Carolina watchman. [volume] (Salisbury, N.C.) 1871-1937, 1914-10-28
War is Causing LYV-PricGd Cotton
In Un'jI War Stared Cotton Was ID Gents
UndsT Ni!0'.
By Hon o. Max Gardner.

Republican politicians, VINO real' }
know better, attempting to attn
tuts the present pr.ce Of cotton te
the Democratic administration e
Woodrow Wilson. Every intslll
gtnt person knows that at least
two.thlrds of oil |, he cotton grown
in The South Is txported to Germ.
any, Belgium, France, japan, aud
Englfnd. There is now nc mar
ket for our cotton 10 any Of th@se
countries except japan. Tney are
now engaged in su unparalleled ans!
nuprecedel ted war, a war thst
ssaggers civilization, and Is leav
ing III it's wake misery, poverty
suffering aud death, SC sad and
dark and awful thet good al
pious men wonder why God i'll His
infinite | We aud mercy permits II
to continue.
Wars of Alexauda- tho Great,
Caesar, Hathibal, n. poleon. a' d
our Civil War ware but skirm isles
as compared so She the c'o.sal
drama of drath being enacted IL,
Europe to d.y. THINK Of Ii
Every consll:ent OH earth IL IN
v lived i'll this campaign of cruel
d. structian. save and EXCEPT
Americ. l. It any wonder, then,
iu view # ihe .i-uatlen abroad
aad this almess complete paraly-
sis If ouf cit ,n tisds, that tt
South is katn sutf5F-r oy ress"i.
OF tn wal? last year the Sonth
received from Eugjaut, Germany
France, Belgium, aud jap n, all
Of whom are now at war, approx
mately six hundred million d j.
lars in gold fer its costcn crop.
These c5uatries were thsr at peace
and the ocean was free from the
terrible armed fleets of battlesh'ps
that now prey upon commerce.
This stream Of gold that has beer
yearly pouring into the pc ckets OF
the Southern farmer has dwludled
almost TO vanishing point, and
every intelligent man who stops
to think kucws why ttis stream
If gold has been Interrupted.
The cotton uills o. Europe are
largely idle, the male employees
are at war, and the hearts and
miuds of the nation engaged In
this CONTEXT for national existence
have been traEsposed from the
contemplation of business to the
horrors Of war. The predominant
idea in Europe at this time is not
the price or the value of cotton;
they are bending every energy,
spending over fifty million dollars
a day, and devotiug tie full ccn.
centratlon of mind and body tt
to the cultivation Of the art End
science of killing men.
!. During september of this year
the amount of cotton exported
was a little in excess of one hun.
dred thousand bales while during
the month Of S,ptembe ber. 1918, it
amounted to little less than one
million Gales. These figures i'll
dicate the Importance of cotton
il the economic affairs, not only of
this Nation, but of the world, ard
partly conveys ali idea of the dis
aetrous aud APPALLING condition
th ) var has brought about.
Th, re seems to be an idea pre-
valo:.c that the reason cotton is
not bringing higher price is at
tributable to lack OF money.
This ia mistake. Wa do not
need money with which to handle
or finance the crop. he splendid
Democratic administration Of
Woodrow Wilson has pr, vided five
hundred million dollars more cur
rency now than last year. 1t is
not money Wa need; it is a mar
ket. We have the cotton, nobody
will Luy it, aid until this Eu-
ropean war has ended aud the
MI rkes Is restc red. there can be
no relief. Of the fiften million
bal u produced i'll the $. nth tins
year, ten million would aow be
golug abroad but for the wnr. At
the rate the foreign nations are
taking Soushern cotton, tho total
exports of the present crop will
not 1al one half million tales
1t is cl=arly apparent to any
sensible pat.nn that the retention
in this oouhtry of ten milii q
bales of colt III, which ordinarily
uonld hava 0nna abroad hos