The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1935-01-18
SEEN - HEARD
around the
Natior,al Capital

Cotton 10 admlfteoy
one Of the most serious problems n
the whole New Deal set-up. High
ofhcials will admit it conddentially,
though their public utterences are very
different, Indeed.
The whole question, Of courSe. y
whether the United states can SO on
exporting enough cotton to keep the
cotton acreage now being farmed bury,
and yet maintain the world price o.
American cotton at high enough levels
70 make raising the cotton profitable.
Enthusiasts about the AAA program
talk vociferously about the natural ad-
vantages Of America with regard 70
cotton. They refuse to see any cloud
on the horizon. They insist that there
Il no other locality In the world where
cotton as good as that raised In Amer
lea can be produced except at costs ex-
ceedipg American costs. *
Az 4 general proposition. this is cor
rect. Most countries that can produce
cotton at lower costs than the United
States have q product which compares
most unfavorably with that grown IA
America. The few places that: can
produce equally good cotton have very
high costs.
But the whole world Is looking for
= cheaper substitute for high grade
cotton. and generally. where such q
quest persists long enough. the goal Is
found. The Germans have been ex-
perimenting with wood pulp. They Do
not claim to have gotten very far. AT
present they are In about the stage
Of American production Of rubber from
goldenrod. It can be done successful
". but there is no particular point In
doing It. The costs actually exceed
the cost of good imported rubber.
The search for substitute Is BY no
means over. incidentally. the Ger
mans have had fair success in the last
few months, producing a substitute for
rubber from rye -four. They buy the
rye flour from Poland.
As long as America produced cot
ton without restrictions. there was not
much point to looking for a substitute,
because any given year there might
be big cotton crop. the price would
fall of, and anyone financially inter.
ested in the substitute would take
terrible beating that year.
:,
s ls' 1,rice Up XII
Now, however,. the definite aim 81
sAAA is to keep the price Of cotton up
all the time, regardless Of weather
and other crop conditions, BY the sim
PIE expedient of restricting acreage
and governing the carry over eiici,
year. Which sets up real prize for
the iiscoverer Of q good substitute. &
I So actually the cotton program Is
III the same position as q companyi
making 4 patented article. which IL 4
selling at nice profit. Always there.
Is the fear that some inventor viii
come along with something either i.lst
as good or better. which viii destroy
the market for the patented article.
a second and entirely different nroh.
lem concerns the people who earne,,
their living by WORKING IN cotton f,ells
up to the time Of AAA restrictiohs
but now have no work A. tbe momant
the federal government Is taking care
Of them on relief \ Thev are mart ~
tne zU ..,V now estimated to be sup.
part Of the explanation Of the fact that u
the number Of people on relief q not
diminishing. despite the fart that 5hnsi.
ness is getting better. s5I. q
While the same nroblem smiles 70
other crops than cotton, the situation
with respect to the others is not near.
" 80 serious. Cotton Is the big export
crop. and always has been. Moreover
there has not been much change In
that situation as the country grew big.
ger III population. Exports Of whea,
and other farm, products have slowly
declined AZ the nonulatfAn ~ tbaS c,tios