The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1891-07-09
Remedies for the Cotton Grower.

Remedies for the Cotton Grower.
The price of cotton has been steadily
falling during the past few years. The
prices of other thihgs-including money
have been falling also. The prospects
now, however, are that the price Of cot
ton will fall below the proportion of
other things 80 that the profit in growing
it will be destroyed. A big crop WAS
made last year and another big one is
pitched this year. We have made more
cotton than the factories could or would
take, and there is a big surplus of bales
to carly ovef.
Various remedies are suggested. The
alliance tried last year to keep the price
up by inducing farmers to hold their
crops for ten cents and many loyal alli-
ance men obeysd orders and lost heavily
by doing it. The next scheme suggested
was to decrease the acreage planted.
That has been done in some neighbor.
hoods while in others as much as ever or
more than ever has been planted. Some
men got the idea that the lessened acre.
age would cause small crop and high
prices and hastened to get in as much as
possible to secure a big share in the rise.
Then somebody suggested that all far.
mers agree to plow up every fourth row
in all their cotton fields 80 as to cut the
crop off twenty-five per cent. at once.
This was seriously urged. Now comes
Major Harry Hammond, of Aiken, With
the suggestion that aesey special tax
be levied on the business of cotton plant.
ing so as to limit the number of persons
who can engage in it and thereby keep
the yield down and the price up.
One great difficulty in the way Of in.
telligent discussion of the subject is the
absence of knowledge of the difference
between the cost and selling price of
cotton. A railroad man can tell to the
fraction of cent how much it costs to
run train one mile, how much it costs
to stop train, what rates he must charge
to make profit. A mill president can
give you to the fraction of cent what
every yard Of cloth or pound of yarn
costs. A merchant marks on every
piece of his goods what it costs him, in.
Guiding freight, carriage, discounts OF
interest. We have never yet found a
farmer who could tell anywhere near
what his cotton cost him to make. Some
men claim there is a profit in cotton at
seven cents. Others say it will not pay
out at less than ten.
We can not see any sense in trying to
change the laws Of supply and demand.
When more of anything is made or
offered than there is use or demand for
the price must 90 down. When less is
made or offered than is needed prices
must rise. 1t is equally hard to change
human nature. People who think there
is money in cotton will plant all of it
they can cultivate, and when they be.
lieve that prices are 10 be forced up they
will strain themselves to make all they
can find ground for.
Such things regulate themselves in
process of time. When cotton is found
to be Improbable few years the men
who are losing money on it will quit
making it or be forced to quit. The
truth is, however, the South has grown
rich on cotton despite the steady fall in
price. Everybody who travels in the
country must see that people there have
been prospering on something. The
general verdict is that the men who live
at home, who make their own food and
the food of their stock and raise cotton
for money crop have done we'll. That
must force itself on the people presently
and cause cotton to be the side or sur
plus crop. We believe that will be the
final solution Of the problem, the means
by which the supply will be regularly
kept within the limits of the demand.
Meanwhile the quickest and best way
to help the farmer is to give him mate
rials and supplies cheaper. We thought
and hoped that was the chief purpose of
the farmers, alliance-tbat it would put
dealings between the farmer and the
merchant on q more business like and
mutually satisfactory basis, give the mer.
chant good security and thereby enable
him to sell at a close margin and the
farmer to buy cheaper. That would
have helped everybody and hurt nobody.
It can yet be done. 1t is sure, safe and
natural remedy.-Gr Greenuile Ne,g8.