The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-08-06
MONEY TO MOVE COTTON.
The Banks Anticipate no Difficulty in
Handling The Crop.


Banks Expect to be Able to Supply
all the Facilities That May be
Needed-The World Must Have Cot
ton and is Willing to Pay for it.
A number of Savannah bankers and
cotton factors were asked, yesterday, if
in their opinion the financial stringency
is so great as to affect the facilities for
handling cotton at the ports, if the banks
would be able to afford the usual accom-
modations to the factors for handling the
crop, and if in their opinion there is any
danger of a blockade in the cotton move
ment by reason of the inability of the
banks to furnish the money necessary for
moving the crop
The views of both bankers and fac
tors are reassuring and indicate
| little apprehension. "There is no
| Doubt said one banker, that money
| Will be less free than for several seasons
| previous, and that it will be dealt out
| more sparingly. The banks will be com
| PEELED to exercise the utmost care in loan
! ing money, and will not be willing to ad-
! vance more to any one customer than is
1 actually demanded for his operations.
| Factors and merchants will be compelled
! to travel on very small margins. COun-
| try merchants will have to make their
| advances on cotton as small as possible
until notes and accounts are paid. Most
| of the notes of farmers and small mer-
| chants fall due on Oc-
| tober l. If they receive
the full value of their cotton a month
| previous they will not settle their notes
| in advance but will hold the money until
| the notes fall due, which would have the
effect of withdrawing it from circulation
until the time comes to settle up.
KEEP IT IN THEIR POCKETS.
"The farmers do not put the money in
banks, but keep it in their pockets.
| Every dollar withdrawn from circulation
| in this manner is a dollar lost for the
time being, and increases the stringency
temporarily. The factors realize the ne
cessity for being extremely careful in
| their operations this year. and will make
| no larger advances to their customers
| than are absolutely necessary.
Customers who have been in the habit
| of telegraphing one day for 81 900, the
| next day for 81, 900 and a day or two later
for IS 900 to be secured by cotton to be sent
on later will find that they will have to
be more explicit in their statements and
| that they can secure no more money than
is absolutely required to move their cot
ton. The large importa tions of gold in
| this country will have a very beneficial
effect, and if they continue at the present
rate will do great deal to relieve the
situation.
In my opinion" said the banker, 1.-THE
New York bankers are endeavoring to
create the impression that the financial
strlngency is greater than it really is
They want to get the country by the
throat so as to dictate their own terms.
They have endeavored to create the i'm
| preston that small currency was selling
a a I,oy, no 70 or
| is, as the treasury officials report from
Washington, that currency is plentiful
and can be supplied as demanded. They
have even said that silver was difficult to
| obtain, all of which appears very queer to
| man up tree. 1 have no doubt
that all the money necessary to handle
the cotton crop can be obtained.
CAN GET ALL THEY WANT.
"The Savannah banks can get all the
credit they want in New York; said an
other banker.
Whenever they ask the New York
| banks for money they are told they can
| have all they want, which means that
| their credit is good for whatever drafts
| they may make, but when it comes to re-
hitting the money itself they are not dis
| posed to do so. The fact is Chicago and
all the eastern states have made such
| heavy demands on New York for money
| that the supply is almost exhausted and
| they have no more to give out. All bills
| of exchange on New York for cotton will
| be readily paid, l think, as these bills are
| in demand in conducting the trade with
! Europe"
Other bankers expressed themselves
in the same manner They did not APP
| prehend that there will be any great diff
| ticulty in affOrding facilities for handling
| the crop.
| A well-known factor said that while the
| factors and merchants will have to trim
| their sails as closely to the wind as posi-
| bic this season, they will be able to han
| die the crop without any great difficulty.
You can rest assured" he said, "that
both factors and merchants will push the
crop to market as rapidly as possible.
| There will be little holding back for
| rise this year. There will be
no large stocks held for
rise as in previous years
| Every bale of cotton sold will tend to re-
| lieve the stringency by bringing money
| into the country. The relief will not be
| felt until Oct. l, however, as most of the
| cotton brought in up to that time will go
| in settlement of accounts. There is one
| encouraging feature of the situation, and
| that is that the farmers have made this
crop with the smallest expenditure on
| their part of any since the war, conse-
| quently they are not in debt
WILL BE COMPELLED TO SELL.
Notwithstanding the fact that they are
| out of debt, the farmers will be compelled
| to sell their cotton, as they are in need of
many things which they have been
denying themselves while making the
crop. There win be no holding
back of the crop in my opinion until after
| Christmas, and the cotton Twill come
steadily rolling in up to that time. The
general tendency of things l fear will
have tendency to depress prices still
lower than at present, which is unfortu-
nate, but whatever the farmer makes on
his crop this year is clear, This is the
brightest featuraof the situation.
IF it should reach the point that money
could not be had in this country to han
die the crop, gold could beubrought di-
| rectly from Europe to purchase cotton, as
was done in 1873. Cotton is something
the world is bound to have and
there is no danger of its ~
ing waiting for purchaser
1t is acurious fact that the people of the
south are averse to gold aid will not take
IL when they can get currency. Even the
banks give the preference to paper money
| The reasons are | suppose, that currency
is so much more convenient to the farmer
for carrying in his pocket, and it is less
likely to be lost or stolen. 4 farmer will
tell you that he is afraid of MISLEADING
tive-dollar gold piece for a silver quarter
in making change. Even silver is pre-