New Iberia enterprise and independent observer. (New Iberia, La.) 1902-1944, 1916-12-23
Cotton's Magical Rise
Enriching the Nation.

cotton goods. is about as y )sslD'
OF solution as the problem Q
whether the egg or the r'';c> :
came first. Tie European de
mand for cotton is clear when i
is pointed out in various quarter
how necessary an Ingredient it i
in making ammunition. and, as ;
correspondent of The Sun terseI
puts it, "a bale of cotton and /
barrel Of alcohol to fire a sixteen
inch gun is the formula. -
As a further indication of the
multifarious uses of cotton, the
Boston Herald points to two pages
of The Manufacturers RECORD
filled with "bare list Of articles
made from soluble cotton alone
We commonly think of cotton as
material for. clothing. this journal
goes on to say. but the plant bears
an astonishing variety of things
that the world is calling for. A
'ew years ago the South threw
away its cottonseed, and the stuff
became such nuisance that some
States passed laws prohibiting the
dumping Of it into the streams.
Now the lint that adheres to the
seed after it is combed out of the
fiber is the basic substance in the
manufacture of gun-cotton and
smokeless powder. But this fiber.
which consists of SO per cent. pure
cellulOse. The Herald tells us. is
the base of many things besides
explosives. and it speaks of one
concern making $4,000 yards of
artificial leather day from cot
ton dissolved in nitric acid that
is many weeks behind it's orders.
Such "leather' not only figures
largely in the automobile business.
but for making trunks, book bind
ings. shoes. furniture, headwear,
handbags, etc, and The Herald
adds:
Dissolved cotton. mixed with
chemicals. appears in
Photographic films, automobile
buttons, ivory artifi-
'ial silk. combs. knife handles, etc.
Cottonseed oil appears in lard,
SOAP. paints. rubber,
tic. The seed itself is not only
Used largely for stock food, but
We get it in adulterated tobacco
md coffee. and are lucky to find
lothing worse there. And the
lses of the cotton-stalk itself make
list that is rapidly frightening"
According to one expert, the
most conservative estimates pre-
lict that the South will receive
his year from cotton alone the
normous sum Of approximately |
ne and One-quarter billions of
lollars, which will give the esti-
lated population of the South of
100000 persons a per capita
otton income of $37.88. The
ignificance of this fact is best
Understood. accol ding to this au-
hority. when we recall that on
eptember ] there were but
1889 per capita of money in cir
ulation in the United States. As
sign Of which way the money
loves. we are told by a CORE
oondent of the New York Times
.nnalist, at Austin. Texas, that
lie building trades in all the
lrger cities and many of the
Mailer towns of the State are
cry active, and that "besides
he many new business buildings
I'D manufacturing plants that
e in course of erection, plans are
DIV on foot for still greater de-
'lopment along these lines"
his statement is correlated by a
ew York Evening Post CORE I
'ondent in the same Texas city,
no says that the banks of Texas
e filed with money. and that {
any small country banks that {
'dinarily carry deposits aggre- S
,ting $4,000 to $4,000 now {
'ntain upward of one-half mil g