The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1917-12-04


Dairy Products S,22O,S9S
Eggs 4,39l l'ooo
Packing House Pro. 162,7o6,355
Cotton lat, 7,357,195
Fruit E, 36,345,517
Grain e. Grain pro. 21O,523,721
Oil Cake and Oil Cake Meal
29,441,252
Oil Vegetable ,24,044, ,-01
Tobacco 49,353,595
Let us consider the two items OF
cotton and wheat. The cotton con-
sists of 4,562,295,e75 pounds or
9.124,591 bales. The cotton alone
would require at the rate of 10000
bales to the ship more than 9Oo
shin cargoes. AS there are only 52
weeks in the year, it will be seen
how long it would take a ship a
week to move the cotton alone.
The wheat consisted Of 91,6O2,974
bushels. 1t will be an interesting
calculation for the children to fig
ure out how many cargoes of $500
tons each would be required to move
this wheat to Europe and how long
il would take at the rate of one carr
go a week.
AS to these two main products
and as to other farm products, not
to speak of manufactured products,
their commercial value depends up
on the foreign market. Without a
foreign market for cotton, for IN
stance, even this year with the
probable crop of only IL million million
bales we have for export something
like five million bales above the
American consumption of approx
mately seven million bales. II we
could not export cotton, therefore,
we would have surplus of five
million bales and that surplus wouio
cause cotton to decline from the
present high price of 2e or "a cents
pound to price far below the
cost of production. AS illustrative
of this point it is necessary only 20
recall the conditions in 1914 when
at the beginning of the war SHIP
ming was uncertain and as conse-
ouence cotton sold at six or seven
cents a pound. Even with the SNORT
wheat crop this year we have some
thing like 100 million bushels more
than we need for consumption IN
the United States. 1t happens tnat
Europe needs not only that loo mil
lions but very much more, but IL
we had accepted Germany's alcta-
tion and were to send only one ship
a week to, Europe, that 100 million
bushels above our own needs would
he a surplus which would carry the
nrice of wheat below the cost OF
production. >....'....
The right to use the seas is the
right to buy and sell in the markets
of +he world. To be denied that
right is to be compelled to live upon
our own resources. Of course we
can do that in this wonderful coun-
try but we can prosper as a natioh
and as individuals only by trading
our surplus of products for the sur
plus of products which other people
have to sell. If, for instance, our
farmers could sell no more cotton
or wheat than is needed in this
country many farmers would be
compelled to quit raising cotton
and wheat and would use their lands
for other farm products ana 1here-
j'bv, they would cause a surplus pro-
duction in all farm products. 10
have accepted Germany's dictatlon'
therefore, would have been to put
our agriculture in state OF COM
plete suffocation by taking from eV-
ery farmer the value of what ne
produced above what he needed Tor
his own consumption.
The same power that would for
bid our exports would also in self
interest forbid our imports except
in the interest of that power. There
fore, to have yielded to Grmany's
dictation would have restricted us
to imports from Germany alone and
would have made us pay tribute TOR
all time to her industries.
L.