The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1918-02-19

the American farmer has no material
interest at stake in the war with
Germany. Let us see. Those who
think that there is nothing in the
American cause except the privilege
of pleasure seekers to travel on pas
senger ships to Europe must have
forgotten the specific condition up
on which Germany offered to permit
American shipping. Without review
ing the tragic events which caused
the death of 226 American citizens
including women and children, with
out discussing the sinking of any par
ticular ship, and without even con-
sidering the four separate and dis
tinct promises Of Germany in effect
not to sink ships without safeguard
ing the lives of passengers and
crews, let it be recalled that in her
declaration Of purpose of January
81, 1917, to extend the submarine
zone to Great Britain, France and
Italy and therein to sink all ships
regardless of flag or cargo, she Of
fered to this country as a special
favor the privilege of sending one
steamer a week each way to the port
of Falmouth, England, upon condi-
ton that it should be striped with
three stripes each a meter wide,
white and red alternating, and upon
the further condition that a guaran-
ty be given that such ships should
not carry contraband.
Perhaps one ship a week each way
would accommodate the pleasure
seekers, but how much Of our export
and import business would it accom-
modate?
In the fiscal year ending June 80,
1913, we exported to Europe farm
products to the value of $1,123,651,-
985. Among these products are the
following:
Animals, live $7,O8O,122, dairy
products $3,220,893, eggs $4,391,-
652, packing house products $780,
7O6,355, cotton $547,357,195, fruits
$36,345,517, grain and grain prod
ucts, $21O,523,721, oil cake and oil
cake meal $29,444,252, oil, vegeta-
BILE $24,O44,4O1, tobacco $685.
sos.
Let us consider the two items of
cotton and wheat. The cotton con-
sists of 4,562,295,675 pounds or g.
124,591 bales. The cotton alone
would require at the rate of 10000
bales to the ship more than 900 ship
cargoes. AS there are only So weeks
in the year, it will be seen how long
it would take ship a week to move
the cotton alone. The wheat consist
ed of 91,6O2,974 bushels. 1t will be
an interesting calculation for the
children to figure out how many car
goes of $500 tons each would be
required to move this wheat to Eu-
rope and how long it would take at
the rate of one cargo a week.
AS to these two main products and
as to other farm products, not to
speak of manufactured products,
their commercial value depends upon
the foreign market. Without a for
eign market for cotton, for instance,
even this year with the probable crop
OF only II million bales we have for
export something like five million
bales above the American consump-
ton of approximately seven million
bales. If we could not export cotton,
therefore, we would have a surplus
of five million bales and that surplus
would cause cotton to decline from
the present high prices of 20 or SO
cents a pound to a price far below
the cost of production. An illustra-
tive of this point it is necessary on
ly to recall the conditions in 1914
when at the beginning of the war
shipping was uncertain and as a con-
sequence cotton sold at six or seven
cents a pound. Even with the short
wheat crop this year we have some
thing like 100 million bushels more
than we need for consumption in the
United States. 1t happens that Eu-
rope needs not only that 100 millions