The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-07-18

"The fear of the shutting off of all ex- ports."
 It may be remarked that the last three arguments were also made when last years crop began to be marketed and
 that while it was freely predicted that less than 100000 bales would be exported during the cotton year ending August 3l. 1915, the figures at hand indicate that the ! amount will be in excess of S,500,000 bales f; and that while it was asserted that talk ings by mills could not possibly exceed l 9000,000 bales, the total will reach 13,000,-
 GOO bales.
 Attention Is called to the fact that the high prices of cotton now prevailing in Germany and Russia, about 30 cents per pound, will attract cotton to those coun- tries in spite of apparently insurmount- | able obstacles; just as high prices paid for cotton abroad during the civil war made blockade running a steady business. There seems to be no question that ample funds can be obtained to finance In a normal way a much larger volume of cotton than was taken care of last year,
 and that even if Germany and Austria Hungary should be forced to suspend cot ton manufacturing entirely, statistics show that the mills of the United States, Great Britain, Spain, Italy, Japan, China
 and India have spindles sufficient to ab- sorb every bale of cotton that is likely to be grown.
 It should be noted that the reduction in American cotton acreage this year amounts to more than 5,000. .000 acres, and hat Egypt and India have also made radical reductions in cotton acreage. It is probable that the worlds cotton crop, based on an average yield per acre, will be about 100000 bales less than last year. Theodore H. Price, one of the best in formed of all cotton authorities, in his review of cotton and the cotton market in the last issue of his journal. Com
 merce and Finance makes some perti- nent observations on the present cotton situation. from which I quote:
 The prospective difficulties in the way
 of shipping the next crop are not due so
 much to the much talked of British or der in Council as to the high freights and insurance which are the result of German submarines and the fear that homicidal maniacs may put internal ma- I chimes or bombs on all outgoing vessels We are informed that the explosion aboard the Minnehaha has made it ex- ceedingly difficult to get crews for the 1 transatlantic voyages in either American l or European ports. even upon payment or 1 a bonus and that the chance of being | blown up in mid ocean is one that most 1 sailors are refusing to take no matter | how great the financial inducement of- ! fered."
 '"The price of nearly everything, except cotton, grown or manufactured in the United States, has been advanced by the war; and while it may be unavoida ble, it does seem negotiable that the south
 should be the only section compelled to accept a low price for its chief product while 1t has to pay more for all the things that it consumes. I Most of the southern people realize l ( <l,-x xrro. ic oxrar f6o normal conditions will be restored in the cotton market. and they willing to hold their cotton in the hope of this con summation if they can borrow money to pay their maturing debts."
 ! That they may do this 1t is necessary
 that the money should be available and
 that the cotton should be in the custody