SEA ISLAND COTTON INDUSTRY. 9 



CAROLINA CONDITIONS. 



To understand the present situation among the Carolina Sea Island 

 farmers, it is well to start with them in the days of their prosperity 

 before the 'Civil War. Then they owned slaves and grew a fine grade 

 of cotton, for which there was a ready sale generally at remunerative 

 prices. They were prosperous and independent and as a rule shipped 

 their cotton to factors in Charleston, who sold it on commission and 

 paid the proceeds over to the farmer, or acted in the capacity of a 

 bank for him and paid his checks when presented. After the war the 

 negroes did not desert the plantations, but as a rule continued to work 

 on the farms, and many are still working there, on the "task" system 

 of slavery days. In financing their business after the Civil War the 

 planters naturally turned to their old friends, the factors, who con- 

 tinued to advance them on open account the money and supplies 

 necessary to make the crop. 



To make a long story short, the Civil War was only an interruption 

 in the island farmer's business. He continued to raise cotton with 

 free labor instead of slave, but otherwise there were but slight changes. 



During the years from 1865 to 1880 the prices for Carolina cotton 

 were profitable, and South Carolina raised more than one-third of 

 the total Sea Island crop. Its average production was somewhat 

 less than that of Florida, but was far in excess of that of Georgia. 

 This lead over Georgia was maintained until 1889. During these 

 years the importations of Egyptian cotton were almost negligible, 

 and American markets set the price for extra long-staple cotton. 



As long as Charleston and Savannah continued to be the chief 

 markets for extra staple cotton, prices remained reasonably satis- 

 factory to the farmers. But with the rapid increase in the Georgia 

 crop and with the great increase in the quantity of long staple grown 

 in Egypt, these cities lost their prestige as long-staple markets 

 and no longer fixed the price for this kind of cotton. With a change 

 in buying methods, accompanied by the rise of interior markets for 

 Sea Island, the price began to fluctuate between wide limits, but 

 as a rule it has been much below the farmer's idea of value. This 

 decline in price at Charleston did not bring about better methods of 

 farming or any visible cheapening of production, but, on the con- 

 trary, the cost of production has constantly tended upward over the 

 Sea Island area, as it has done for other commodities over the rest 

 of the Union, until now the cost of growing Sea Island is fully 50 

 per cent higher than it was in 1896. The increased cost and lower 

 selling prices have resulted in most cases in the farmers becoming 

 involved in debt to the factors. Indeed, it is commonly reported 

 that fully 80 per cent of the Carolina Sea Island crop is now raised 

 on money advanced by factors, and in many instances in the past 

 three years each succeeding crop, instead of reducing, has added to 

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