THE TEXAS RICE BOOK. 13 



The chief interest, however, in the general planting of rice 

 in the South lies in the fact that it will make the Southern States 

 resourceful and independent. In the nature of things there will 

 ever be a struggle for empire, and survival of the most powerful. 

 The decisive battles of the future will be won, not by serried ba- 

 talions with emblazoned banners amid the rattle of the rifle and 

 the roar of the cannon, but by the industrious millions on the 

 farms and in the factories. It is a battle to the finish for the most 

 economic production and distribution of the world's food sup- 

 plies. War has become a problem of the exchequer, based upon 

 industrial resources. A bread line 1500 miles long is improvident 

 if safe. Economic forces are opposed to it; especially when we 

 have a cereal at home, hardy, enormously productive, better suit- 

 ed to the requirements and can be milled upon the farm for home 

 use at trifling expense. 



I have heard with pleasure in this convention speeches and 

 resolutions in favor of establishing cotton mills in the South un- 

 til every pound of cotton produced within her fair domain shall 

 be transformed by the magic of spindle and loom into fabrics of 

 value for the marts of trade. Did it occur to the eminent speak- 

 ers that, however desirable such a result, its achievement is im- 

 possible under present conditions. Why? Because we now im- 

 port from the North immense quantities of wheat, beef, pork, but- 

 ter, cheese and other food products. The question is simply this : 

 Is it cheaper to transport the food for the operatives in cotton 

 mills from its Northern base to the cotton centers of the South, 

 or to ship the cotton bale to the food centers of the North. Cot- 

 ton is the cheaper freight. If, however, we shall become a great 

 food producing people, the whole problem will be changed. Gen- 

 eral cultivation and use of rice in the South will solve the fac- 

 tory problem. 



To affirm that rice in the South can occupy the vantage 

 ground of wheat in the North, both in extent and economy of pro- 

 duction, is equivalent to a commercial declaration of independ- 

 ence. It means that we shall feed our own rice people with a: 

 home-grown cereal,and that with by-products we shall produce- 

 the pork, the beef, the butter and the cheese required for home 

 consumption. It means a better grade of cattle and horses, bet- 

 ter beef and stronger teams. The substitution of rice for corn and 

 wheat as the principal food for Southern people will tend to the 

 development of a hardier race. It will decrease dyspepsia, mala- 

 ria and mortgages. It will strengthen and fortify every line of 

 industry and give us support at our weakest point, a lack of a 

 proper ratio between the food and the fiber products. By general 

 consent cotton is recognized as the best material to clothe the 

 nations, and iron occupies a peerless position in all mechanical 

 and structural works. In both these world necessities, the South 

 has no successful rival. With the home production of food her 

 commercial independence will be complete, and her conquests in 

 the domains of industry will be a series of brilliant triumphs. 



