The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1922-12-13
afanufacturers Record)


from another paper which. refer
ring to the worlds cotton needs,
: says: s. America has reached her
limit and other districts that are
equally favored with soil and
! climate must undertake a share Of
the burden Of supplying civiliza-
tons requirements. To this our
correspondent puts the query, do
you believe it %
Ne do not believe that America
has reached its limit OF cotton pro-
dnction despite the boil weevii.
which viii be eventually conquer
ed. for science is superior,when
put fully to the test,to the de-
structive power Of any such enemy
Of crops.
We believe that the South. can
Increase its cotton production with
a. few years. when the boH weeyil
has been Conquered, provided the
world is wiling to pay a profitable
price to the grower.
we do not belise the. South will
increase It's cotton crop to any ma
serial extent except on the basis Of
s. larger profit to the growers than
shey have ever received in the past.
except for the brief period OF the
war
The South can turn from cotton
production to diversified agricui-
ture and Industrial development
and make for itself fer greater
wealth than it can by growing cot
ton except at high figures-at least
at high figures as compared with
prices OF the, past.
Cotton has been entirely too low
since the Civil War. with the e3-
.eeption of one or two brief periods.
Some New England and many for
cign spinners very frankly and
openly fought to break down the
price Of cotton They have denoun-
ssed the efforts of the South to Sc
cure living price. They have kept
the eottoa grower, white and black,
IN deepest poverty. They have not
cared how great was the poverty,
how severe the sufferings Of the
cotton growers, provided they could
buy cotton at a low price and make
q big profit in turning it into the
Gnished form.
well may the South rejoice that
All of humanity is not built on that
soliI-naTrowing plan. but that many
cotton manufacturers. in the south
and North alike, realize that the
cotton grower is a part Of human
sty. End that he is indeed a part OF
:saesr business
grower is a partner with the
akaanufactureH. His success is es-
sentiaI to the manufacturers sue
cess, if the manufacturer is to
continue to have any raw material
for his factory The cotton manu-
facturers must recognize that the
sToduction Of cotton is the first
stage in the industry, without which
eFery dollar of their capital in
vested in mills would be wiped out.
It Has long been recognized by
the iron and steel interests of the
country that they must have an
assured supply Of iron ore, OF other
wise their plants are Nalueless.
Most ssof the big companies base
their entire industry on the owner
ship OF ore and coal lands. The
cotton mills cannot in the. same
way own enough cotton lands to
supply their raw material. but they
must with equal care see that the
cotton growers are essential to their
existence. and that the cotton
growing industry is sa1eguarded to
snch an extent that the South viii
continue to produce the supplies
needed for the mills of America
and Of the world.
I'VE do not believe that there is
any other country in the world
equally favored with soil and cli-
mate for the production OF cot
ton; or if a limited area of that
kind can be found, it has not the
labor supply which will make cot
ton development an industry of
s great importance. For one hum
dred years the cotton growers OF
England. and the Government it
self, have concentrated their eff
forts upon producing cotton in
africa. in India and elsewhere. in
! order to be less dependent upon the
South as a source of their supply
These efforts have accomplished
but little. The promise of success
is no greater today than it was
seventy-five years ago. Despite all
the work that has been done. de-
spite all the discussion III cotton
mill and parliamentary circles in
England and among cotton manu-
facturers on the continent. there is
nowhere in the world any evidence
of a sufficient increase in the
worlds cotton production within .ha
next quarter OF century to mate
rally affect the worlds supply OF
cotton or to prove in any way a
serious competitor with the South.
Shortly before his death the late
Edward Atkinson. who had been a
cotton manufacturer and a close in
gestigator OF every phase OF the
cotton Industry in this. country and
abroad. wrote the Manufacturers
Record that he had investigated
clirnatie and labor conditions in