Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-09-15
The Decline in Corn.

On Monday OF this week the provl-
sion markets in Chicago experienced a
tremendous panic. Almost unparalleled
breaks occurred in pork and corn, and
all other lines, save wheat, followed suit.
We read that the scenes con Change
resembled pandemonium, and the gene
raj break in prices was heightened by
liberal calls for more margins" Corn
weakened so badly that the history of
the trade scarcely furnishes a parallel.
September deliveries declined 6 cents a
bushel, October 81 cents, and longer
futures an average of about 2 cents. On
yesterday, too, these same scenes were
repeated. Corn futures closed last even
ing at decline of fraction over 3 cents
from the evening previous, and the
provision market generally broke badly.
While this sudden and ruinous decline
in prices is doubtless largely to be at
tributed to the manipulations of specula-
tors, still such manIpulations could not
have been successfully carried out unless
attendant circumstances had afforded
opportunities for 'bear" operatives to de-
press values to suit their purposes. These
circumstances were doubtless brought
about by the large grain crop throughout
the country, and more especially in the
GOr,kA A faxr al -
the fact that a considerable amount of
Southern corn had been received in this
market, and had been offered at prices so
much lower than those at which Western
corn was quoted that it had materially
affected the market for feed corn through
out this section. This must naturally
cripple the Western market very ma
teriallY, because it not only causes COM
petition between the West and South,
but it removes a large class of buyers
from that market, viz: the Southern
farmers, who have heretofore turned
their attention almost wholly to cotton,
relying on the sales of the great Southern
staple to purchase their supplies else
where.
This condition of affairs may perhaps
be regarded with disfavor in the great
grain producing regions of the West,
but it is full of encouragement to the
Southern farmer. In the West the far
mer is wholly dependent upon his grain
crops. He has no other staple to fall
back upon, and his wheat, corn and oats
form his main hope. He, therefore, is
compelled to produce grain for shipment,
and the rise and fall in price is to him a
very serious matter. With the Southern
planter, however, it is entirely different.
As a rule he does not care to pro-
duce grain for export. All he
needs is to raise sufficient to supply
his home and farm needs, and then
if he has any left over, it is just so much
clear gain, no matter what price he gets
for it, provided, of course, he receives
more than enough to pay the cost of
transportation. He is, therefore, per-
fectly independent, for his corn and
home supplies represent to him value
in money equal to the large sums he
formerly had to send West with which to
purchase, at high prices, what he needed,
while what he receives for his cot
ton, then, is almost net profit, and should
any unforeseen event cut that crop short,
he finds himself unhandicapped, and
ready to start out afresh untrammelled
with heavy Western debts.
The wisdom of our Southern farmers
continuing to adopt the policy of produc-
ing their own home and farm supplies and
making of cotton a surplus crop, is there
fore too manifest to need being dwelt
upon. Such a policy gives them meal
culable advantages By it they are, as
we have seen, thoroughly independent.
In case cotton fails they know they are
free from debt and in no danger of star
walton, while if provision crops fail they
still have their old reliance, cotton, to
fall back upou. Besides all this, too,
they run no risk of overcropping them.
selves with the great Southern staple,
and of finding themselves ruined when
prices are unremunerative. Our South
ern farmers must appreciate these facts,
and it is more than likely that this years
experience will cause a diversity of crops
to be the general rule in this section for
all time to come.