The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-08-30
AN Alliance Recommendation.

I
The alliances national cotton committee,
which met in Atlanta on Wednesday, adj
/ vissd the farmers to sell no cotton during
! Sci TENDER except when necessary 70 meet
past due obligations. This advice
is not exactly in harmony with the
recommendation of the alliance convention
rec emily in session in Macon, which was
that cotton should be held for 1215 cents.
| :. 1t is quite safe TO say that a large part
of the cotton crop is pledged for advances
which are now due The advice Of the
national committee, therefore. is virtually
to forward the crop as fast as it is gat cred.
IL Is probable that the farmers would be
wise to mar ct as much of their cotton as
they can while the present Ugh price con-
tinues.
We should be glad to see the farmers get
1919 cents for their cotton, or even a better
price. But it is by no means certain that
they would get better price than they
can at present, even if they Should hold II
until next spring. 1t is true that the price
may advance, but 1t is by no means Ger ain
that it will The mills do not seem to be
a. xious for cotton, even at present prices.
Some of the English mills are running on
half time, because there is a dull market for
their products. Unless the prices Of Their
products advance, they cannot afford to
pay the present price for cotton. The
stocks of manufactured goods are reported
TO be large If this is the condition of
affairs the prospect Of an advance in the
price of cotton is not promisi q.
1t is doubtful if the alliances can inhu
ence the price of tton by determining to
hold back the crop. They could do so if
they could control the production, as well
AS the greater part of that which is pro-
duced. They are not yet in position to do
either of these things. A combination that
j. able to dictate prices, like tho sugar
trust, for instance, can limit the pro-
duction Of the article which it pro-
duces, and it can withhold from the market
its product when there is not strong de-
mand for it. The alliances cannot yet ex r
else such control over cotton, and it is a
question whether they will ever be able to
do 20. There are too many engaged in the
growing Of cotton to get all to agree to
plant less cotton or to hold back their cotton
no general agreement can be obtained it
will be difficult 20 make the holding pack of
cotton success.
The commercial world knows pretty
nearly the number of bales that will be in
the crop that is now being gathered, if
nothing occurs to injure it, and it knows
that il will be sufficient to supply the de-
mand. If cotton should be held back and
scarcity at the mills created the price might
advance little, but when the cotton was
released the price would drop at once, and
be lower perhaps than it would have been
had no artificial scarcity been created. The
average price of the crop would be proba-
bly, about what it would have been had no
effort been made to hold back cotton.
The only way the alliance ca control the
price of cotton is to keep the production
within certain limits. If it can say that
the crop shall not be more than just enough
to meet very active demand, it can die
tate the price of cotton. That it can do
this, however, is very improbable, and the
probability, therefore, that it can control
the price OF cotton is very remote. II all
the cotton farmers were agreed as to the
proper course to pursue, they would be a
very powerful combination, but there are
too ma y Of them for uniform and har-
monious action