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Show II j THE COTTON SITUATION raj 71 Tho cotton mills of Prance nnd M ?, Hclgluni liavo nliut down. llelgluni Jl i ! j liaa been overrun by tho armies of It 1' ijj Germany, and every nb'.o bodied man jjir , SW caimble of bearing arms Is In tlut jl f y llclglan nrmy. Franco has called all 15 1 SI her soldiers to tho colore . Probnb! Ml; ; j'l the French mills will bo unablo to III' I run, even though tho Herman linn- !' 13 slon bo checked, licso mills an'iual lj 1 y buy about 3,000,000 bacs of our Ji jl cotton. Our greatest customer, I j Jjl i Great Hrltaln, Is sending her soldiers jii.il J to tho battlefields of llclglum, France jj jl nnd Germany, nnd ha3 more tha'i III I half a million men under arras. This j j does not call for any such proportion fill n "' tnu work'nB poimlntlon as iro In jlu! fj arms on tho Continent, nnd ths Rrlt-!JR Rrlt-!JR lab mills may run, ns they ulwny.j jjlll II havo done, war or no war; but In j jjlli '? , such an unprecedented struggle this I j , cannot be confidently reckoned upon. I jKlH fl ' ni1 5 ct ll10 worl(,,f lluotl ot collou I jiffij ii goods will bo greater than over, Pov- !jj 1 1 erty rather Increases than diminishes IM I tho wearing of coltoi.' and poverty Is llii! j already upon theno peoples, in tho fill J face of theso condl tlons tho task jl; , confronts tho American Government tlj j j 1 I H il j tho American bankers, and tho Am- jlltm erlcan"" cotton industry to avert tho 'lljll i ruin -which temporarily threatens the . jl'll ' fnrmcra of tho South, if we, in a j Ijl $! j tlm'o of profound domestic peace, can- jiijjji j nto'.dovlso means to prevent tha sac- in rlllco of our wheat our cotton and our iSlj I j other staples which for tho tlmo only Mjwl J are, unablo to seeks tho marl.'pts j I which potcntla'ly exist for them, we ' ill j f ' have little to beast of la tbo mattor iflllit ' j aBl of national efficiency. j WtjF Tjiat tlio lack of demand Is enly iiilll' tdmpornry Is Indicated by tho (act !fj ' that Japtinoso cotton mills, about Atf Ijjijjjj gust 20, placed an order tor 2,000,000 t iijjl ij bales In Iho expectation that Japan !l li ' 'Will inaho tho goods fcr tho Chlaoso ' 'tjljlj trado, most of which has heretofore j RLJJI been furnished by Germany. Tho ! IHI ouoBtioa is, Havo wo tho rt.tlonal I j gunptlon to meet tho situation? u Jl II! Is a test of American capacity, which F I I I I Jl must bo met. 7arm and Fireside. |