The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1915-11-16
ENGLAND WOULD AID
GROWERS OF COTTON
WATSON ARGUMENT IMPRESSES
LEADER.
British Ambassador Thinks His Gov
ernment Should Help Maintain
Planters Profits.


votes two columns of the first page in
its issue of Tuesday to special arti-
Gle from lis London correspondent.
Robert Sloss, quoting Lord Miners
views on an open letter addressed to
the British government by E. j. Wat
son of Columbia, president of the
Southern Cotton congress. The Pub
lie Ledger also discusses the matter
editorially.
Writing from London under date Of
October 81, Mr.. Sloss said:
"E. ]. Watson's open letter to the
British government in the Public Led
ger of September q has aroused mucl
interest here and may perhaps be the
beginning of valuable discussion on a
question hitherto somewhat obscured.
] promptly brought it to the attention
of Lord Miner, who wrote me on the
14tn instant:
'''I also am very much interested in
this question and should be very glad
i l could be in any way instrumental
in helping you to get things put
straight
"'He suggested that I come and dis
cuss the subject informally with him.
The day preceding that on which I
saw him Lord Miner had addressed
to the house of lords an utterance with
the momentous significance of which
the world is already familiar, and as
his tall, powerful figure confronted me
in greeting it carried out to the full
the impression of the vigorous adVo-
cate he is in any cause he might feel to
have a claim upon his interest. Our
subsequent conversation convinced me
that the cotton question, as it presents
itself during the present war or there
after, is one over which Lord Miner
has thought very carefully and one to
which he is sincerely anxious to see
applied some practical solution show
ing touch Of International statesman
ship. rather than of mere politics.
Lord Miners Statement.
At the close of the interview, Mr..
Sloss says, Lord Miner dictated and
signed the following statement:
$50 many interesting questions in
regard to this important subject are
raised by Mr.. V-atson's letter that it
seems to me to require something in
the nature of a composite reply from
several sources. Of course, can not
undertake to speak in any sense for
the government in this matter. don't
know what the official view is. But,
speaking as an individual Englishman
I may say that agree with Mr.. Wat
son that it is a matter Of great i'm
portance to Great Britain that the cot
ton growers of America should be
able to make a reasonable profit by
their industry. We regard them as
our friends They are indispensable
to u.s. There was danger of a scarcity
of raw cotton before the war. That
position may be reproduced and even
intensified after the war 1t is clearly
not to our interest that American cot
ton growers should curtail their crops
to the extent which Mr.. Watson pre-
diets.
1.-The question for this country,
therefore, seems to reduce itself to the
consideration of practical ways and
means of preventing such an outcome.
At the present moment the problem is
not urgent. The price of cotton is TAX
ing very good care of itself. But as
suming that t1is satisfactory state OF
things did not continue, is there any
thing to be done? Mr.. Watson, in his
very frank and interesting letter, sug-
gests that the British government
should stabilize the price of cotton
by entering the market as a purchaser
whenever the price falls below GER
tain minimum.
'T should want to know a great deal
more than I do about the mechanism
of the cotton market and about the
modus operandi of these manipulat-
they did, they would defeat the very
fore I could pass judgment on this
proposal. 1t is certainly worthy Of
close examination from the technical
point of view. One obvious difficulty
is that the British government coull
hardly enter the cotton market open
ly. At least, I should fear that, if
they did, they would defeat the very
end which Mr.. Watson has in view. in