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CONCERNING COTTON CROP
AND THE LABOR QUESTION
THE COTTON CROP OF TODA Y
(From an Article by Richard 11. Edmonds.
Editor of The Manufacturers' Record,
in The American Monthly Review of
Reviews.)
Owing to the fact that the negro, as an
Independent or as a tenant-farmer, is not
successful in producing as good results
in agriculture as when, in slave days, his
labor was directed by the planter or an
overseer, much of his farming has been
unprofitable to him, and at the same time
ruinous to the soil. He has not under
stood the value of raising his own food
stuffs, and as a yearly tenant, moving
from place to place, he has not had much
incentive to improve the soil, even if he
had had the knowledge. His work has.
therefore, made him every year a less
important factor in the production of cot
ton. Absolute statistics of the relative
amount of cotton produced by negro and
■ y white labor are not obtainable, but
everywhere throughout the south, except
in sections similar to the Yazoo Delta,
the amount of cotton raised by negro
labor in proportion to the whole crop is
steadily declining. Such statistics as are
available for a few districts bring this
out very clearly.
Fifty years ago defenders of the insti
tution of slavery upon economic grounds
thought that the production of certain
staple crops of the south, especially cot
ton. depended absolutely upon the main
tenance of slavery. Their reasoning was
that the negro was necessary in the
production of cotton, and that the best
results could be obtained from him as a
slave. Subsequent events have demon
strated the fallacy of the argument, even
though the free negro is not yet as effi
cient in agriculture as was the slave un- 1
der some one rise's direction. The actual I
work of raising cotton was never ex- I
i lusively in the hands of negroes. It is
certain that since the passing of slavery*
their importance in this particular has
tended to a steady decline. This is fully
understood in the south, but not else
where. In 1739, in an English court, testi
mony was given to the effect "that cotton
grows very well in Georgia, and can be
raised by white persons without the aid of
negroes and this has been true ever
s:m though many writers not familiar
..nth southern conditions even yet sup
pose that almost the entire crop is raised
by negroes.
Cotton Mills ill Southern States.
The development of the cotton mill in
terests of the I'nited States is indicated
In the following figures:
■CIV y-; J u 'c W
v>, z • z f-T ~~
C“'—■—O : CS -. Z
L) Z T /. . Z c.
! ..■1.;.62.268 $44,914,911 $32,1'36,760
IS#) 72.119 51.102.359 46,1>50,453
ISSO .:.633.'.93 92.286 74.500.931 65,501.687
Ix6o *."35. 798 122.028 95,585.209 115.681,7.1
1870 . J. 571 135.369 11'1.706.21'1 177.489.73'
1880 10.768.516 171.659 20.8.280.316 192.090,110
Ix3o . ! 1.1.88.103 221.585 354.020.543 267.981.721
W.O 19,050.952 302.861 467,240.157 339.200,320
In isso the south had 667.""') spindies, out
of a total of 10.768.000. ami its capital in
vested in cotton manufa taring was $21,-
n,v..r«» i fraction over one-tenth of the
cotton mill capital of the country. By |
1.890. the number of spindles had increased i
to 1,700.000. and the capital to $61,000,000. i
the capital then being over one-sixth of
the total for the country, and the south |
ha’.f then, for the first time, come to be '
S--.T islv regarded as a possible dominant I
fa. tor in certain lines of cotton goods.
The census of 1900 showed that in that |
year the south had 4.500.000 active spindles
and $112,000,000 of cotton mill capital. At
the present time the south has. in round
figures, a total of about 8.000,000 spindles. .
representing an investment of between ;
$175,000,000 and $200,000,000.
Why Ship to Europe?
While the largest expansion of the cot
lon mill industry is In the south, this does I
not meat f New England s i
mill interests. There is room for growth
In both sections, certainly for New Eng- J
land to maintain its present cotton bust- 1
ness by a steady tendency toward the
finest products, even though most of the I
future growth should cent-r in the south, i
There are about 110.fw.000 cotton spindles ,
tn the work! md three-fourths of all the I
cotton u- d ' y them om- s from the cot- |
ton fields of th south: hut fat section, i
with all its progress, still has only 8.- 1
<IOO.OOO spindles. The entire country has ‘
only about 22,000.990. We are still ship- |
ping to Europe over 69 per cent of our
raw cotton every year—almost as tine- ■
renomie as It would be to ship our iron i
ore instead of turning it into the finish- (
ed product here. In 1900. there were 302.- I
Rw hands employed in the cotton mills of '
this country. On this basis the full util
ization in our own mills of the 10.500,000 ,
bales? we now produce would furnish em
ployment to nearly a million operatives.
F->r the control of this vast industry,
employing a. million people, probably two
billions of capital, and producing about
$l„50O,OW,OOU a year of finished goods, the
south is now beginning to contend. It is
a prize worthy the struggle, for it is
enough to enrich an empire. Add to the
SuOL'XW.OOU or s.>.*(.’. OO'xiXX', the present value j
of the cotton atyd seed crop, the $1,500,- {
(rrj.'W as the value of the finished product,
and the sl2s.W,o'i‘ as the present value I
of the product of cotton seed oil mills, ;
end the total of a’oout $2.250.900,000—mere- I
ly. of course, a rough estimate in round !
figures—ls !.’.•■ dazz : ig wealth which the |
s-mth, by natural advantages, has the j
right to claim and the certainty of even- !
tuaily winning.
True Value cf Present Crop.
When the wheat ■ )■;•) or Cha corn crop
If Iwlow the normal yield, in part, at least,
F’.'xstitutes can be j?r.yvided. hut for cotton
there is w> substitute, After it has left
tl.e field, it affords employment in Its
manotfacture to over a million opera
tives. besides the hundreds of thousands
employed in the making of machinery
end in other work connected with this
industry The capital Invested in the cot
maiWi factoring interests of the world
has been estimated to exceed $2,000,000,00®,
The world's production of cotton has sv.
eiaged. for the last six years, 13,470,000
bales of 500 pounds each, of which the
south is now producing an average of
10,023,000 bales. or 75 per cent. The south
is now producing an average of about
10,500,000 bales a year. The largest crop
which it ever raised was 11,274,840 bales in
1898; but, owing to the very low prices
then prevailing, its value was the small
est for any year since 1878. in that year
the yield was 5,074,155 bales, but this
gave to the cotton planters of the south
$236 586,000, while the 11,000,000-bale crop
of twenty years later brought $282,772,000,
From the low prices of 1898 there was a
sharp rally, and the crop of 19'10, run
ning to tea and a third million bales,
was valued at $494,567,u00, and that of the
following year at $452,000,000, To these
figures should be added the value of the
seed, now averaging about $80,000,000 a
year, making the true value of the cotton
crop to the farmers during the last two
or three years between $500,000,000 and
$575,000,000 a year.
SUGGESTION OF A FARMER
Editor Constitution: Permit one who
has long been a close reader of your
I admirable newspaper to say that, in my
judgment, one of the most Interesting
I articles you have had. in many a day
' was that of Mr. Vlrich B. Phillips upon
i the practicability of a return to the old
■ plantation system in the development of
I southern agriculture. Mr. Phillips ad
mirably expressed what must for a long
time have been in the minds of thinking
men who have personal knowledge of
agricultural and pratlculagly labor con
ditions in Georgia and the other cotton
growing states of the south. While we
have heard a good deal at titn's about
the value of small farms, and while we
I concede that it is better for the country
; to have land cultivated in small tracts
I rather than that it should not be cultl
j rated at all, it must nevertheless be ap
parent that the only way for the south
as a whole to get out of its cotton crop
the profits which are in it is by what
Mr. Phillips calls the application of mod
ern business to the growing of this great
staple crop after the manner of the
methods employed so successfully by the
producers of the great staple crops of
the west and northwest.
Hut the application of such methods,
the return to the "old plantation sys
tem," which your correspondent advo
cates. is not an easy matter even to a
man who has ample land, sufficient
money with which to operate, and a
reasonable amount of business sense.
Here in Georgia he Is fac'd by labor
•onditions which present a most serious
problem. There Is neither the quality of
I labor that is essential to success nor the
I quantity. To the natural tendency of
the laboring classes to (irit't to the cities
has of late years been added
1 the depleting influence of the exodus
of white agricultural labor from
the fields to the cotton mills. How
great this has been in Georgia J do not
pretend to be able to say, but with the
largo increase in the number of cotton
mills and other industrial enterprises dur
ing the past decade it must have run
up to the tens if not the hundreds of
thousands. The result has been felt al]
through, the cotton belt, for there has
come nobody to take the place of him
who has gone.
This factor in the labor situation seems
generally to be lost sight of. In con
sidering the question of labor, observers
not familiar '• ith the real facts see only
that there is . fficicnt labor to cultivate (
and pick the amount of cotton that is
marketed, but lake no account of the vast
amount of land which is uncultivated be
ai:se of this lack c.f labor. Take my
>wn experience. This year J will market
ibout 390 hales of cotton. 1 have land
nough and can command capital enough
to have made a crop of 1,000 bales just
as easily as 1 have made the lesser
iinount, but it is absolutely impossible
to command eith' r the quantity or the
quality of labor to make that crop. What
would be the use in my planting a 1.000
bale crop if I could not get it picked?
It would be absolutely folly to do so.
I venture to say that my experience is
that of most of the progressive cotton
planters of the south. The same trouble
obtains also with regard to the fruit and ■
melon crops, both of which present the i
possibilities of development right here |
in Georgia, far beyond the point now i
reached. i
I do not suppose that under the pr s- I
ent political conditions such a thing is '
possible, but I have long be n convinced !
that if it were possible for us in the I
south to secure Chinese labor for our |
fields we would, through our cotton and I
other money crops, bring into the south I
at least $lO for every one that comes j
to us under the present conditions. The
experience of those resident
parts of this country and of other coun
tries where Chinese labor is available
has shown that the Chinese are the most,
tireless laborers on the face of the globe
and the best. In California the China
men have been found to be the very
best fruiterers in the world; while in all
parts of the tropics they have proven
that they can work and do work just as
well under the heat of the tropical sun
as in the temperate climates of their
native land. There is, in my opinion, no
doubt that, if [ were able to secure under
contract a hundred or more of these
Chinese coolies, I could cultivate at least
three times as much land as I now have
under cultivation and could conduct my
farming operations on an absolute busi
ness basis that would cut off the thou
sand and one petty annoyances of the
present system and a vast deal of need-
Chrome Sores
Eating Ulcers,
Nothing is a source of so much trouble as an old sore or ulcer, particu
larly when located upon the lower extremities where the circulation is weak
and sluggish. A gangrenous eating ulcer upon the leg is a frightful sight,
and as the poison burrows deeper and deeper into the tissue beneath and the I
sore continues to spread, one can almost see the flesh melting away and feel ■
the strength going out with the sickening discharges. Great running sores |
and deep offensive ulcers often develop from a simple boil, swollen gland, 1
bruise or pimple, and are a threatening danger always, because, while all i
such sores are not cancerous, a great many are, and this should make yon
suspicions of all chronic, slow-healing ulcers and sores, particularly if can
cer runs in your family. Face sores are common and cause the greatest
annoyance because they are so per
sistent and unsightly and detract so SORES ON BOTH ANKLES,
much from one s peisonal appearance. Gentlemen: About ton years apo a
Middle aged and old people and email Bore came on each of my ankles,
those whose blood is contaminated and w * nto tho places and they be
. s • r came larsvo, eating ulcers, and I suf
tmnted v. .th the germs and poison of fared intensely for nearly ten years, i
malaria or some previous sickness, are I had spent more than $500.00 try
the chief sufferers from chronic sores ' well when I chanced to
, xi Li i • • see B. S. 8. advertised in a Memphis
andulceiS. W hlle the blood remains in paper. I began to take it and was
an unhealthy, polluted condition heal- cured. My limbs have never been
ing is impossible, and the sore will ®? re or grivon mo any pain at all
Continue to glow and spread in Spite of a great many- people, and am now
washes and salves or anj- superficial or giving it to my nine-year-old son for
surface treatment, for the sore is but Eczema. During my lone sickness I
the sign of some constitu- J B a ’ 0 H B T n ce Zo“dto
tional disorder, a bad condition of and am now residing at No. 614
the blood aud systei* which local East Sixteenth Street. A
remedies cannot cure. A blood purifier Kansas City, Mo. ' ’
ind tonic is what you need. Some
thing to cleanse the blood, restore its lost properties, quicken the circula
tion and invigorate the constitution, and S. S. S. is just such a remedy.
S. S. S. reaches these old chronic sores through the blood. It goes to
.he very root of the trouble and counteracts and removes from the blood all
die impurities and poisons, and gradually builds up the entire system and
strengthens the sluggish circulation, and when the blood has been purified
and the system purged of all morbid,
unhealthy matter the healing process
| b e gi n 9( a nd the ulcer or sore is soon
entirely gone.
» g S. S. S. contains no mineral or poison-
ous drugs of any description, but is guar
anteed a purely vegetable remedy, a blood
mrifier and tonic combined and a safe and permanent cure for chronic sores
ind ulcers. If you have a slow-healing sore of any kind, external or internal,
vrite us about it, and our physicians will advise you without charge. Book
m “The Blood and Its Diseases ’’ free,
THE SWIFT SPECIFIC CO,, ATLANTA, GA
THK CONSTITUTION: ATLANTA, GA., MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 1903.
less, though apparently necessary, ex
pense entailed by working with well
meaning but thriftless and shiftless
negroes.
The present immigration latvs, so far
as they relate to Asiatics, have been
made at the dictation of politicians on
the Fhciflc slope. Weiher we will ever
be able to secure their repeal It is Im-
possible to say. They should be repealed
in the Interest of the development of the
agricultural resources of the entire coun
try. The Yellow Peril menaces only
those who do not want to work save as
it meets their pleasure and who will not
work. Give us the Chinese and we can
put into practical effect the modern busi
ness plantation system for which your
correspondent so ably pleads. Give us
the Chinese and not only will the fields
they cultivate blossom and bear fruit,
hut the value of their industrious ex
ample will be felt by other labor, black
and white. Give us the right to engage
Chinese farm labor—limit that right, if
necessary, to farm labor—and the pro
ductive capacity of the southern states
would be multiplied by ten, twenty and
in lime fifty.
A GEORGIA FARMER.
Houston county, Ga., August 29.
IGNOECANT NEGROES ALARMED.
Believe Vardaman’s Election Will
Mean Slavery for Them.
Jackson, Miss., September 2—f Special.)
The negroes of Mississippi, and especially
tl>e ignorant class, have acquired many
ludicrous ideas as to the political moan
ing of the nomination of Major James K.
Vardaman to the "fflee of governor.
An idea has gained considerable cur
rency among the ignorant blacks that
Major Vardaman not only intends to give
the negro as few schools as possible, but
also intends to put them back into slavery
again and that every white man will be
allowed to take his pick of two negroes
immediately after the new governor is
installed into office.
The educated class of bla.eks and the
plantation managers and large employers
of labor are giving assurances Io the ig
norant negroes that the election of Ma
jor Vardaman will mean no abridgement
whatever of their civil rights, nor in any
way change their worldly status.
As the negro rarely moves unless
prompted by overt hostility, there is no
likelihood that the result of the election
will cause any momentous disturbance of
labor conditions in the state.
The indications are that the quantity of
official pie to be sit ed by the new gover
nor of Mississippi after his induction into
office will be materially reduced by sev
eral judiciary resignations.
Reliable advices state that Judge Rob
ert Powell, of the seventh district. and
Judge I’. H. Lowry, of the fourth district,
will tender their resignations before the
end of the year and resume th'- practice
of law. .Judge J. H. Neville has already
resigned and his successor is to be named
within a few days. Within the past six
months Governor Longiuo lias appointed
one supreme judige, three chancellors and
three circuit judges, ami this will defer a
good portion of Major Vardaman's pat
ronage until toward the end of his term.
The bulk of the appointments to be
made by the now governor will consist of
trustees for state colleges and state in
stitutions, and those places are never
much sought after, as they carry but
littl empens ition.
Cancer Cured by Anointing with Oil.
A combination of soothing ami balmy
dis has been disco) •■■• red which readily
cure all forms of cancer and tumor. It
is safe nul sure and may be used at home
without pain or disfigurement. Read' ”8
■ anuld write for free book to flic origi
nators. whoso southern oflice address 's
Dr. I). M. Bye Co., Box 462. Dept. K.,
Dallas, Tex.
MANY FACTORIES CLOSE DOORS
Seventeen Mills To Shut Down in
New England.
Fall River, Mass., September 4.•-Seven
teen cotton manufacturing corporations
of Fall River will shut down entirely to
morrow until September 14. throwing out
of work nearly 13,000 hands operating
1.300,000 spindles. The curtailment next
week is the most extensive of any here
since the cotton situation became un
favorable to mill owners. This extensive
stappage of machinery will take more
than 8100,000 out of ciruclation, through
the loss of wages.
The delay in arrival of new cotton and
the situation in the market together with
the fact that Monday is a holiday arc
responsible for the idleness of so many
spindles.
London, September 4.—The collapse on
the American cotton market has had
little effect in Liverpool ami Marchestor,
but it is welcomed as a promise of bet
ter times to come. It is consider'd,
however, that the collapse can have lit
tle effect on the Lancashire trade for
seme weeks yet. and that tie short time
movement must continue. On noth ex
changes the operators were inclined to
be cautious and not take too sanguine an
attitude.
MINISTER THIS FOB
LYNCH LAW,
Rev. J. D. L. Hillyer Says Lynch Law
Is Nearer to Mosaic Method
Than Never Ending Delay
of Courts and Pardon
ing- Boards.
Macon, Ga., August 31.—(Special.)—
Lynch law from a Bible standpoint was
handled in the East Macon Baptist church
by the Rev. j. D. L. Hillyer last night in
the presence of a large congregation and
before completing his sermon the devine
showed that there was practically a
scriptural indorsement of the quick route
by which mobs have made exits fur crimi
nals out of this world.
"At this time.” said Mr. Hillyer when he
reached that section of his text applying
particularly to lynching, “the people of
the whole country are wrought up o.J
what is tailed lynch law. Philosophers,
philanthropists, lawyers and ministers
are talking and writing about it daily.
Mr. Graves, one of Georgia's brightest
orators, declared in his Chautauqua ad
dress recently that lynching for jape
would continue just as long as that crime
continues, and Mr. Graves is probably
right. Replying to Mr. Graves some very
distinguished men have denounced lynch
ing as anarchy and everything else that
is bad, but as many of you know' intem
perate denunciation weakens tin.; cause it
seeks to advocate.
"In a time like this we need to remem
ber that we ate servants of the Most
High God; that He has placed us here tn
a free country, and that He has commit
ted to us the making ami the execution
of the laws. It is impossible for us to
separate our religious and our civil du
ties. On the great day of account the
Lord will require us to show how we have
administered the trust of a Christian ei.i
zenship. It therefore becomes us to refer
all these questions to the word of God.
What does He say'.’ In Duet, xix, 12 and 13.
we find:
".'Then the elder of the city shall send
and fetch him thence, and deliver him in
to the hand of the avenger of blood that
he may die.
" 'Thine eye shall not pity him, but
thou shalt put away the guilt of innocent
blood from Israel, that it may go well
with thee.’ ”
In the body of the sermon Mr. Hillyer
presented the Mosaic law for the punish
ment of homicide and our law ami lynch
law in parallel lines as it were, saying:
Mosaic Method Prompt.
"The Mosaic method was prompt, cer
tain and just. Cities of refuge were desig
nated into which the innocent man slayer
could flee from the avenger and be safe.
He was given the opportunity to show his
innocence and afterwards the avenger of
blood could not kill him.
“A man, guilty of murder, found in that
city of refuge a fair trial, but if his guilt
was established he was delivered unto
the avengi r of blood to be slain. The text
distinctly says there must be no pity
shown because the guilt of blood must be
removed from the land. Tim real ground
upon which capital punishment is inflicted
under Mosaic law is expiation. It is not
simply to punish the offender or to de
ter others, but to wipe out the guilt, that
would belong to tin: wlmio people if (he i
crime should be unpunished.
"Uur system of trial by jury was in
vented some six or seven hundred years
ago as c.ur forefathers were emerging ;
from barbarism. The substantial justice
was possible and sullietrutly resembled
the Mosaic to be free from serious criti
cism.
"But. that, purity of jury trial has given
way to flagrant abuses. The unending fa
cility for frivilous appeals Wears out the
life of a ease. Witnesses die off or are
bought off or move away from the scene
of the offense. In one way and another
trials are delayed until justice is im
possible. The sympathies of the people
gradually pass from the person slain to
the accused and when at last a final
judgment is rendered it is an aequitta! or
a lighter punishment of some trivial sort.
Thus the law- of God i.s despised, set
aside and violated. It is this which more
freouently follows than follows quick and
certain, to say nothing of deserved pun
ishment is the law of God requires.
"And if the courts do convict in these
days before justice can be ineeted out the
star chamber court of high commission
known as the pardoning board, a court
that is governed by no law. a court of ex
pert procedure, a court that is the appeal
of lasi resort, for it has usurped the func
tion of the supreme court, is appealed to
for clemency, not appealed to for justice.
Before this court comes the attorneys and
friends of the accused and probably right
fully condemned and appeal and appeal
until sympathy of its members wipes
away the demand of God's holy law. That
blots out the requirements of our statutes,
sots aside the verdict of a sworn jury I
and annuls what has been done in the
way of mooting out punishment for the
crime committed.
No City of Refuge.
"In our country the people make the
laws. They feel that this mai-administra r
tion Is wrong, that it does not represent
their will. Ordinarily the people submit,
but when one of those crimes, a crime
that can hardly be defined, is committed ;
the people cannot always wait. They will |
not always wait. And who is to blame? ,
The 'Time of rape under the Mosaic law ;
is punished with death ami there seems I
to have been no city of refuge provided, !
but the avenger slew the offender ;
wherever found.”
The sermon has caused considerable talk
here today, and while it is being well
sustained, there are some who think the
minister has taken a radical view of the i
situation.
THOSE PENSION FRAUDS AGAIN
Negro Mitchell Is Bound Over for i
Swindling.
Thomasville. Ga., September I.—(Spe
cial.)—S. P. Mitchell, the negro who is
charged with swindling ex-slaves in this
county by promising them pensions under
the proposed Hanna bill, was tried today
before Justice Marshall and bound over
to the superior court under a SIOO bond.
The sensational feature of the trial was
the speech of Judge S. A. Rodenbury,
who represents the negro. He charged
that the republican party was behind this
prosecution and that in order to stop
Mitchell, some of the leaders had com
municated with leading negroes of this
county and they had induced Mayor Cul
pepper to swear out the warrants. While
he was innocent of any design, it was
stated, the fact revealed that an unseen
hand was behind the movement; the re
publicans were alarmed because this
movement was so tar reaching. They saw
that the democrats were ready tq.push
the pension bill and fearing the loss of
power among the negroes they had de
cided to throttle Mitchell, the promoter
of the scheme.
W. B. Wilson, another negro who is
prominent in the prosecution, had a let
ter from Registrar cf the Treasury
Lyons in which Lyons said;
"The bill was introduced by Senator
Hanna bv request and with his notice to
the wrld that ho Introduced It simply
as a courtesy to the people who besought
him to do so, and nas no possible In
terest In its fate, Indeed, ho has stated
publicly that ho was not concerned about
it, Such bills are frequently introduced,
and this particular bill has been intro
duced by request by various senators for
the last eight or ten years. I am sorry
to hear that any of our people are being
fleeced by sharpers under the head of
ex-slave pension matters."
• ♦
i DISTILLERY-FED COWS •
• ♦
• MAKE TOPERS OF BABES •
• Chicago, September 3—The theory |
• that germs of an appetite for •
j liquor are imparted to Chicago ba-
• bies through the medium of milk ♦
• from cows that eat the refuse from •
. Peoria distilleries has suggested it- •
• self to Assistant State Food In- t
j spector R. M. Patterson. Mr. Pat- *
| terson has Just returned from Pe- •
• oria, where he found 150 distillery- j
• fed cows whose milk has been reg- j
? ularly shipped to Chicago. He en- •
• joined the dairymen to sell no more J
• milk from these cattle. •
i •
••• • • •••<••• •• • • ••• 9 *
WILSON BACKS SILK GROWERS.
Agricultural Secretary Is Working
To Encourage the Industry.
Washington, September 4.—(Special.)—
Silk growers in this country and those
who are interested in promoting the silk
growing Industry arc receiving a great
deal of encouragement and substantial
assistance from the department of agri
culture. Every effort is being made to
stimulate the cultivation of the silk pro
ducing cocoons. At present but a com
paratively small amount of silk is pro
duced in this country, but experts in
the department of agriculture are con
fident that trie conditions for silk culture
in various parts of tlie United States
are equal to those of China or Japan.
The manufacture of the liner grades
of silk goods in this country is steadily
increasing, and the official reports just
compiled by the department of commerce
and labor show that the imports of raw
silk in the fiscal year just ended were
the largest in the history of the govern
ment For the year ending June 30, 1903,
15,271,340 pounds of unmanufactured silk,
valued at $50,011,819, were imported, as
compared with 11.2 million pounds in 1902
and 10.4 millions in 1901. From this silk
our manufacturers will make finished
products valued at over $125,000,000.
Os the $5,000,000 worth of unmanufac
tured silk imported practically one-half
conies from Japan, the raw silk from
tiiat country in the fiscal year just end
ed being valued at 24.6 millions of dol
lars. Italy furnished nearly 13 millions,
the Chinese empire 8.9 millions, France
2.2 millions, and ail other countries only
a little over s3oo,otjo worth of raw silk.
Besides this, there was a little over
a million dollars’ worth of silk waste
Imported, which is used principally in
making “spun silk.” and is classed as
unmanufactured silk in the statistics of
imports-
Many attempts'have been made to pro
duce raw silk In this country. As early
as 1623 mulberry trees were required to
be planted by all settlers in Virginia,
and some silk was grown in the early
days of the colony. In the second quar
ter of the last century the cultivation of
silk seemed to give promise of success,
but the enterprise degenerated into a
speculation in Chinese mulberry trees
and ended in utter failure. The recent
experiments of the department of agri
culture are again directing attention to
the practicability of raising on our own
farms a share at least of this material,
which forms so considerable a part of
our imports.
During recent years the importation
of raw silk has increased almost con
tinuously, until in the fiscal year just
ended it amounted to over $50,000,000. 'The
nearest approach to this value was in
1900, when 845.330,000 worth was import'd.
Notwithstanding the increase in the
quantity of unmanufactured silk which
is brought here to be made into fabrics
l.iy our own manufacturers, the impor
tation of manufactured silks doos not
fall off. For 1903 it is not $3,000,060 less
than the previous high mark, made In
1893. This would indicate that there Is
still room for growth in our domestic
manufacture before the demand will be
supplied.
The South Against the World.
(From The Baltimore Sun.)
That L’nclo Sam. during the “unpleas
antness ’ oi 1861-115. recruited his armies
in Europe is well known. There was
scarcely a nation in the Old World which
was not represented in the vast armies
that were arrayed against the southern
confederacy. Few people were aware,
however, that subjects of the sultan of
Turkey were enrolled among the hosts
that fought under the Stars and Stripes.
This interesting fact is recalled in an
article published in a Philadelphia news
paper discussing the status of naturalized
American citizens in the Turkish empire.
Our Quaker City contemporary observes:
"For thirty-live years the position of
our naturalized citizens in Turkey has
been unsatisfactory, well-night disgrace
ful. The dispute is one of long standing.
Up to the close of our civil war tile posi
tion of naturalized citizens in 'Ciirkey was
one which created no difficulty, either for
the ports or the United States. During
that struggle a number of former sub
jects of the sultan of Turkey served in
the army, and on obtaining their citizen
ship at the close of their term of service
went back to Turkey.”
"It i.s a pity that our Philadelphia con-
Mental
Strain Affected Ge
neral Health.
Doctor’s Doses Weak
ened Stomach.
Dr. Miles’ Nervine Cured
Me.
Dr. Miles' Restorative Nervine brings rest
and sweet sleep to the tired brain worn out
with the cares and anxieties of the sick room.
Read the following:
“I have always been healthy with the ex
ception of a touch of rheumatism since my
aye came on, up to the time of my husband’s
last illness some years ago. I assisted in
nursing my husband for nearly three months
when he departed this life and the mental ■
strain I think caused my trouble. Aside
from extreme nervousness my trouble com
menced with sore throat and neuralgia. My
physician gave me purgative doses which
weakened ine very much and my stomach
for a time seemed inactive. Mental strain
and the dormant condition of my stomach
soon told upon my general health. I had
little appetite and was soon forced to stay in
bed a greater part of tiie time. Wi>hm a
week after the time I began taking Dr.
Miles’ Restorative Nerving and Tonic I was
up about the house. I continued their use
until completely cured. My faith in Dr.
Miles’ Remedies has been strengthened by
experience of other people, our daughter hav
ing used Restorative Nervine with splendid
results in a case of paralysis anti a fiiend to
whom I sent a box of the Anti-Pain Pills re
ports that she has been completely cured of
neuralgia by their use. I know of a number
of others whom your medicine has helped in a
large degree. I wish you continued success."
•—Mrs. Frances Coffman, Dayton, Va.
All druggists sell and guarantee first bot
tle Dr. Miles’ Remedies. Send for free book
on Nervous and Heart Diseases. Address
wr. Miles Medical Co., Elkhart, Ind.
Boys who
make money
after ■
Any boy can do it ■ ]F
IN A DAINTY little booklet,which &
we will send to any boy free, wftfex W "y g
twenty-five out of more than three TOjKjhX K
thousand bright boys tell in their own g
way just how they have made a sue- Aw fcU B
cess of SELLING "
The Saturday Evening Post JOporA
Pictures of the boys—letters telling how £ ; 7
they built up a paying business outside of
school hours interesting stories of real
business tact. I
Some of these boys are making SIO.OO to
■e. No fir A
ish ten I ■/ 1
to be I ' I I
•n send I II t, y
as you / II
es y 1
xt 1
<ho j
LY - fW ®
t
1
temporary was not in a position to state
exactly from what classes of Turkish sub
jects Uncle Sam’s agents obtained re
i cruits. Judging from the character of
. some of the campaigns in Dixie -particu
| larly ia the valley of Virginia and in the
i famous “march through Georgia”—it
■ might be inferred that there was a corps
of bashi-bazouks in the south during the
civil war. Since, the Turks fought so
desperately and efficiently for the preserv
ation of our union. Abdul Hamid may
claim that he is entitled to the most dis
tinguished consideration of the Washing
ton government in his present efforts to
put down a “rebellion” in Macedonia.
Due good turn deserves another. The war
Ships that have been ordered to Beirut
ought to be recalled or instructed to do
nothing that will make it more difficult
for the sultan to preserve the Turkish
union.
Do You Suffer with Pi’es?
Do they protrude?
Do they bleed?
Do they pain you?
Do you have mucous or bloody dis
charges?
7 can certainly cure you. Write me
fully. Advice perfectly free. Dr.
Tucker, 15 Broad street. Atlanta. Ga.
OLYMPIAN CAUGHT IN A GALE.
En Route to Norfolk Cruiser Came
Near Sinking.
Norfolk. Va.. September 4. —The cruiser
Olympia, flying the pennant of Rear Ad
miral Coghlan, arrived at the Norfolk
navy yard today. Her bottom was in
spected and she will be docked Wednes
day for repairing the injuries received on
rocks off the coast of Maine. On tlie
way down the coast In a storm it was
thought at one time tlie Olympia was
sinking.
The Olympia, ran Into a heavy gale off
Tomaston harbor and for a while fears
were entertained that she might no: be
able to weather it in safety. Her water
tight compartments saw her safeiv
through the blow, but the cruiser was
compelled to seek shelter in Tomaston
harbor until the gale subsided. At one
time during the blow some of the officers
and men feai'ed the ship a -s really
sinking.
CASTOR IA
For Infants and Children.
The Kind You Have Always Bought
Boars the // Cy-' ' ■'■’***
Signature of
MONEY FOR NAVY YARDS.
Estimates Submitted Show That ‘
Large Sums Are Needed.
Washington, September L—Estimates !
have been submitted to Rear Admiral i
Endicott, chief of the bureau of yards I
and docks, for the improvements and ex- I
penditures at various navy yards for
the fiscal year ending June 3, 1905.
Pensacola, Fla.: Total, $2,545,515, which
includes: Central power house for depart
ment of yards and docks, $104,500; ma
chinery for the same, SIIS,WW; shop and I
office building for the same, SltM.iW.'; con- I
crele and granite docks. $1.D".""". wharf I
and vessels under repair, $185,1X10; quay |
wall. $100,090.
Key West, Fla.: Total, 375,570. which
includes: To continue quay wall, $20",-
000; additional land, $150,000.
Charlesotn, S. Total, $3,640,000. which
includes: Extension of store house, $120,-
000; yard power house and equipment;-,
$135,000; quay walls, $460,1)00; pier N->. 31:.',
$100,000; coaling pier and plant, $200,000;
dredging for piers, entrance to docks.
$180,0<X); floating crane. sloo,o'X'; dry dock
No. I. $350,0011; ship litte. . ' shop. sls".oi'o;
smith' ry. $150,000; boat shops. sll'.'.'joO.
Port Royal, S. <'.: Total. $4,869,246, ,
which includes: Two stone and concret”
dry docks. $2,200,000; quay wall, $1.147.OI");
dredging basin and widening channel,
$5(>0,000: railroad from Burton Hill to sta
tion, $258,000.
New Orleans. L' : Total. $3,81'1.190,
which includes: Fieeti-jc liftht power
plant extension. S2SO,tKK>; improvement of '
water front, $1,300,060; eh etrim conduc
tors and pipe subways, $160,000; paving
ditches, $180.(XX); railroad systems. $1.17«0‘X);
brick masonry walls, $190,000; naval sup
ply fund store house, sr2o.oiX); boat shop,
$125,000; naval hospital. $150,000; ordnance
shop and offices, $120,000.
DEATH ENDS DETECTIVE PLAY, j
New Albany, Ind, September I.—As a
result of his effort in the capacity of
amateur detective to run down a bill
raiser, Charles Marshall, of Rego, Orange
county, Ind., was so badly beaten by his
prospective prisoner that lie will die.
Marshall is a young country man. who
shortly after joining an amateur detec
tive association, received a letter from a
man in Chicago offering to sell SSOO in
genuine currency for S2OO. The letter
was so worded as to give the idea that
the bills were raised.
Marshall opened correspondence, and
arranged to meet the man. who gave his ;
name as Hite, in a secluded spot near
New Albany. The dm it.nr detective
borrowed S2OO and when the negotiations
with Hite reached the point, where the '
moneys were to be exchanged he told :
Hite he was under arrest. Hite knocked :
Marshall down with a large stone and ,
proceeded to batter his victim’s head into ■
a pulp. When Marshall was found hot- :
rlbly beaten several hours later the S2OO ;
ho had taken to the spot was gone.
Physicians at St. Edward's hospital de- '
claro there is no chance for his recovery. •
EM'S DISCOUNT
HATE GOES UP.
Pvothschild Says the Action Will
Teach Germans They Can’t Play
Ducks and Drakes With
the English Gold
Supply.
London September 3 -The rate of dis
count of the Bank of England was in
creased today from 3 to 4 per cent. The
rise was attribut'd mainly to the with
drawal of gold for the repayment of the
N< therl.md.- railroad loan to a lesser
degree to Ihr demands for gold from Bei
lin.
The action of the bank officials was a
great surprise to the stock exchange and
caused a general all round depression,
especially in consols. It was thought the
rife in the bank rate v. >uld hinder the
suply fur American requirements.
When asked what was the cause and
what would be the ■ fleet of the increase
in the bank rate, Lord Rothschilds said:
“Sonic little time a high official of
th.. Bink of Germany announced that it
would probably be neces.-ary to raise the
German rate in th-- middle of September.
1 inquired why and he informed me that
it was because of the expected demand
from mortgages which in Germany a.i
fall due October 1, and must be paid in
gold or in bank note.-. The bankers we'e
much averse to the project held out by
the Bank of Germany and proceeded io
lay hands on all the loose gold they could
get in the hope of stating off the rise.
The operations culminated today in the
withdrawal of between $3,'259,(XU) and $4,00".-
0C«) from the Bank of England. Tlie only
action left to our bank was 1 to raise the
rate. It will teach the German bankers
that they cannot play ducks and drakes
with the English gold supply.
“Today's rise had absolutely nothing to
do with tlie Balkans nor with tlie pros
pective g -Id imports by America. The
colonial office's clumsy method ot ar
ranging for the repayment in Berlin of
the Netherlands, South African lailroul
debentures may hav< contributed to the
present condition, but. only slightly.
France will now have to supply gold,
which will go to America for the crops.
j France has got plenty on hand and will
have to give up some in return for the
annual continental demand upon Ameri-
I can supplies. Except for the German a.-
I tion th ■ continent could have looked chief
i ly to England to linanc it through such
an operation.”
' BARRED BY A JAP GUN BOAT.
American Steamer Not Allowed To
Enter Yalu River.
Pekin, September J. -A telegram has
I been received here announcing that the
! steamer Stanley Dollar (formerly a Dan-
I ish vessel, but now owned by an Amerl-
I can) sent by a Russian company front
Tien Tain to Yongampho, at the mouth
of the Yalu river, ('orea. for a cargo of
lumber, from the Russian concession "t
the Yalu river, was prevented from en
tering the port of Yongampho by a Jap.
anese gunboat, whose commander said
Yongampho was not an open port ami
that foreign vessels had no right to enter.
AGUINALDO BEGS FILIPINOS
TO FORSAKE BESETTING SIN
Manila. S-pt. mber 2—Aguinaldo, ths
ex-revolutionary leader, but now a pro
nounced supporter of the policy main
ti.ine '■ ,v the I nited States in the islands
lias just addressed a letter of advice to
las countrymen. In this he urged them
io forsake their besetting sin of gamb
ling; to improve their methods of agri
culture, and to attend the public sehooia
generously provided to furnish them ed
ucational facilities.
uni n iw wan
I( 01 PURE OLD '
Lincoln County
H Whiskey
Bolden Age >£•
-.v-.. e ar, ‘ the and
personally guarantee the purity
Il an< * age those goods. There
Is none better at any price. a? a
t rove. We ship In
rJilTnl’JrTJ< plain boxes without marks
to Indicate contents, and pre
pay expren* to any station
at the following dletlller'a
prices:
5 Full Bottles • $ 3.45
10 ru!l Bottles • 6.55
12 Full Bottles - 7.90
15 Full Bottles - 9.70
25 Full Bottles - 15.90
(This is lens than 70c a full
§ -• *tni bottle.) FKEE cluse and cork-
g a 3 screw in every box. Your
wu. money bark If not juet as rep-
resented. Address
B AMER.CAN SUPPLY CO. Distiller*,
665 Main Street, - Memphis, Tenn.
7