The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-09
COTTON GROWING
 IN SOUTH AMERICA
Nv HaIIANn

New York; May S.-(Special.)-In his address to the 2000 citizens of the south who are engaged in cotton manufactur- ing and who were gathered in conven- tioh Tn New York few days ago, the Secretary of the Navy. Josephus Dan iels, said that cotton growing and cot . ton production, to be prosperous, must touch the whole world. That is a state ment which some of the expert au- thorities have made in substance. al- though not in these precise words, sev- eral times since the European war be- gan James A. Farrell, president of the United States Steel corporation, alluded to this economic principle in his re . cent communication to Secretary Mc- Adoo, in which he embodied some of the results of the visit to the South American countries of committee of Americans which was organized and acted under the authority of the sec retary.
 For instance, it was observed some several years ago by Prof. pr. John Basset Moore, formerly first assistant Secretary of State in two administra- tions, that the cotton growing industry is likely to become a very large agri- cultural undertaking in Peru. The cot ton grown there, however is of pecu- liar fibre especially valuable in the manufacture of certain kinds of cotton material. It cannot come into compe- tition with the cotton grown in the south for the quality and character istics of southern cotton are entirely different from those of the Peruvian. Hints have come that it may be possi- Die to cultivate to commercial ad vantage cotton similar in the quality of it's fibre to that which is cultivated in Peru
 Joseph P. Grace, who is now at the head Of the International house of William R. Grace & Co., said recently that cotton manufacturing is being developed so rapidly in Peru as to jus tify the hope that in time it will be- come one of the great industries of that republic. Therein is illustrated one of the meanings contained in Secre- tary Daniels statement that cotton growing and cotton production, to be prosperous, must touch the whole world
 WHAT JAMES STILLMAN SAID Some 10 or 12 years ago while still active as the leading executive force in the National City bank the late James Stillman, when referring to the balance of trade which would be es tablished in that year between the United States and other nations, said that without our cotton exports the trade would be substantially equal. or, in other words, the money value of our exports, exclusive of cotton, and the money value of our imports would be about equal. Therefore Mir Stillman said for the visible trade balance in favor of the United States of that year it would be necessary to rely upon our cotton exports Those should be of the money value of about $500,000,- 900 and that would be likely. in his opinion, to be found a figure which would represent the favorable trade balance in our world trade. This pre- diction was justified. Secretary Dan iols might have had it in his mind, for he knew of it at the time MT. Stillman spoke, when he said the other day that the balance of trade in favor of the United States has been in re- cent years chiefly due to our ship ments of cotton abroad. Furthermore, the Secretary said that there must bo after the war much closer economic re-
  cotton, the people who manufacture it., and the people who wear it. Cotton thus becomes a map maker and it gives to us visions of international unity which were not revealed to us in days of peace.
 That also is statement of newly realized economic principle which American manufacturers and Ameri- can industrial leaders have recently referred to- This principle was much discussed at the recent meeting Of American exporters at Cincinnati.
 THE NEW USE OF COTTON The people as yet little understand the wonderful variety of the uses to which cotton is now put both in it's manufactured and it's raw state. One great American industry has established at Columbus. Ga, at cost of S3,OOO.0 0OO. mill whose rnachiery is so devised that 1t is capable of producing 53 diff ferent kinds of cotton weave. As re- suit of this most modern development of cotton spinning the government has recently placed orders for many mill lion yards of cotton goods, it having been found that the peculiar weaves. together with certain chemical com binations, have made it possible to sub- stitute cotton for linen in the manu- facture of wings for air craft and also to substitute cotton weave in which chemistry has served important pur- pose, for the rubber gas masks and the rubber coats which the drivers of air machines have been compelled to rely upon. Secretary Daniels has ordered the