Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1915-08-10
American Cotton Problem.

1t is pretty generally appreciated
important factor in the present mill
tary affairs Of the world, and that one
way or another it will have much to
do with who out best in this
worldwide war; but somehow we
have a feeling that we of America
have nothing like as intelligent a
grasp of the situation as they have in
Europe, especially in England.
No matter what anybody wants to
say about it, cotton is the key to the
situation. Has it not been admitted
on all hands that if Russia had had
plenty of ammunition, the Germans
could never have gotten as far as
Warsaw? Is it not clear also that the
Germans would never have attempted
this trick unless they had had plenty
Of ammunition?
Plenty of ammunition means plen-
ty OF cotton.
The Germans understood the vital
necessity of plenty of ammunition as
q prerequisite to success, and they
provided themselves in this respect
before they embarked upon the great
enterprise on which they are now en-
gagged. They have been making am
munition for years.
1t is quite possible that If the whole
truth should come out, it would be
shown that the high prices that have
four OF five years were due in large
measure to the immense quantities
of this material that were being taken
by the rest of the world, especially
Germany, for the manufacture of
powder.
1t is quite certain that except for
the increased requirements of the
powder manufacturers, added to the
ordinary demand Of peace times, the
price of cotton, in the face OF the
greatest crop that has ever been
,.vwn, would not have been anything
like that which has obtained during
the past year Of destructive and de-
moralizing var
But let us not forget just now that
in our anxiety and eagerness about
the price we are to receive, we might
overlook other considerations in con-
n~ection with our cotton crop that can
prove of vast importance. Just as
lack and possession of cotton decided
the issue between Germany and Rus
STA, it can easily happen that America
can find herself in the same predica-
ment.
British newspapers and even British
statesmen have thrown out the sug-
gestion that it may be desirable for
the British government to buy a large
portion Of the American cotton crop,
at least that portion that ordinarily
goes to Germany, for political con
siderations." In other words to relieve
the pressure that the people of the
south are bringing upon the national
efforts to restrict our cotton trade in
mics.
Surely it. has occurred to most
thoughtful and well-informed Amer
leans. that there is a strong probable
ity hat America is going to get into
this war before it Is over with, and
that if she does so she is going to need
powder, consequently cotton, in I'M
mense quantities. Most Of the mill
tary experts OF this country are agreed
that IL America should get in it will
take full two years before she can at
tain Il state Of preparation equal to
the most ill-prepared of the countries
now at war.
Then, under conditions like these
what would the United States mean
by letting England have that portion
of the southern cotton crop that would
ordinarily go to Germany? If the
United States government is wise 1t
will itself go in for buying cotton,
buying it big and buying it now