Evening journal., 1913-03-07
Widely Ramified Influence
of the SoufFl's Cotton Crop
From 9altimore Manufacturers Rec

From Baltimore Manufacturers Rec
ord.
Cotton: The Southern Woof in the
Warp OF American Agriculture, Man
ufacturing and Commerce." is the
striking title Of one Il the articles In
The South: The Nations Greatest
Asset to be ISSUED March % by the
Manufacturers Record. The article
Is significant in rejecting the influence
Of cotton not only In this country, but
IN the world. In this comprehensive
report on cotton there are many facts
Of worldwide interest. few of which
may be mentioned here In advance.
Produced upon 35,000.000 acres, or
11.9 per cent OF the 294 4,343,000 acres
devoted to twelve leading crops OF the
country in 1912, the cotton crop, in
Guiding the seed, in that year had a
value Of $1,000 100000, equal to 20.4
per cent. of the aggregate value, $4,-
800 $4,000, Of those crops. Upon
something more than one-eighth of
the land devoted to those crops in the
whole country the South produced
one crop, cotton, having value more
than one-ffth Of the aggregate value
of the twelve crops.
In the last census year, 1909, the
value OF all factory products In the
United States was S20.672.0b2 600. In
that year the value of the outputs of
blast furnaces and iron and steel
works and rolling mills was $1.317,-
$4,000. and the value of cotton goods,
including hosiery and knit goods, and
primary products of cotton seed, was
S915,070 900. In the first-named in
dustries 27S,505 wage-earners we're
employed, and in the second group
474,701.
The value Of merchandise exported
form the United States In the fiscal
year ended June 30, 1912, was S2,204,-
322.409 OF the total. raw cotton rep
resented S565, S49,271, manufactures of
cotton $50,769.511 and cottoDseed and
its products S42142.1S1. an aggregate
of $65S, 200. 1868, representing products
of the cotton plant, and 1913 per cent
of the total value Of all merchandise
exports from the country. In the
tnirty-three years between 1880 and
1912 there was exported from the
United States merchandise to the
value of S39, 151 ,S2S, 1856. and of that
total S9,6S5. .2S213S, or 24.7 per cent,
was the value of Southern cotton OK
porteu.
In the thirty-three years the cotton
crops of the South, including seed,
had an aggregate value Of S16,452,-
100000, the output of all the gold
mines of the world was worth 1884
1O5,600, and the output of all the sill
yer mines was worth S3,459, ,909 SAP.
The thirty three cotton crops had a
value of sS,S94,400 greater than the
thirty-three years gold production in
the world and S5.357 .9S4,75S greater
than the combined gold and silver pro-
duction. In the same period the value
of exports of raw cotton from the
South reached the sum of S9.6S5, ,S54.-
574. or S2,051, ,75S,974 greater than the
value Of the worlds gold production
in the same time.
In no year since 1880 has the com
bined output of all the gold mines and
silver mines i'm the world eQualed In
value the value of the South's cotton
crop with its seed, and in only five
Of the tlirty-three years was the out
put Of all the gold mines in the world
sufficient to pay for the cotton eX-
ported from the United States.
The value OF merchandise exports
from the United States in the thirty.
three years was greater by s9.16z.,
s02.945 than the value of imports tC
this country and that sum was S523..
i51 ,629 less than the value OF the
Souths raw cotton exported
Southern cotton fields. now repre-.
sented in 80 per cent. of annual ex-
port merchandise values, are thus
strikingly shown to be an essentially
important factor. not onlv in the lgri.
culture Of the United States. in the
manufacturing industries and com.
merce of the world. but in the basis
of exchange.
Southern cotton mills alone are now
consuming annually more cotton thar
the South produced in 1868, more than