Evening star., 1935-05-05


on COTTON AT THE WHARF OF
THE GULF & SHIP ISLAND RAIL
GULFPORT, MISS.
out Of all relation with the world price.
But also irritation grew among the
raisers of cotton and the Government
finally offered to let them vote on the
continuation Of the restrictions. 1t
looked as though they might vote to
do away with the law, but the Presi-
dent saved the day by announcing
that the restrictions would not apply
in the case Of two-bale growers. This
meant that the Government would
surely win in the referendum, and it
also meant that restrictions would be
more and fore futile as more and
more farmers decided to raise bale
or two Of cotton. The Government
now owns enormous amounts Of cot
ton and, through its loans. is virtual
owner of other enormous amounts.
Seen Destroying Base.
All this manipulation has undoubt-
edly brought about temporary pros
perity to the growers of cotton. but
1t is rapidly destroying the basis -on
which theil prosperity has depended
in the past and must depend in the
future. The export market is diSap-
pearing and will almost certainly con-
tinue to shrink until it vanishes COM
pletely. The domestic price Is toe
high to make cotton any longer at
tractive to the foreign buyer. No
foreigner ever bought or ever will buy
a single pound of anything raised in
this country in order to help on some
New Deal experiment.
Yet nearly two-thirds Of our cotton
crop has always been exported. There
are said to be $4,000, 900 people in the
United States whose living Is depend-
ent on cotton and more than half
Of these will have no means Of sup
port when the foreign market fails
even If we continue to weave our cloth
from our cwn cotton. We have been
accustomed to take in some $500, ,000,-
900 annually from our foreign sales
of cotton-a foreign credit which as
sists in the purchase Of foreign goods
Soon this will no longer be available
Our artificially increased prices
have immensely stimulated the raising
Of cotton wherever soil and climate
permit. In most other countries, even
if natural conditions may not be as
favorable. labor costs are far lower,
and to gain markets our competitors
many Of whom would never have
been competitors II the American ex-
pertinent had not lured them on
will always undersell us.
American Cotton Loses Out.
Already the spinners Of Lancashire,
who helped the Confederacy to live
because they had to have American
cotton, have celebrated the conclusion
of q whole year when not q pound oi
American cotton has entered the mills.
Somebody in Washington remarked
the other day that perhaps the long
range purpose of the cotton policy
was to prevent the South from ever
again seceding.) Already the Japa-
nese, our last heavy customer, are
looking to fill their needs with Bra
lillian cotton, far cheaper but said to
be equally good.
Already the American price is sc
much higher than the Japanese price
that 1t Is actually found profitable to
bring back from Japan raw American
cotton stored there for sale-a prac-
tice which, If it becomes general, will
utterly upset official calculations oi
the amount of surplus cotton at the
end Of the year. Already the Soviet
government, which Is demanding moi
reduction Of acreage, but q steadily
increased production, announces that
1t expects to export 1000, 600 bales
more next year than this. The Soviet
is willing to pay bonuses for larger
production and then to sell abroad al
loss.
1t may be propaganda" to say
these things, but the fact remains
that all are sober truth. The Soutl
may well have to thank the New Dea
for a long series Of lean years quits
as distressing as those dreadful years
after the Civil War when the death OF
Lincoln made 1t possible for the Re
" ~ IChlpOl al AAoA
Dependents in Danger.
But there is more in the story oi
cotton than the raising and harvest
ing and selling Of the raw product
What of the myriads Of people who
are dependent on the textile industry?
Being part Of the urban population,
their position is IN q way worse, ex-
cept for the fact that they have more
chance to find other work than the
Southern cotton planters have To
ind other profitable crops.
One after another. all over the
United States, the cotton textile mills
are closing, those in New England
faster than those in the South because
of the wage differential between the
two sections as established by N. r. A
Within the last month thousands OF
operatives have been thrown on the
streets. The mills are unable to bear
the processing tax because 1t adds Sc
much to the cost that they cannot sell
their goods. Yet Mr.. Wallace says
that the tax is likely to be raised, not
abolished!
And the process Of destruction OF
these mills, on which the livelihood OF
thousands Of stockholders, Is well as
operatives, depends, is being FASTENED
by the rapidly growing importation OF
Japanese and European cotton goods.
The process has gone 80 far that not
only are we unable to sell raw cotton
abroad, but, with the processing tax,
have raised our own domestic prices
so high that we cannot even compete
with foreign goods which have TO pay
an import duty!
This NAV delight the hearts Of those