Huntsville gazette., 1891-06-27
THE COTTON MARKET.
Serious Outlook for Planters-Low Prices
ana the Alleged Cause-There is Too
Much Grown for the Demand-The Low
est for Forty Years.

est for Forty Years.
ST LOUIS, June 23.-The Globe Dem
ocrat, IN an article on the cotton mar
ket, says Early in last November one
OF the most prominent cotton dealers in
81. Louis went around among his
friends and told them that cotton was
cheaper than it had been for ten years
at that time of the year 1t was then
about lie a pound in New York. Un-
der ii. advice of this gentleman SYM
dlcate vas formed to purchase 10, 600
bales OF Mssl cotton in Liverpool. The
staple declined instead of avancing Sew
eral members of the syndicate doubled
their deals as the price went
down, but the decline was never ar
rested. and when the 1st of May came
there were about Is, 900 bales to be
closed out at loss to the syndicate of
about S200,O0O, which had to be paid in
cash. The syndicate then transferred
the deal into next January, and have
already incurred a loss of IS bale on
the transfer. The whole loss was in
CURED by mistaken estimate on the
part of the expert as to the crop of
1S90-91. He said that there could not
possibly be more than 1900, 900 bales,
instead of which there were $500, 900.
His figures were given in November
when he ought to have known within
10000 bales what the crop would be.
He missed his guess by more than a
million and quarter bales.
The individual who bought cotton a
month or two ago. even after the de-
cline from November, when he thought
the bottom had been reached, and ex-
pected to realize fortune in a short
time. has been very much disappointed.
He has either had to store his cotton, if
he bought the spot article, heavily
margin his futures, or lose all the
money he put into his trade. The cot
ton market Saturday was lower than it
has been before in forty years, and it
looks as if the bottom had not yet been
reached. In local spot market good
ordinary sold at 63lc, low middling at
at 15-16c. This is decline since June
20, 1890, or exactly one year, of 4c
pound on good ordinary, SIC on low
middling, 35Sc on middling, and &c on
good middling. The future markets of
New York and Liverpool have also de-
clined heavily. In New York the do
cline for the same time was from 4. 29c
to 4.56c, and in Liverpool 1 19-64d to
2 2-64d.
The decline on an average OF SIC
pound-which is the average in the local
spot market for middling cotton-dur-
ing the year is equal to a loss to the
planter on the years estimated crop of
$500, 900 bales of 81 4s, 900, 900. The cost
of producing, picking and baling a bale
of cotton under the most favorable cir
cumstances is about &c pound; and a
year like the present, when the planters
are compelled to buy meat and corn at
the present high prices, it will cost about
Sc a pound to get cotton ready for ship
ment. To get it to the st. Louis mar
ket l 4 more must be added. The price
of middling cotton-on which the mar
ket is based-yesterday in the local
market was Sc. These figures tell the
story without any comment on whether
the present price of cotton will allow
man 10 1--we and raise It,
\ The principal question now is wheth-
er there is going to be any relief for the
planter. The conservative bear will
say when asked, that while the market
7 is going his way he thinks prices are
/ too low. The worlds visible supply
Saturday was 2,575, 900 bales, or 1850
more than last year. In 1883 the visible
supply on June was only $500 bales
less the whole visible of to-day. Prices
then were lie in New York and cd in
Liverpool. There was more cotton at
the United States ports then than there
is to-day, and the consumption then
was about 10000 bales week less
than it is now. The crop of 1890-91
was a phenomenally large one,
and was estimated at the begin
ming of the year at $50, 900
bales. Saturday there were in sight
sight s, $50, 600 bales, and, as the cotton
year does not end until September 1,
the difference between what is in sight
and the estimate may be reached. The
increase of the crop over 16S9-90, count
ing the cotton in sight, is 1,136, 274
bales. This immense increase had to
be disposed of, and as the consumption
did not grow oirespondingly, the de-
mand was less than the offerings and
the market was depressed. In the
great majority of cases market is gov
erned by the supply and demand, but
in this case the raid of the bears had
about as much to do with making the
low prices as the regular condition of
the market. All of this years crop has
not yet been sold, and it is predicted
bv many that prices will go still lower.
1t is claimed by several well-posted
men that the coming crop will be an
other large one, and if this is true they
say the southern. planter is going. to
have hard time in the future. The
more conservative factor says the crop
will be less than, that of 1ss99o. He
bases his opinion on the present condi-
ton of the crop and the. last governs
ment report. That report stated the
acreage this year was IS and the. con
dition 81 less than last year. The re-
ports of the best authorities state that
on june the stands of cotton and the