The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1917-10-05
Indirectly ON the price OF cotton.

always been a political as we'll as an
economic issue l think cotton was
the real cause of the war in 1860
Public sediment north was over
whelmingly in favor of the abolition
of slavery, while the south was unit
In the belief that we could not main
tain that monopoly without slave la
Dor. When Liacoln was elected, Sc
cession was a natural sequence.
Cotton is almost as important war
material as wheat. They cam get
wheat all over the world and there
are many substitutes for it, but cot
ton is the prime necessity in the
manufacture of explosives, tents, unf-
forms, bandages, automobile tires and
thousands of things too numerous to
mention
Think Germany Has Our Cotton
It takes one pound Of cotton to
make pound of modern powder. One
OF the big guns consumes bale OF
cotton every time it is fred When
the embargo was placed on cotton to
the central powers, they claimed to
have found a substitute in cellulose,
made from wood I have always
doubted that for recent revelations
have shown that cotton was going in
to Germany all of the time through
Sweden and other neutral countries.
England May Have Conquered.
Early in the struggle Great Britain
undertook to cut off the cotton supply
from Germany. and I believe If she
could have succeeded that the war
would have bedn over now.
The present price Of cotton is about
20 cents per pound and on the gov.
ernment estimate Of the coming crop.
together with the seed. it will bria g
$1,750,O00,000 It's value manufactur-
ed can not be estimated. The cost OF
the production of cotton before the
war was about 12 cents per pound Its
present cost, 1 would say, was, not less
than 20 cents per pound.
think that the military demand for
cotton is about equal to the antebel-
lum consumption of Germany and
Austria.
Before the War
Before the war dne-third OF the cot
ton crop was manufactured in this
country and two-thirds was exported
AS the price of the export crop de-
sermines the price Of the product
consumed at home. we have been up
against a serious proposition since
1914.
In August, 1914. sc had 100000
bales Of the old crop, and new crop
II, 900 600 bales ready to be marketed
in addition to heavy stocks Of goods
Up to tina. time we depended upon the
west for rs per cent OF our foodstuas,
and while your corn. meat and ao'r
was at war prices, We had to buy sup
niles from cotton sold at famine pric-
es We will never be caught that way
again and today there Is more hog
and hominy" in the cotton belt than
eIet before in it's history.
State Warehouse
In connection with others, J. pro-
posed state warehouse plan, which
meant that the state stood behind the
receipts for cotton on storage. THIS
transformed the bale of cotton into Q
NEGOTIABLE Instrument that passed in
the mcuey markets like a bond or a
share of stock. Under this plan We
economical, borrowed money, paid
our debts and held our cotton OF the
market.
Last June the price OF middung coz
ton went up to 81 cents pound ana
there is no grander example Ut what
may be done by cooperation thaa
what was accomplished in the south
for cotton in 1915.
Preteetesy Class
What I wish to see now is for tne
farmers all over this country, north
and south, to stand together and pro-
tect themselves against the predatory
classes, who, from the beginning OF
time, have fattened updn the wealth
created by others.
Cotton at rs IL cents per pound,
the highest price reached SO far as
nominally higher than it has been for
so yeara. The spinners are now try
ing to tell US that we ought to be