The arguments are pretty well fitting those which where used to justify the removal of iron ore.Since the funpimps argue that this is a completely valid general decision rule, it should, of course, be applied to every similarly fitting case!
Since cotton has the one and only use to be made into cloth, making the cotton plants directly drop cloth is perfectly inline with the decision to make iron ore veins drop iron: those iron ores, too, had the one and only use to be smelted into iron.
That policy was applied to even broader cases, for example sticks: Those were used for arrows and traps, if i remember correctly. Thus they had two, not only one, usages. And they got removed anyways.
Any more ideas how we can dissect every nice aspect of the game that is not driven by imperative necessity?
</sarcasm>