Arizona republican., 1920-12-09
Financial Review
Future of Cotton
By ERIC kO5BE Of BIyth, Witter & Go.

The future of cotton is certainly a subject which holds great interest, and it is reassuring to find out on investi- gation how many and varied uses cot ton products are now being put to. Cotton fabrics have been so greatly improved, both in design and quality, that they are now competing with some | classes of silk goods, with woolens, and I with worsteds, while as table cover ings cotton is taking the place of linen. | The use of cotton in the manufacture | of hosiery and underwear has increased | very rapidly - much more rapidly in | proportion to wool or silk over a period l of years. The industrial field has also been employing cOtton-in the manu- facture of belting, typewriter ribbons | and book bindings, to mention only | few instances. The use of the long staple cotton in the manufacture of automobile tires has grown with as | tonishing rapidity. Many assurances have been given that for this particu lar use only long staple cotton can be used with success. Due to the quality of long-staple, it's use greatly improves | any finished product.
 i A heavy demand for cotton fabrics seems to be indicated in the future through the normal increase in popula- ton, the rising standard of living, the 
 textiles the utilization of cotton fab rics for industrial purposes and the opening up of undeveloped markets. This increase in demand in the years to come appears to The Review to be a certainty, provided the production is large enough so that it can adequately meet the increased demand at reason able prices.
 The principal factors that enter into &I.sn 1F cnd demand are equipment, labor, raw ma
 terial and business methods in pro-
 duction and marketing. As to equip ment the facilities for manufacturing cotton mill machinery are limited, but 1t is reasonable to presume that in time an adequate supply of textile machin
 cry, as, for instance, automatic looms
 for plain looms, will do much to over come this difficulty. The mills them
 selves provide training schools for managers and textile schools provide
 men who may become department
 foremen and managers. As to the raw
 material, this seems to be the chief
 stumbling block. The United States supplies little more than so per cent of the worlds supply of raw cotton, and the principal obstacles to an increase in this production, which includes cot
 ton of all grades. are the boil weevil
 
 other agricultural crops. Despite all ? efforts of the federal government and , the department of agriculture to stoT < the ravages of the boil weevil, the pest continues to spread It directly ruins A many millions of pounds of cotton 6 year and indirectly decreases produc- . tion through the Encouragement O. farmers in the section where it make: its appearance. The supply of labor i' g.-r- ' as it is necessary to pick cotton en. n tirely by hand the demand for labor comes all at the same time and fol n about three and a half months eacl
 year the cotton farmer needs Q mucl
 larger supply of labor than at an. other time.
 ,, There seems to be no doubt that { Il great many people have attempted cot . ton farming who had absolutely n' ]. qualifications to do so, with the resul s that the legitimate producers have beer Il made to suffer more than was actual, V necessary. The Review refers to thos' ; 1 farmers" whose normal profession Il P not farming, to those who had tC ,. finance themselves on a shoestring. ant 0 to those whose eXtravagant method 5, of production ran them into debt. ou 5 of which only high prices could extri d cate them. Cotton farming is a sci
 
 10 that they can not be a front porc' ]; farmer, or be a successful produce 10 without the hardest kind of work an }: study, the better off the whole indus r; try will be. You can put a thing int
 the ground, but you can not make
 grow-unless you know how. Scien F. tific methods and a thorough knowl '; edge of cotton production are essentis Id to success. To increase productio o' would be to stabilize the price and tn
 market and. although this increase D. supply would probably mean that n
 one would become a millionaire in ,s, year through raising cotton, it wi ei also be an assurance against famir
 prices. as the fluctuation of the priC
 would necessarily be small on accour . of the standard use and demand for tt oouI product. Hence, the producer coul 70 regulate his cost of production accord
 ingly and assure himself of a reason
 able profit.
 se African tribes while having no god OS believe in Q queer person knows {