Imperial Valley press., 1916-10-21
P ROSPE RIT !
OF FARMERS
IS TO LAST
AFTER WAR
(From San Antonio Express)

(From San Antonio Express)
"Prosperity is definite and lasting,
and especially is this true of the cot
ton country" declared W. M. Morri-
son, visitor here, yesterday. Mr.
Morrison represents a New Orleans
/ firm as a cotton expert and aconom st
and has been observing southern ag-
ricultural conditions thirty years. He
has been travelling extensively and
has seen sufficient of Texts staple crop
to judge in measure, he declares.
+ "Indicatons are," he said, "that
the supply of cotton will be 100000
bales less than the normal world sup
ply. Where the price will go is be-
ycnd estimating, but the average prob
ably will hover around Is cents.
prosperity goes on broaeding
/ throughout the country" Mr.. Morri-
son continued, and many things in
dicate that it is ard VII continue on
stable basis. The presidential cleo
ton has in no way disturbed its equi-
poise. This is very remarkable eX-
pei ience, the most remarkable, per-
haps, ever known in the history of the
country. certainly the most unusual
experience of any during the last fifty
years. The breaking out of hostilit.es
in Europe greatly increased the prof
its. Through sympathy this had the
effect of abnormally stimulating many
lines of business and many careful
students have felt and still feel that
peace would bring a more or less pro-
longed period of depression in the
/ North.
81 do not at all share this view. Had
peace been suddenly declared a year
! ago there doubtless would have been a
serious reaction. During the last year
! the manufacture of the munitions OF
war has greatly increased among the
responding decrease here. SO this coun-
! try has, fortunately, had an opportun-
ity to slowly adjust herscef to the
cl ange. Then this loss in volume of
business has been more than made
good by the growth in manufacture of
staple products, which there is every
reason to believe will be increased
rather than diminished by the close of
the war. Our exports, | take it, con-
firm this view.
No Aftc--Na.' Depression
"For these reasons l do not fear that
tie close of the war will depress the
business Of the country at large and
certainly have no fears that it will de-
press business in the South. You zee,
while BUSINESS n the north was actu-
ally stimulated by the breaking out of
the war, for period, it really brought
great difficulties on the South which
had to be overcome. This injected into
Southern business and industrial af-
fairs a conservatism which has COM
pletely eliminated all reactionary ele-
ments from the prosperity which the
South has enjoyed and which there
is every reason to believe it will con-
| tinue to enjoy.
"The record shows an extraordinary
increase since the war began in the
manufacture of American cotton by
american mills. The record also shows
that the greater part of this increase
was among Southern mills. The whole
trend of events indicates that the first
year after the close Of the war more
than two-thirds of American cottor
will be manufactured in America. The
logic of these events points very de
clsively to the greater part Of the cot
ton being manufactured by Southern
mills. Upon the whole one seems fully
warranted in saying that the effect Of
peace will be to greatly expand ane
to greatly increase the profits in al
lines of business in this Southern coun
tiy. .....
'It is getting an entirely wrong con
cept Of the genius Of Southern pros
perity u assume that the present higl
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