The Russellville Democrat., 1893-01-26
IN BEHALF OF THE COTTON
 GROWER.
An Able Address by Pope's Gifted
 Representative.


 Hon. Lawrence Russell's speech on House Memorial No. 1, memorializing the United States Senators and 9I.ol,e->z sentatives in Congress fsssuI tne State of 4 rlss:s.ii5as .o vote for the Hatch Anti-op- sSlon Bill. or some similar measure.
 Ma. SPEAKER: That there is great wrong existing in our land no one can doubt. We have but to look out over our once proud and pros porous country and behold the present condition of the inmates of the humble cottages that dot our hills and nestle in our valleys to see that there is a wrong existing. We turn our faces to the northeast and more than half billion of dollars in the bank vaults of New York city i, made up of net deposits aud reserves, being of fered on April 3oth, 1892, at and half to two per cent interest per annum, and are convinced that there is wrong if not remedied will de stroy our commerce and impoverish our people The opponents of this Memorial contend that the Hatch Bill for the prevention of dealing in sFuturesr is unconstitutional. As a refutation of this argument refer you to the language of Justice Story. IHere Mir Russell read num- Der of extracts from Story on the Constitution, which favored the consttutionality of the bill.1 Mir. Speaker: Tn addition to the above, 1 am informed that Judge Culberson, the chairman of the judiciary committee in the lower house of Congress, prepared an argument establishing the constitutonality of the bill, but had not opportunity to deliver 1t. The committee on agriculture had the bill in their hands for one year. The House, which has in it's membership some Of the best lawyers of our nation, after having the bill under consideration Cor thirty days passed it by vote of four to one in its fa- vor. Besides our Constitution clearly states that Congress shall have power ato regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the several states;" and Sir, when the commerce of the whole land is injured and that of the South threatened with ruin, is it not time for Congress to take action? Shall we sit supinely down while the farmers of the South are being bound hand and foot, and utterly plandered and ruin ed by the powerful syndicate which promulgat- es the system known as afuturesSr When the dearest interests of the farmers of this country are at stake representative men should not hes itate to take sides with them as against monop- oly, for the farmer is at the foundation of our legitimate commerce and the bulwark against intruders and innovations npon our nations prosperity.
 The opposition tell us that cotton went down sixteen points on yesterday because of the agi- tation in Congress of the Hatch Bill, while pric- es on cotton were not at all disturbed in Liver pool. can tell you why prices were changed in America and not in Europe. It is because this system of dealing in futures has not such a deep hold upon Europe. It is because the mighty syndicate which is manipulating at it's will the commerce of this country has not such complete control of the markets of Europe. This syndicate has such controlling power over the cotton trade of our country that it plays game of @Wig-wag' with the prices of the commodity. This syndicate says prices up, and they go up, prices down, and they go down, prices wig wag," and they s'wig-wagp all over the land Prices are fixed by the members of the syndicate am informed that they sold 23,0o0,0o0 bales of cotton futures between the lst of September, 1891, and the lst of May, 1899, more than THREE TIMES the number of bales grown during the past season, and of course after they have made such enormous sales of cotton to be delivered in the FUTURE it is to their interest to depresss the price of cotton. If they can put it down one cent per pound (and they know how to do that they will save on the contract to deliver 23oo0,- 900 bales something near sIoo,0Oo0oo and it is safe to say the greater part of this sum will come from the South.
 But not only the buyers of futures lose money;
 
 makes the cotton also suffers account of re- duced prices. This dealing in futures has also depreciated the prices of our cotton Hands al- most one- half, and reduced the rental value of our lands in some instances at least one-third.
 It is strange, too that while in 1891, the in- crease in the amount of cotton grown was about 5s, the product itself decreased in value S0E while at the same time cotton goods increased in value 20E. This only goes further to establish the fact that it is not SUPPLY and DEMAND gov erning the prices of COTTON, but the spectators in sFuturesn It is also REMARKABLY strange that while the crops grown in 1891 and 1899 were larger than ever before, our farmers grew poorer
 Mir. Speaker: In view of the millions of dol lars taken from the South by way of "margins;n y in view of the distressed condition of the farm CTS of Arkansas; in view of the depreciated val ue of our lands; in view of the financial ruin marking every town and city in the South,-I appeal to you in behalf of the toiing sons of the South. who by the sweat of their brow make the cotton; in behalf of the suffering and helpless poor of our towns and cities, and ask the mem- bers of this House to assist our Senators and Representatives in Congress with the scourge of justice to drive out these money changers" who have desecrated the temple of liberty left us by our fathers.