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6 THE COTTON INDUSTRY. (Boston Herald.) That East Boston is to have a new group of cotton goods mills to cost from >4,000,000 to $5,000,000 and em ploy 8,000 hands is due to two in teresting circumstances. First some of the investors have shown their faith in Boston by increasing their stake here. Second, it is evident that students of the situation at the south are convinced New England has an important future in this industry. Eugene N. Foss, the only pro moter of the plant whose name has yet been published, except the Dra pers, who will furnish the machinery, has shown that large iron goods could be profitably manufactured here, and refused definite advances from Pitts burg, while he is active in the devel opment of Boston real estate. With him this is no mere maudlin senti ment or home sickness, but conviction based on knowledge and experience. When he persuades capitalists to join him in a mill at East Boston, located at the water front, and invests heavily in the concern himself, he does so because he believes the harbor will afford frequent sailings In worthy ships to convey his wares to foreign lands. It is chiefly for export that he plans his product, and he chooses the site to avoid use of railroads, either for obtaining raw cotton and coal or for shipment of goods. The port of Boston and Its future activ ity are, to Mr. Foss, the chief assets of his site. Evidently the true situation at the south is more clearly understood by the stockholders of the East Bos ton factory than by our people in general. New England suffers with the south to some extent from the present labor famine but not in so great degree. It is not Massachusetts that has been scouring Europe for operatives. When spinners and weav ers go to the south they cannot al ways be induced to stay. Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina in the ten years 1890 to 1900 increased the number of their coton goods op eratives 193 per cent. The “census of 1905“ (actually 1904) was for a four year period. At the same rate of growth the percentage of increase would have been roughly four-tenths of 193, or 77 per cent. The check in rate of expansion of the southern mills has been made still more evident since the census year by the cry for opera tives. The climate of New England is not only more conducive to nimbleness, both of mind and of fingers, than the southern, but more agreeable the year round to persons of a mechanical turn, and the development of cities here af fords better facilities for education to children and adults and for enter tainment of many kinds. One of the reasons for locating in East Boston is the supply of help. After all, how r ever, there is no rea son for unfriendly rivalry between the two parts of the country. It is the export trade for which both will strive as the total product more and more shall exceed the home demand. “The United States,” Mr. Foss said in a recent address, “is exporting too much raw material. She should make her cotton up into cloth and then ex port It.” The “value” of exports to a country Is not the selling price, but the number of people who have made a living In the production. New Eng land will be competing In cotton goods not with the south, but with the coun- Farmers’ Union Department 'Roster of National and State Officers NATIONAL OFFICERS. C. S. Barrett, president, Atwater, Georgia. J. E. Montgomery, vice-president, Gleason, Tenn. R. H. McCullough, secretary-treas urer, Beebe, Ark. L. N. Holmes, chaplain, Bernice, Louisiana. STATE OFFICERS. Georgia Headquarters—Barnesville.. R. F. Duckworth —President. W. P. Quinby—Vice-President. J. L. Barron —Secretary-Treasurer. J. L. Lee —State Organizer. G. M. Davis —Lecturer. J. G. Eubanks —State Business Agent. Alabama —I. A. Worley, president, Guin, Ala.; E. J. Cook, secretary-treas urer, Pell City, Ala. tries to which the south sent last year 3,634,045,170 pounds of raw cotton. New England will continue to be one of the south’s best customers. SHALL WE CLAIM OUR OWN? (Arkansas Union Tribune.) The south is composed of thirteen states, and these are divided into 813 counties. In comparison to the rest of this mundane sphere it is as but an atom to the Rocky Mountains. On this comparatively small area is produced one commodity upon which the entire habitable civilized world is dependent for supplies to keep going the more than 200,000,000 spin dles in which is invested untold mil lions of money for the dividends it pays, saying nothing of the by-prod ucts and the indispensable needs for the comfort of the millions of indi viduals. Yet with this natural monop oly, of soil and climate, for the produc tion of cotton, the southern farmer has been the football for a few finan cial pirates to annually be skinned and fleeced out of his own by them. Up to the organization of the Farm ers’ Union no one ever raised his voice or lifted his hand to bring about a change in the imperfect conditions under which the farmer labored or the foul means by which he was robbed. But the Farmers’ Union has served notice upon the heartless commercial system that has “pressed the crown of thorns upon the brow of labor,” that the southern farmer knows he occu pies vantage ground in this heretofore uneven battle, and he is determined to plant his guns on the parapet of the enemy and forever drive them from their strongholds. Organization and education are the guns, and controlled marketing is the ammunition, by which we will slay the enemy. Then we will come into our own. . DECREASE IN EXPORTS OF COTTON. (New York American.) On the 24th and 25th of this month the National Association of Cotton Manufacturers will hold In Boston Its eighty-second annual meeting. During the latter part of May the American WATSON’S WEEKLY JEFFERSONIAN. Arkansas —J. B. Lewis, president, Jonesboro, Ark.; Ben L. Griffin, secre tary-treasurer, Conway, Ark. Indiahoma —J. A. West, President, Shawnee, O. T.; B. C. Hanson, secre tary-treasurer, Shawnee, O. T. Louisiana —L. N. Holmes, president, Bernice, L,; J. W. Boyett, Jr., sec treasurer, Tanhill, La. Mississippi—J. M. Bass, president; Hazlehurst, Miss.; G. W. Russell, sec retary-treasurer, Hazlehurst, Miss. Tennessee —J. E. Montgomery, pres ident, Greenfield, Tenn.; J. T. Brooks, secretary-treasurer, Atwood, Tenn. Texas —E. A. Calvin, president, Dal las, Texas; B. F. Chapman, secretary treasurer, Dallas, Texas. South Carolina —O. P. Goodwin, president, Anderson, S. C.; B. F. Earl, secretary-treasurer, Anderson, South Carolina. Cotton Manufacturers’ Association, a similar organization, will hold its eleventh annual convention in Phila delphia. If America based its prosperity in cotton manufacturing on our exports of these products, the two associations named would have no occasion to con vene. In the past year the value of cotton goods shipped from the United States was less by $13,000,000 than in 1905. There is no occasion for alarm in this, as America is unable at present to supply the home demand for cotton goods. It was announced recently by buy ers in New York city representing prominent retail houses throughout the United States that they never before encountered such difficulty in obtain ing cotton goods supplies. “STAY OUT OF POLITICS.” (The Union News.) I have heard the phrase “stay out of politics” until I am sick at the craw. The first thing that makes be sick is that it usually comes from a class that had rather see the Farmers’ Union fail than make a succcess. It is not because they love the farmer that makes them give their advice. They are afraid of the farmer in politics and I don’t blame them; if I didn’t belong to that class who till the soil I suppose I would be hollering “keep out of politics.” The Farmers’ Union is not going to make the mistake that has been made by other organizations along the po litical line. We are not going to let a few politi cians use us to boost themselves. We are not going to put out men for office. Why should we? Let him who will run. We will look Into his record, if he shows up all O. K. we will vote for him or against him if we want to. We are not going to let these howl ers keep us from thinking for our selves. We will study public quues tions, and while we do not expect to right all the wrongs ws do expect to have our say. GO SLOW ON CROP NEWS. (The Co-Operator.) Never mind about crop reports and acreage. The Farmers’ Union mem bership is not Interested in such things. It does not matter what the acreage is or what the condition of the crops may be, nor weather condi tions. The only thing Is to hold your products for the minimum prices fixed by the National Union and to take no less. Every local Union ought to adopt resolutions binding its members not to give out crop estimates, acreage or anything of that sort to any human be ing at any time. It is each farmer’s own business, and no one else’s how much land he plants, or what the con ditions of his crops may be. THE SHIP SUBSIDIES. The ship subsidy bill which it was proposed to pass was to pay bonuses to seven mail steamship lines. These were as follows: Ist. One from New York to Brazil, a line already in existence, controlled by J. P. Morgan. 2d. One from New York to Argen tina, another line already in existence, controlled by J. P. Morgan. 3d. A line from the gulf port, sup posedly New Orleans, to Colon. 4th. From San Francisco to Pana ma, Peru and Chile, the present Pacific mail steamship line, controlled by Mr. Spreckles and already under contract to carry the mails to and from South America until 1911. sth. From San Francisco to the Orient via Hawaii, a line already in existence and owned by Mr. Edward H. Harriman. 6th. From Seattle to the Orient, a line already running, controlled by Mr. James J. Hill. 7th. From San Francisco to Austra lia, a line at present controlled by Mr. Edward H. Harriman. THE SOUTH TO THE FRONT. (Philadelphia Record.) The south has tried Bryan twice. It has tried an eastern candidate once. There have been three consequent fail ures. They were failures of default west and east. There is no need of going into particulars. Now let the south lead. Let it name its own can didate —some stalwart southern Dem ocrat —and call upon the true Jefferso nians of the north and west to re spond. That is the logic of the politi cal situation. THE ROOSEVELTIAN HEAD. (Waterbury, Ct., American.) Way back In 1887, on May 17, as shown In the life of E. L. Godkin, Mr. Godkin remarked to C. L. Brace as follows: “I am afraid ’Teddy’ Roose velt has not got his father’s level head.” Mr. Godkin kept this opinion unchanged up to the day of his death, and even now, 20 years after, If he were alive, would probably still en tertain it. THE STATE’S RAILROAD. (The West Times.) The state of Texas is now trying government ownership of railroads in a limited way. The legislature has just passed a bill to extend the state railroad from Rusk—which has heretofore been used only for the purpose of hauling fuel to the furnaces at Rusk—to a point on the T. &N. O. and the I. & G. N. thus connecting this state line with two Important trunk Uses.