IT IS A MATTER of years since the spirits of Barbadians, in their generality,
could be said to be at ease.

The daily news moves from one report of crisis to another, one shocking crime
to another even more dismaying one, one more piece of evidence of serious
fissures in the fabric of our society. So much so that, even on the rare
occasion when a minim of hope might be extracted from an item, it is tempered
by past experience of its kind proving false and misleading.

It is true that situations can arise over which the Barbados administration
has no control and these can corrupt or invalidate the most confident of
forecasts. But the consistent failure of results to obey the promise of their
prediction threatens to destroy any credibility it might have had.

Time and again, callers-in on the radio programmes appear to be hopelessly
wondering at, and bewildered by, a turn of events, an action, or inaction, or
an official statement seemingly at odds with the observed conditions.

Last week The Financial Times (October 6) carried a report by Canute James on
the decline of sea island cotton as a result of Caribbean loss of interest in
its cultivation.

Pointing out that "there appears to be little prospect that the islands will
again produce the famed sea island cotton in quantities which will satisfy the
demand in the world's fashion centres, where ties, shirts and suits made from
the product are commanding higher and higher prices", James quotes the
comments of John Spence, an agronomist specialising in sea island cotton
production in the eastern Caribbean.

The Government of Barbados, the leading producer of the four producing islands
-- the others are Antigua, St. Kitts and Montserrat -- "has been attempting to
raise the interest of farmers. . .who are uncertain about stepping into
another form of agriculture.

" . .Sea island cotton is different from all others in that it has the longest
and finest fibre in the world, (and) can be spun into world's finest yarns...
The only pure sea island cotton is grown in the West Indian islands."

However, despite the attraction of a good market for the genuine product, the
earlier problems do not encourage many to jump into cotton production.

Evidence accumulates of poor choice by the administration of priorities in the
selection of national initiatives. It would be dangerous to attempt to
estimate the likely final cost of the Sherbourne project. The Barbados
taxpayer has so far been trusted only with a tentative figure for the
completion of the conference hall element of the complex. Presumably the other
elements must await further financing strategies.

As concern mounts over the problems which beset plans for the efficient
disposal of garbage throughout the country, a realistic assessment of national
priorities might well have determined that a modern and efficient incineration
plant would be a wiser economic investment in the present circumstances than
conference, examination or music accommodation. But the chosen priority is not
hard to understand.