Newspapers / The Future Outlook (Greensboro, … / Oct. 30, 1941, edition 1 / Page 2
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TACK TWO 13,500,000 Pec In Cotton Proi X^B JKfl in, ?-B? H H a /jS H j. . . _ JOHN W. MITCHELL. Negro State Agent "* It is very appropriate that North Carolina should at this time pay homage to a basic crop not only of the south,. but of the nation whose production and processing give employment to more than 33,500,000 people in the United States or 11 per cent of the population of continental United States on 2,000,000 cotton farms in 000 persons depend on cotton for the I greater part of their income. While approximately 3,000,000 more work In cotton textile manufacture and another 500,000 in marketing and processing cotton. These figures, large as they are do not include the many 1 owners of stocks and bonds of cotton mills and other companies, the business of financing and banking, the growing and handling andraanufac- I turing of cotton and the merchandising of cotton products, nor do these figures include the millions engaged tn retail merchandising ranging from cross roads trading centers 'to the great city department storps. It is true corn, wheat and hay -occupy a larger acreage, but these products do not give employment to near so many people as cotton. ' The Importance of Cotton. Income from cotton In comparison lo wheat and tobacco. Cotton yielded a cash Income In 1936 of *905.682.000 or a billion dollars which was *30,.000,000 more than the combined income from wheat and tobacco. Cotton enters the daily life of every person in the nation. uuliuu us usea .in..more tnan l.ww wayi. There never has been a day In the lives of this audience here or the people In the United States when cottori has not been used In several ways. Some speak of cotton as white cold, some as the Aluddln lamp, cotton hus been mentioned as the vegetable lurab. Cotton has lone since out-rivaled wool as a world fiber. Cotton furnishes 56,4 per cent of the world fiber while wool, 7.7 percent and rayon 4.9 per cent; silk less than 5 per cent For the past quarter of a century the annual consumption of lint cotton for each citizen of the United States haa been approximately ^26 pounds, yaryinc from 20 to 30 pounds annually Forty per cent of cotton's annunl consumption Rooa into clothes, the ? .na .u.u IMlOtrilUlU BTtlCIBI HnO III*. <5 us try such as automobiles. bnRxinp. belts. Cotton la prawn on one-third of the farms of the nation, and in the ' past four-fifths of those on which cottoil Ingrown It Is the major source of j ; -cash Income. ' ' ! v J Importance of Cotton In State. North Carolina ranks sixth in the production of cotton of the l6 south'L ero states where cotton Is grrown . Forty-sex en per cent of the. farm's In < North Carolina prow cotton. North > Carolina ranked first In the textile Industry In the botith in 1085. North !Carolina also ranks first In the rahie of. textiles manufactured In the booth . In 18S5 North. Carolina ranks"first i of thaJaoathern states In the yleldfof ''cotton per'sere In major cotton states THE pie Employed [faction In U. S. five-year average ranking somewhat ahead of the state of Mississippi. The History of Cotton. In the days of King Nebuchadnezza of Babylon trades were selling exquisite pieces of handicraft, beautiful, delicate fascinating pieces of cloth the like of which the world had never seen. The origin of cotton la shrouded In obscurity. But there Is reference made to a nlyatery cloth as early as 1500 B. C. In fact India from 1500 B. C. to that many years In the Christian era. India whs the center of the cotton industry. India was the unrivaled country for cotton clntli. From India, cotton culture and cotton making seem to have spread to Persia and Ohlna. A Phlneso emperor was presented a cotton robe 503 E, 0. The history fit cotton culture in India Is significantly related to America because Columbus sought rt shorter route to India in order to carry on the trade with India in their valuable treasures, fine cotton cloth being some of those fine treasures. Cotton In the Western Hemisphere. When Columbus came to America, he found cotton growing la the West Indies. Cotes, who made the conquest of Mexico, found the natives highly skilled in weaving, spinning and dying cotton. Blzzaro who invaded Peru in 1522 found the natives clad In cot ton garment*. He also found mummies wrapped In cotton cloth. Cotton was planted by the English colonists almost as soon as they were established In the new world. The demand for cotton by England, the mother country Influenced the colonists to plant and grow cotton which Influenced the future of the states wheer the climatic conditions favored the growing of rotton which are the 10 southern states. Ell Whitney's Invention which was patented in 1704 Influenced cotton as nothing else. In 1790 about 3,000 balea of cotto^ were produced a year. Within eight, years after Ell Whitney Invented the cotton gin 100,000 hales were being grown in the south. By 1ST>S James Henry Hammond, of South Carolina, stood in the senate chamber of the United States and said "you dare not make war on cotton. No power on earth dares to make war on It. Cotton ts king." In 1891-1892 the world production of cotton waa f>nly a little more 4han 12.000,000 bales, not Including China. In 1937-1938, the world's cotton production. Including China, reached a new peak. In thHt year 38.0.10,000 bnles were grown. There ore 00 or more countries In which some cotton Is grown. Only five other thnn the United States are of greut Importance In cotton production. These are Brazil, China, Egypt, India and the U*fc Ion of Soviet Socialist Republic. The foreign countries produced 19.000.000 bales in 1037-1938. Cotton In the Life of the Negro and The South. Over 98 per cent of tAl the Negro farmers of the United Stntes live In the south. It is the south where tlie cotton In America Is grown. As stated earlier, cotton was planted -by the English colonists In America almost as soon ns iiermnnent settlements were started In the south. The demands of the mother country, r.nginrui, influenced the cblmiters to plant, prow anil ship to England all the cotton possible. To grow more of this crop an abundance of human labor was needed. In the Negro slave labor, this cheap luboi could be found. Therefore, Rlnverv proved to be more profitable on-tlx cotton plantations of Virginia and states farther south. By 1800, Negrq slavery was a southern condition amf<[ the majority of these. Negro slavM were to be found on Che plantations The principal cash crop being cotton England and the other part of tb< world depend-on the cotton belt ol the United States to snpply the cot ton for textile Industry. So great wai England's dependency on the United States for cotton that when the wai between tha. states started and th? blockade shipment of cotton to Eng Innd was pnt Into effect that cotton FUTURE OUTLOOK. GREENSBOB sold as high as $1.78 a pound England. The production of cotton America dropped from over 5,000,0 bales In 1850 to 1,757.000 in 1800. J a result of the Negroes' attach roe to cotton plantations that even as la as 1030, 95 per cent of all Keg : farm operators were In the south. ! 1029 cotton was produced on 83-5 p cent of all the farms operated 1 Negroes. Negroes produced that yei I 32.4 per cent of the total yield of a ton or around $33,000,000 crop cotton. While cotton has relgued i king for many years In America, y i like other kings and rulers there ha1 been defects and objections to the usurp of power, therefore, are mat criticisms laid at the door of Kli Cotton and his sway over the peop of his kingdom of southern ugrlcu ture. The southern farmer lias product billions of dolalrs worth of wealth f< the world,'but. yet the south looked upon as a land of opportunil populated by two races that bai failed to overcome their econobi problems, and as a result presents grave national economic problem. T1 south is featured as having the lov est per capita per farm and per fan family Income of any gross farm ii come in the United States. The ave age gross farm income In the Unite State* la $1,009. Twelve of the state where cotton Is grown In the Unite States is below this average Incom per farm. California and Florid above because of other crops lnclu< lag fruits, etc. Poor housing, low p? farm family Income, Ul-nourlshei poverty and Illiteracy are in a roeai ure Charged against our one cro system of cutlun. It is rthe opinio that cotton will remain as an impoi tant cash crop of the south, but co ton must not be absolute kiDg o southern farms, but to occupy a rej ulated place in southern agrlcultun This Is not a secret against Kin Cotton, but an open campaign. Henry W. Grady, an eminent newt paper editor aDd orator in the "gol< en age" of cotton wished for cotto to take its place in a regulate southern agriculture In order tht southern farmers might enjoy a hlgl er economic standard of living, Henr Gray, In 2887, speaking under Ui spell of inspiration said: "Whenever a farmer eats bread froi his own field, meat from his ow pasture, disturbed by no creditors, ei siaveik by no debts, shall sit aroldi his teaming gardens and orchard and vineyards and dairies, an barnyards, pitching his crop to h own wisdom, and growing them In L d4pendence, making cotton his su plus crop, selling It in his own chntM market and not at a master's hlddir ?fypttlnp hla nov In (>ouK I a receipted mortpape that discharpi hla debt, hut does not restore his fro dora?then shall he be breaklnp tl fullness of our day.** Congratulation. the Promoters of tl Flint Cotton Festival. At this point I desire to sincere' conpratuinte Mr. Irvin, the Carolir Times with headquarters In iKirhai the Negro Chainlter of Comnie1*c business men. educators and cltlzei of both races on settlnp the Rtape ai maklnp this Important event posaibl It comes at A .tline when national <3 f RQYMCRl E TASTES SET 5) R1 n iGREENSB 825 Battleground Aveniw to. N. C- ' ' In feuae for America and democracy of ( In the world la at a tense crisis. To falIX) ter or fail at this time would probes ably turn back progress In civilisation nt by centuries like turning: back pages te in a book. Agriculture,-Industry, and ro commerce are bound up In what ' In should be an Inseparable bond with er one another, with the principal ele>y ment being the human element?the j *r people?the welfare of the people, t- If this festival can but focus the ' of importance of the educators, business 1 ** men and statesmen of the fact that 1 et the humblest farmer growing a small j patch of cotton whether he be a tenI*" ant or a small landowner, white or 'J' black, that he Is contributing in an * iR important way to the welfare of his le nation, much will be accomplished, i If this festival can bring home to , every farmer little or big, that as Im- . ?d portant as cotton may l?c, that he >r should Include In his farm program ( Is home defense first which is food for 1 ty his family, feed for his livestock and t rc fertility for his land in order tp laic sure future crops. 1 n s During or after the civil war, cot- ^ , ton went to 81;5 cents per pound f- tiaaa\ i? ioia ?. ?? 11 38.2 cents per pound and cotton Is l" now on the climb, so Is food stuff r* and everything else. "What goes up ** must come down." But in the end * will the people of the south be stronger because of being well fed? Ie Will they enjoy a better standard of ' a living, will there be more security for all people? These are questions, and fr problems that face us as Americans. Cotton was not intended to enslave s" people, producer or textile worker, P but to be a means to a livelihood. a r. Dr. Seaman A. Knapp; pioneer of t. farm demonstration work who came n to the rescue of the southern cottftn g. farmer when tfce boll weevil was inP vadlng the southern cotton fields like g the German armies are invading Europe. Dr. Knapp offered as a solution ^ to the menace a balanced system of j farming with emphasis on food, feed n and fertility with livestock as an im^2 portent part of the program. In the lt closing days of bis outstanding career at one of the national agricultural ,y gatherings be said: ie "But today I am not?viewlng this campaign for production from the natn tional standpoint I am thinking of n the people of rose covered cottages o- in the conntry, of the strong glad Bt father and his contented, cheerful s, wife, of the whistling boy and the id dancing girl with school books under i? their arms, so knowledge may soak n- Into thera an they go. I am thinking i r- of the orchards and vineyards, of the J sn flocks and herds, of the waving woodig lands, of the hills carpeted with lux- ? In urlant verdue, of the valleys lnvlltlng < ps to the golden harvest.** What can ? e- bring these transformations to the 1 le south ? greater earning capacity of 1 peddle. The' human element la the i k* greatest essential In our endeavors. I 'Now that the formal open In g of < iy" this very progressive cotton festival ] iu has begun In the metropolis of North i n. Curollna. the Queen City, the city of i e. Charlotte with Its historic hackas ground and progressive progrnm for i vl future growth, we hope on the part of le. extension service a great measure of le- success to the event ORO NEHI BOTTLE r** THURSDAY. OCTOBER M. 1M1 ' Chapel Built In 11 Months (Continued Prom Page One) balcony, seats about 860 persons. . 1 ~UUJc Theater In Separate Wfc*. The Little Theater wing of thenfFT v^j building Is connected with the Chapel ^ by a short hall, but has Its own en- ~ tranCe^ as well. A wrougbt-Iron ?*t balustrade leads up ^the limestone stairway to double entrance doprs opening Into an auditorium which accommodates nearly 300 people. The ?.-J heater has complete lighting equipnent. Including first-class footlights md border-lights. Dressing-rooms are located behind the stage, which has a curtain of garnet velvet, contrasting ;-> with the pale green walls of the andl-i v. /ig orlum. ... '*'M ' J MRS. BETHUNE . MAIN SPEAKER 1 '* ! < a (Continued From Page One) ler school merged with the Cookman Institute of Jacksonville, Fla., becomng co-educationak From the small en ted cottage, it has steadily crown x' o 14 buildings and a plant appraised V:!{ it $500,000, an accredited Junior colege offering majors In teacher train- ? ^ ng and Junior college work. ,3j She founded the Southeastern -ji federation of Colored Women, vhlch covers 14 states, and was Its :-?j Irst president. She also founded the Vifl National Headquarters for the Na- ** ional Association of Colored Women | ind the Florida Delinquent Hon* for y Colored Girls. V Mrs. Bethune, who is well known is an executive^ orator and educator, '/-14 a the director of the National Yooth , ; ^ Administration In Washington, ind is a member of the Oonnnlsaion >n International Co-operation. V j Special mualc for the occaaloa >e furni^ed by the college choir uh**. ', ler the direction of Professor. War-. ; ier Lawaon. * ^ ' "v'"<S| m 3IX-YEAR PLAN IS SUCCESSFUL (Continued From Page One^ Inctlve institution, with -a studeat xxly of nearly 400, and capital as-; -<)a ?ta of $1,774,788.83. It is the only col-/'-^ lege of Its kind where the respensJ- -^Sb >Ulty for administration, teaching,, V-c< maintenance, and care of buildingssod grounds is committed entirely to -a S'egro men and women. K: An independent private college tmier the auspices of the Methodist Church, the present-day Bennett J? an r S utgrowth of the older, coeducational J J[ Bennett Co 11 pee which . ma ?orah- "HPs Ilshed in 1878,; but' which;wai;*e^<533 ^united under a hew administration In 1920. Its attractive cnrapua heoaeslsS jne of the moat "complete educational plants in the south. Moreover, ulty composed of men and wonAea of e3S| different ages and points of view of- -r2? fers a cross-section of the Intellectual currents of the day to n student hodj which represents a selection frooi *\r pllcants too numerous for accommo- t\rV dation. . ^ : aor oMi 'wM BUT TWO 11 FUU MASSES I HI Hundred*^ j BEST BY
The Future Outlook (Greensboro, N.C.)
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Oct. 30, 1941, edition 1
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