The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1915-08-31


fatal delay and confusion.
The great German 42-centimetre
howitzer, which has battered down
so many ''impregnable" fortresses,
shoots away a bale of cotton in two
shots. An ordinary field gun of about
! four-inch calibre shoots bale Of cot
ton in about 400 rounds. Heavier
cannon expend cotton in proportion.
! A machine gun, of which Germany
/ has 100000 in the trenches, has with
! it constantly reserve ammunition con-
! tanning half bale of cotton while
every company of 800 soldiers carries
at all times three bales of cotton IN
] the shape of cartridges. About 80
| 600 shots from rifle or machine gun
account for one bale of cotton.
Shooting 800 Tons of Cotton Daily.
Now from these facts it is possible
roughly to calculate the amount of
cotton that the Germans and Aus
TRANS are shooting away on the bat
tlefields. The cotton used by the al
lies does not matter, because their
supply is unlimited. Two hundred
and fifty thousand shells a day on
the average are fired by the Germans
and Austrians, on all fronts, accord
ing to calculations made by David
Lloyd George, British minister OF mu-
nitions. Taking big and little cannon
together, it may be estimated that
$50 shots account for a bale OF cot
ton. and on this basis Germany fires
| $50 bales of cotton a day from her
artillery alone. This amounts to
slightly more than 400 tons. 1t is
not so easy to estimate the millions
of cartridges expended daily, but the
total cotton fired from the machine
guns and rifles is not less, and is
probably more, than that fired from
cannon. So we get figures of not
less than 500 tons of cotton day
shot off by German armies. Hilare
Belloc, who would not be likely to
be oVer-conserVatiVe in his estimates,
SAYS he thinks 900 tons would be
nearer the mark.
Germany, producing no. cotton and
having prepared in advance for war,
stored a certain reserve to make sure
she would not be caught short. But
she did not expect war OF year
or more. Her calculations were based
on victory within six or eight months.
Furthermore, the immense eXpend1-
ture of shells under the new condi-
tions of trench warfare took Ger
many, like everybody else, by sur
prise She was able, however, to i'm
port as much of the 1914 cotton crop
as usual during the past winter and
spring through the surrounding neu-
trail countries. This will be proved
later by official statistics. A very
large part of the 100000 tons import
ed has been used for making explo-
sives, the great German mills which
normally operate 100000 spindles
having curtailed their consumption
at first by one-half, and more recent
ly by tWOthirds.
Germany's Stock a Million Bales.
About one-half of the cotton i'm
ported since the war began has been
stored by Germany as an ammunl-
ton reserve. She has at present
something like a million bales or
100000 tons, available. Austria has
no reserve of cotton. Surprising Ger
many to receive no more cotton from
now on, she will be unable to make
any more of the standard high eX-
plosives after those 25O, 900 tons OF
cotton are used up. Very recently
probably because the German spy
system has reported that England at
least is preparing to entirely stop the
cotton trade the German authorizes
have forbidden the manufacture OF
all excepting the most necessary cot
ton goods, and in the manufacture of
these have forbidden the use of any
but prescribed yarns. These restric-
tons the order states, do not apply
to firms working on military con-
tracts.
SuppOsing that the manufacture OF
cotton for commercial purposes is en-
tirely stopped the present reserve
will enable Germany to make about
10000 tons of high explosives. This
is a high estimate. Not all the cot
ton Germany has can be used for eX-
plosives, for armies must have cotton
for clothing, bedding, tents, ground
sheets, tarpaulin; even motor cars
cannot be run without cotton, used
in making rubber tires. Cotton is
used in all munition factories in some
processes, so that a cotton famine
would paralyze a modern army, en-
tirely aside from the scarcity of am
munition it would cause.
Since Germany can make less than
100000 tons of high explosive rather
than more out of her present reserve
of million bales, and since from 500
to 900 tons of cotton are fired away
daily on the battle lines, the follow
ing facts are true:
Enough to Last Till January.
| The Germanic powers have at pres
ent enough cotton to maintain their
present rate on their present cotton
supply beyond the end of the first
week in February, if they are using
| only 500 tons a day in she'll and small
arm fire.
Should the German supply run out
entirely any prices at all would be
offered surrounding neutral states for
cotton. These states, with their i'm
ports entirely cut off, might be able
between them, by using no cotton
! themselves for commercial purpose,
to supply $4,000 tons to Germany.
They could not supply more, for they
have already sent into Germany
practically all the surplus cotton they
have imported from America.
This extra supply of $4,000 tons
would prolong Germany's ammuni-
! tion supDIv until the latter part of