The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1892-02-11
ToTHosE WHO HAVE HELD COTTON


to advise the farmers to hold their
cotton. He said that he had held
his cotton sixty days, that tho price
was no better. In the first place we
told him that il was the National
Alliance that advised the farmers TO
hold their cotton and that TIE eau
CAsIAN simply gave its endorsement
to what the Suprem. Council did,
and In doing 80 we went further and
gave our reasons, SO that every read
err could weigh the re LsOn5 and Judge
for himself. We further told him
that we knew when we published
the article that we would he blamed
If cotton did not go W, bnt be lev
ing that the chances were nine out Of
ten IN favor of its going UP that " G
thought 1t was our duty to say 50
and to give to the public our reasons
for saying so. vs. are not coWard!y
enough to fear a few criticisms, even
from our friends, when We see what
we believe to be our duty. we belieV-
ed what we said and believe it yet,
therefore Ii was our duty as a public
journalist to say so. We then made
the gentleman this proposition, that
If he would hold his cJttOn till we
told him to sell it Ia time not later
than the opening Of The next season.
that if he lost by doing 50 that VI re
would pay him half Of the loss, pro-
vided that if he gained he would pay
US half of the profit. We offered 10
write The contract and to sigI; il with
him. He hesitated moment and
then refused. He said he would take
his own risk, showing that his judg
ment was like ours; and we now
make the same proposition to every
one (up to the amount Of what We
are worthl who has held cotton on
our advice, and is dissatisfied. lsn0t
that fair? 1t not only shows that
TIE CAUCASIAN WAS sincere in its
advice, but that il is still of the same
opinion. We may be mistaken, but
we can always afford to take chances
tn It are larg ely in our favor.
He then asked what was our opin-
Ion as to the causes why cotton had
not gone W. We told him that the
greatest cause, the fundamental
cause. WAS the scarcity and uneven
distribution of money, the specula-
tors, bearing the market, which cOu-
pied with the tax on cotton goods,
prevented thousands who worked
every day AMI who were in need Of
cotton goods from being able to buy =.
Tais cause exists and will continue
to exist to depress prices and to
impoverish. the country till the gov
ernment is taken out OF the hands of
MONOPOLY and put back into the
hands of the people.
We further told him that the addi-
tihnal and temporary causes that
have 30 far prevented the rise we ex.
pected, was first the delayin getting
the information to the people. That
we tried to get the Associated ana
United Press (the two great news
syndicates that furnish the tele-
graphic news to the daily newspapers
all over the county, to send the in
formation out over the wires, but
.hey refused to do so. Why? Be-
cause Jay Gould, Russell Sage and
other millionaires and spectators,
own these news syndicates, and they
saw what would be the effect of this
information if the people acted upon
1t. They saw that if the farmers all
stopped selling cottol that they
would be forced to pay more for it
IL they got it. They knew that it
would be months at considerable ex-
pense before we could reach the pc o.
pie through the weekly press and by
correspondence, und that a great
many we could never reach. They
were right, and therefore but few
have held their cotton. II all had,
the price would have gone up imme-
diately.
The gentleman then said, "but
why has cotton &C ne down since that
resolution was passed.? We told
him that no one but the spectators
themselves knew the real reasons,
but that we would give him our opin-
ion. First, we asked him If he did
not believe that not orly were the
spectators, but every combine
trust and monopoly in the United
States was opposed to the Alliance.
He said; ~ esq. Then we told him
that 1t was our opinion that the spec
ulators saw that if they could get
all the money powers of the countr.,
to aidthem that they could further
bear down the pricc,of cotton. That
this would discourage the farmer
and make him lose faith in the ALI
ance; and if he could show tie
whole money power of the country
that he could damage the Alliance,
that they would all heir HIM. He
showed them they, helped him.
The gentleman then said, "Well, if
the money power has got US in their
grasp Is il not folly to hold cotton
any longer'? We told him that the
holders of cotton had to sell some
time, and that when they did, that
1t would be 10 their interest to push