Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1939-07-02

When the New Deal took over the
Federal Government six years ago, the
American cotton problem was vexing
Now it is battling and overwhelming 1t
is dual problem, involving lost markets
overseas for what was once the greatest
of our export crops-a crop so important
abroad that Great Britain interfered
with the course of the Civil War in an
attempt to assure getting her Southern
cotton-and involving diminishing in
come for sellers Of cotton at home And
it is paradoxical problem because every
effort of the administration to improve
the domestic position of the American
cotton grower has served to lessen the
American growers foreign outlets
The public everywhere has been made
cotton conscious recently by the frequent
reiteration Of the fact that the Federal
Government holds in bonded warehouses
II, ZOO 900 bales of cotton as collateral on
loans to cotton growers; by the barter
deal between the United States and
Great Britain for the exchange of 6OO,-
600 bales of surplus cotton for rubber to
be used in war time, and by Secretary of
Agriculture Wallace's insistence that he
be permitted to launch a program of
Substitution of cotton exports. Mr..
Wallace has been accused of outraging
in this mercantilism Secretary of State
Hulls reciprocal trade agreement pro-
gram, which fundamentally is laissez-
faire economics.
Mr.. Wallace, however, only pricks Sec
rotary Hull incidentally into clubbing the
governments of several countries abroad
The Secretary of Agriculture has turned
into an informal diplomat, an intriguing
diplomat. He knows that the substitution
Of cotton exports will only be costly
unsatisfactory, unscientifc way out of
our foreign trade dilemma. He wants
all the cotton exporting countries to
unite in reasonable solution-appor-
tionment of the worlds cotton markets
among the various exporters by a quota
system.
Meet on Problem In September.
In September representatives of these
cotton exporting lands will meet in
Washington to discuss a world cotton
quota agreement: Argentina, Brazil
France, Great Britain India, Mexico,
Peru, Sudan. the Union of Soviet Social
ist Republics and the United States
There are fears in high quarters that
unless the United States holds a club,
the delegates will reach no conclusions
about quotas. But if the United States
can threaten its rivals for world markets
with the prospect of subsidies at which
this country, being richer, could go to
further lengths than any other, then
they. on the grounds of discretion may
agree to the quota system
The September conference will be in
formal The participating countries ap-
proach it gingerly, because the quota
system is still new agent in remedying
the worlds various economic headaches.
1t works for sugar. 1t works for rubber.
where two nations, Great Britain and
the Netherlands control almost all the
globes output But attempts over six
years to introduce it to wheat have been
vain so far, although another world
wheat meeting will be held this month.
The difficulty is that no government,
considering the matter from a political
point of view, wants to agree to quotas
if its country is to get less of market
abroad than it has averaged in the
past. On the heels of such an action
the governments opposition can protest
that those in power gave away the
nations markets
From July, 1888. to April, 1899, the
United States exported 1886 900 bales of
cotton During the same eight months
from 1887 to 1888 the exports amounted
to 5,5O8,000 bales. The decrease is 80
per cent, decrease which means hard
times to thousands of Southern planters,
to cotton buyers in the United States,
to exporters. The decrease is cause for
complaint, naturally, among these pri-
vate groups which traffic in cotton and
in the Government. But in the midst
comes from Lancashire, the center of
Englands textile industry-the Lam
cashire mills can't buy as much Amer
lean cotton as they want.
Relief Program Causes Woe.
The Lancashire mills difficulty springs
from the Government cotton-relief pro-
gram. And that program is just new
chapter in the long history of attempts
to supply artificial respiration to Old
King Cotton. The history of the ailment
is coeval with the history Of the depres-
sion.
In the 1s29-3o cotton year the farm
price of cotton averaged 1853 cents a
pound, a downward slide from the 20
cents of 1929 and the 10 cents of
1928-29. In 1929-30 the United States
produced 14,825 900 bales, and the Amer
lean carryover-the amount of cotton
still on hand when the crop year was
completed-came to 2,131 900 bales.
Two years later the average American
price was ST. cents. The carryover grew
to more than 100000 bales. The Hoover
Farm Board interviewed directly in the
crisis by making a loan of 16 cents a
pound to growers. Nevertheless, in 1892
the cotton farmers, who had received
$4,000 900 900 for their crop In 1919. got