Russo-Ja- panese war purely from an economic standpoint the influence from that con- flict was to put prices of cotton high CT There was no general interfer- ence with the world trade relations. and while Japanese textile mills un- doubtedly were affected by a certain draft upon labor at the mills, it must | be remembered that great many of tho operators i'm the textile mills are women and children and this was par 1 ticuarly so in Japan.
 1 Perhaps tho chief influence in favor of higher prices Of cotton caused by war Is the complete change that has come about in the equipment of the regular armies far as uniforms are concerned. Up to 10 or 15 yeGrs ago most of the troops in the temperate zone at least wore wooden uniforms
 Now they are nearl yail clad in khaki uniformss and the demand for cotton | duck for the purpose of conversion
 into khaki Is perhaps the largest single item in the worlds cotton business
 today. When one considers that that the standing armies of all the civl- 1 ized nations have fatigue uniforms of khaki ranging from six ounce duck to | eight ounce it can readily be seen that
 this Is Responsible for the use Of T great many hundreds of thousands of
 bales of cotton.
 Khaki Makes Heavy Demand
 IL Is less than a year ago that the | French military authorities decided on the adoption of the khaki uniform and