Bible Encyclopedias
Cotton and Cotton Industry

Country.

v

H CA

W

E-- ,

< c n

4

W

H

Q ,i

d

?

?-

W

)

cn

-

H

Great Britain .

55, 6 53

3, 66 7

54

39 2

161

4, 2 74

5 6 ,9 00

2, 8 9 1

5642 9

1 37

3,5 1 3

56,352

1,091

23

152

46

1,312

Germany.. .

11,186

1,355

188

Ho

47

1,700

5,620

382

79

16

44

521

6,561

272

102

9

20

403

France. .

7,400

806

95

80

29

1,010

7,360

671

57

70

24

822

7,000

314

34

2 5

22

395

Russia. .. .

9,213

487

21

87

1,913

2,508

750

-

-

I

6 73

674

Poland and Finland .

1,418

44

6

2

6

58

Austria .

1,140

21

21

I

I

44

Czechoslovakia .

1,603

86

8

1

3

98

3,5 8 4

8 9

17

2

2

no

Italy.. .

1 75

1 9

2 5

79 0

4,34 0

549

1 47

3 6

8

740

4,506

302

III

12

4

429

Spain.. .. .

34

20

19

358

1,800

305

40

25

20

390

1,806

138

34

7

I

180

Belgium.. .

82

I

3

2 57

1 ,4 6 7

1 59

73

2

I

235

1 ,59 1

7 0

56

128

Switzerland. .

3

2 9

98

1,460

57

6

20

I

84

1,531

29

4

9

-

42

Other European .

17

I

24

314

1,815

-

15

311

1, 8 44

1 33

1

-

33

181

Total European

823

77 2

2,245

12,146

8 3,354

599

2 53

6,787

88,083

2,503

423

221

809

3,956

U.S.A.. .. .

-

201

32

5,786

35,499

243

160

6,425

36,051

2,221

5

58

36

2,320

India.. .

2,081

I

2,177

6,420

4

2,046

6,763

I

1,109

2

1,114

Japan. .. .

993

16

1 55

1 ,5 8 9

3, 1 55

21

204

2,084

3,804

337

7 2 3

7

461,113

Canada. .. .

-

-

-

113

681

-

-

118

78

-

2

-

80

Others. .. .

3,200

16

-

141,091

1,121

4,170

-

1,480

1,480

* 2,470

5

2

39

3 6 9

415

Total Non-European

43,944

6,201

3,074

232

1,279

10,786

49,9 2 5

268

1,854

12,153

50,188

2,642

1,839

108

453

5,042

WORLD'S TOTAL .

3, 8 97

1,004

3,524

22,932

133,219

867

2,107

18,940

138,271

5,145

2,262

329

1,262

8,998

Prospects in 1921.-It may seem paradoxical to speak of possible scarcity at a time (Aug. 1921) when the actual demand for cotton goods seemed almost at a standstill, and the world was apparently over-stocked not only with cotton goods, but also with the raw material. Yet there could be no practical doubt that the world would ere long be seriously short of cotton again; because it could only be a question of time till a return to something like normal conditions of demand would again lead to a consumption of cotton substantially in excess of what the world was producing. The abnormally large carryover which was accumulated during the slump might prevent any scarcity arising within the immediate future, but it could hardly be doubted, unless the world was to face a prolonged period of practical starvation, that the consumption of cotton, which is the cheapest textile in the world for many other purposes besides clothing, could not permanently remain at the low level of 1921. The question was whether, when the demand came again, the supply would be as quick to respond as it was to contract when prices fell. It was extremely unlikely that pre [[Table C]].- World's Consumption of Cotton by Countries and Varieties. (Calculated from the statistics of the International Cotton Federation.) (000's omitted throughout.) *No statistics for China. Estimated total spindles, over I,600,000; consumption in 1920, 690,000 bales of sundries.

war conditions would ever again be reproduced in America. Then the crop was increasing slowly, but on the whole steadily, and in 1914 the actual growth was probably not less than 17 million bales, though this record total never came " into sight " during the season. It was clear that, at anything like the 1921 level of prices, and indeed under almost any conditions which could then be visualized as possible, the world could not look to America to equal that figure again or to resume the pre-war rate of increase. The difficulties in America were the extremely variable climate, the scarcity and high cost of labour, and the reduction of the average yield owing to the spread of the boll weevil; and although the cost of production would probably be substantially reduced again, it would take a price very much higher than the 1921 level to tempt the growers back again from the policy of diversification, which they had been taught since the war, to their old policy of cotton and nothing else.

The basic fact of the situation in 1921 was that prices were substantially below the cost of production, and this was a state of affairs which could not continue. It is true that where so much of the labour - and cotton is essentially a cheap-labour crop - is supplied by the grower himself and his family, they may for a time submit to a reduction of price which will not cover an adequate wage for their labour; but even where mobility of labour is low, as it is in the American cotton belt, such a state of affairs is bound in course of time to have its effect. It did so very strongly during the war when a large quantity of labour left agriculture in the cotton belt for the more highly paid industries in the Southern towns or in the industrial North; and while the subsequent slump had, for the time being reversed this tendency, it was extremely improbable that the South would again become resigned to a permanent lowering of its standard of living, especially as the policy of diversification in itself enabled them to meet this difficulty by supplying many of their requirements from their own land, instead of putting it all under cotton. The probability was, therefore, that it would require a substantially higher price than in pre-war times to induce America to return to her pre-war acreage.

A further point of detail may be noted. Part of the American crop before the war, the Sea Island crop, grown in Florida and Georgia, and on the so-called " Islands " off the coast of South Carolina, was the best cotton in the world, because its staple was the longest and finest; but this crop had by 1920 been virtually wiped out by the advent of the boll weevil in these districts, and the gap thus created would be extremely difficult to fill. The only supply of a similar kind which America could offer was the small crop, of excellent cotton of Egyptian character which had for soe years been growing in Arizona and California, especially in tiie 'alt River Valley in the former state. The crop amounted;' i f 1929 to 92,000 bales grown upon a total area of about 256,o acre but that was largely due to the high prices of 1919-20 a was, no ikely to be repeated. For the very best cotton, therefor tl world was entirely dependent on the West Indian Sea Islan ` crop, which, however, was only about 7,000 bales, against the 'pre-war figure of about ioo,000 from Florida and Georgia.

The supply of fine cotton was still further diminished by the serious reduction of the Egyptian crop, due to several causes, of which the most controversial was the view that drainage had not kept pace with irrigation, leading to a rising " water table " and partial water-logging of the lower zones in the Delta. The ravages of the pink boll worm in recent years had also contributed to the reduction of the average yield, which had become serious even before the war, and still more so since 1914. To counteract this reduction would require very heavy expenditure; and the further development of the Egyptian area was apparently dependent on the execution of large irrigation works, the chief of which, the White Nile Dam, above Khartum, had been begun, though work was suspended in the meantime through lack of funds. The most striking development in Egypt, however, had been the replacing of the original Delta type of cotton (Afifi) by the new longer-stapled variety Sakelarides, the best of which has to some extent taken the place of the lost Sea Island.

In view of the reduction of the Egyptian crop the possible development of the Sudan became of the greatest importance. The Gezira scheme, which was expected to provide the larger part of the crop, was also dependent on large irrigation works on the Blue Nile, in course of construction in 1921. Other parts of the Sudan, such as Tokar, Kassala and certain areas on the Nile north of Khartum, were of considerable promise, but large expenditure on transport and irrigation was still required there, especially for the Tokar and Kassala districts.

Great hopes have been entertained of the development of cotton of the ordinary American inch-staple in India, where it is regarded as relatively long-stapled in comparison with the in. to in. staple cotton which forms the bulk of the Indian crop. This development has had the active support of the Government, who in 1917 appointed a special commission to make a survey of the whole position (see Report of the Indian Cotton Committee, 1919). For many years to come, however, these improved cottons could not hope to form a large part of the total Indian crop. Since the formation of the British Cotton-Growing Association in 1902 attention had therefore been directed to other parts of the Empire, and much pioneer work had been done in proving the possibilities of many districts, especially in Africa. Distinct success has been achieved in West Africa, where the best cotton is of a good American type, and in Uganda and Nyasaland, where varieties akin to the American long-stapled upland have been produced. The development of all these districts was, of course, seriously checked by the war, and subsequently by the high cost of the necessary development works, such as transport. The war also left a great gap in the supply of skilled men of all kinds, whose services were everywhere required for the development of new cotton-fields. Everything depends in the first place on the maintenance of an adequate seed supply, which involves not only the finding of a suitable variety, but also the maintenance of a pure supply. Much had also been done in promoting improved methods of agriculture, in providing the necessary facilities for the ginning, baling, and handling of the crop, and for its marketing at adequate prices, especially in the case of superior varieties. In South Africa also excellent cotton had been grown in small quantities, but the necessary organization of the trade had still to be provided before it could be a success on a large scale. Other foreign Powers with colonies in Africa had also done a great deal for the development of cotton, but up to 1920 the total quantity produced in all these new areas in Africa (outside of Egypt) was relatively small, and the time when Africa could produce a million bales of cotton was still far distant (see Report of the Empire CottonGrowing Committee of the Board of Trade, Cmd. 523, 1920).

In Australia there was little doubt that cotton could be successfully grown, either by rainfall or under irrigation; but there were problems to be faced with regard to the labour supply as well as the ordinary difficulties of organization.

There are many other countries which could provide large additions to the world's cotton supply if all the necessary conditions of the successful organization of the industry could be secured. Brazil, for example, could undoubtedly yield a very much larger crop than it has ever done (50o,000 bales); but political as well as labour and other economic difficulties are apparently serious. The Argentine is also a country where excellent staple cotton has been grown, but labour seems to be the chief obstacle to its development on a large scale. Many of the other Latin-American countries, especially Mexico, also have great possibilities for cotton-growing. Peru produced a small crop (about 200,000 bales) of excellent staple cotton, a little below Egyptian in value, but much of it better than the staple American upland. The supply of the latter from America itself suffered a severe loss when the boll weevil appeared in the the Mississippi Valley and drove out the old 12 in. long-staple cotton that used to be produced there. Subsequently, however, a great development took place in the production of new staple upland varieties of about 14 in. staple in southern Carolina, the Mississippi Valley and northern Texas; but their total supply probably did not exceed 250,000 bales per annum.

In Asia the chief crops before the war, apart from India, were in China and Asiatic Russia, including Transcaucasia. Statistically, the Chinese crop has always been a mystery, and its amount can only be guessed at about two million bales. The Russian crop had before the war risen rapidly to nearly 12 million bales, part of which was of indigenous varieties similar to the Indian, and the remainder of good American quality; but this crop had been almost wiped out by the war, and it was not likely to recover as long as Russia remained in chaos.

The Cotton Industry.-The growth of the cotton industry throughout the world has already been indicated by the figures of spindleage given in the appended tables. Perhaps the most interesting feature up to 1921 had been the development of the American, Japanese and Indian sections of the trade. The first was largely due to the growth of the Southern mills, which had increased from ten million spindles in 1910 to 15 millions in 1920. In Japan the percentage increase of spindles had probably been greater than in any other country, though the total in 1921 was still comparatively small. The output of the Indian mills had also advanced in recent years, both in quality and quantity; but this unfortunately raised bitter controversy with regard to the Excise duties, which were imposed on the product of Indian mills in 1896 to balance the 32% Customs duty' imposed for Revenue purposes on cotton goods imported into India. In 1917 the import duty was raised to 71% without a corresponding increase in the Excise duty; and in 1921 the differentiation was still further increased by an addition of 32 to the import duty. Table D shows the growth of the Indian cotton industry since 1911.

The facts with regard to the foreign trade of Great Britain in cotton and cotton goods are shown in Table E (See p. 769).

Date.	Males.	Females.	Total.
1907	218	359	577
July 1914	274	415	689
Nov. 1918. .. .	144	349	493
July 1920. .. .	218	396	614
_Nov. 1920.. .	211	376	587 Number of Operatives.-In Table F are given the latest figures obtainable in 1921 as to the number of British operatives engaged in the cotton trade since the date of the Census of Production in 1907: [[Table F]].-Numbers employed (in thousands). The controversial question of the employment of half-timers in the trade moved a step forward in England by the Education Act of 1918, which provided for their gradual abolition. Wages.-With regard to wages, the outstanding feature of the British cotton industry was for many years the excellent organization both of masters and men, as the result of which wage disputes in the trade have, ever since the famous Brooklands Agreement of 1893, been reduced to a minimum. It is 1 Both duties were originally 5% in 1894. perhaps also due to this organization that, as a class, the cotton operatives of Lancashire are the most highly skilled, and enjoy the highest standard of living, of any section of the industry throughout the world. Men. Lads and Boys. Women. Girls. All Workpeople. 26s 9d 11s6d 18s8d iosid 19s 7d Dates. Cotton Spinning. Cotton Weaving. Bolton List. Oldham List. Uniform List. List Prices. List Prices. List Prices. End of 1906 5 5 1907 and 1908 10 IO - 1909 to 1911 5 5 - 1912 and 1913 5 5 5 July 1914 5 5 5 June 1915 10 10 5 Jan. 1916 10 10 10 June 1916 15 15 10 Jan. 1917 1 5 15 15 Feb. 1917 2 5 25 15 J uly 1917 25 25 25 Dec. 1917 4 o 4 0 40 June 1918* 65 65 65 Dec. 1918 +115 +115 +115 July 19191" +145 +145 +145 May 1920 +215 +215 +215 June 1921 +155 +155 +155 Dec. 1921 +145 +145 +145 In the Report (1909) by the Board of Trade in England into the Earnings and Hours of Labour of workpeople in the Textile Trades in 1906 (Cd. 4545) the average wages earned in the cotton trade for a full working-week were given as follows: The total wages bill for a full week at that time was £512,000 and the total number of operatives employed 523,030. It was also calculated that in 1906 the average annual earnings per head in the cotton trade were about £48. The number of hours constituting a full working-week at that time was 552. Wages in the cotton trade in the United Kingdom are calculated on the basis of certain standard lists, the chief of which are known as the Bolton List and the Oldham List for cotton-spinning, and the Uniform List for cotton-weaving. In 1906 the wages actually paid were 5% above list prices for the Bolton and Oldham Lists and list prices for the Uniform List. Table G shows the changes since that date: [[Table G]].-Changes in Wages of Cotton Operatives, 1906-21. * From June to to Aug. 3 1918 the bulk of the operatives were working 40 hours, and from Aug. 3 to Oct. 26 451 hours, in place of the normal 552 hours per week. `? t In July 1919 the week was reduced. f ro r 552 hours to 48. The changes made in wages dun, hie. war and since are described in Henderson's History of the 60tton Control Board above cited, from which the figures jfi. the gtiove lists since July 1914 have been taken. TABLE D.-Indian Cotton Industry, 1911-21. Copyright Statement These files are public domain. Bibliography Information Chisholm, Hugh, General Editor. Entry for 'Cotton and Cotton Industry'. 1911 Encyclopedia Britanica. https://www.studylight.org/​encyclopedias/​eng/​bri/​c/cotton-and-cotton-industry.html. 1910. terms of use • privacy policy • Privacy Manager • rights and permissions • contact sl • about sl • link to sl To report dead links, typos, or html errors or suggestions about making these resources more useful use the convenient contact form StudyLight.org © 2001-2022 Powered by Lightspeed Technology   Ads FreeProfile Bible Commentaries (144) Verse‑by‑Verse Commentary Burton Coffman Commentaries Adam Clarke Commentary Albert Barnes' Notes John Gill's Exposition Complete List of 144 Bible Concordances (6) Thompson Chain Reference Nave's Topical Bible The Topical Concordances Torrey's Topical Textbook Scofield Reference Index Treasury of Scripture Knowledge Bible Dictionaries (26) Vine's Expository Dictionary Holman Bible Dictionary Baker's Evangelical Dictionary King James Dictionary Smith's Bible Dictionary Complete List of 26 Bible Encyclopedias (7) Int Standard Bible Encyclopedia The Nuttall Encyclopedia The 1901 Jewish Encylopedia The Catholic Encyclopedia Kitto's Bible Cyclopedia Complete List of 7 Interlinear Study Bible Hebrew Old Testament Greek Old and New Testament Strong's Interlinear Search Whole Bible ---------------- Old Testament New Testament ---------------- Books of Law Books of History Books of Wisdom Major Prophets Minor Prophets The Gospels Pauline Epistles General Epistles Apocalyptic Books NASB KJV HCS ESV BSB WEB Bible Lexicons (3) Old Testament/ New Testament Greek Old Testament Hebrew New Testament Aramaic Translated AsBegins WithContainingEnds WithExact matching  Greek        Hebrew      Aramaic Original Language Studies (4) Bill Klein's "Greek Thoughts" Charles Loder's "Hebrew Thoughts" Benjamin Shaw's "Aramaic Thoughts" KJ Went's "Difficult Sayings" Additional Lexical Resources Berry's NT Synonyms Girdlestone's OT Synonyms Trench's NT Synonyms Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar Bullinger's Figures of Speech B.C. 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Nos. I to 2 617 591 661 608 578 538 564 592 Nos. 26 to 40 million lb. 62.7 58.4 59.2 68.5 76.3 72.0 67.9 65.6 Nos. over 40 3.4 2.2 2.0 4.6 5.8 4.8 3.6 2.1 Classification of Yarns imported.