Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1893-03-23
PLAIN TALK TO PLANTERS.
The Low Price of Cotton and
It's Remedy. :.

It's Remedy. :
United States Senator George,
of Mississippi, chairman of the
subcommittee to investigate cot
ton, has submitted the following
report:
To the Cotton Farmers of the
United States:
In the discharge of the duty i'm
posed by the United States Senate
on the committee on agriculture,
to investigate the causes of the
low price of cotton and the remedy,
I have made some investigations,
which, though as yet incomplete,
authorize me to state the following
conclusions:
There are causes for this low
price coming from legislation now
in force, and there are other cansea
coming from needful legislation
yet to be enacted. 1t is certain,
however, that these causes cannot
be remedied in time. to affect the
price of the crop now about to. be
planted-even, indeed, if their
force ever can lie entirely destroy
ed. The cotton farmers must,
therefore, for the present, resort to
such remedies or palliatives for
low prices as may come from their
own action, independent of legis-
lation.
The last crop (1s92-eS) has
brought higher price than the
preceding one. This resulted from
the fact that it-was much smaller.
The price would have been higher
if there bad not been large sur
plus over the needs Of consump-
tion coming from the, large crop
of the preceding year (1s91-92.)
The natural rise in the price of
the crop now being marketed has
been impeded by the great strike
among the operatives in the cotton
factories in England. In this
strike 10000 operatives, working
21, 100000 spindles have stopped
work. The effect of this strike up
to this date has been to decrease
the amount consumed in British
factories since September 1st $685.
600 bales, and is likely to amount
in the near future to- more than
100000 bales in addition. This
decrease in the demand has, by the
certain law of trade, diminished
the price, or, which is the same
thing, prevented the full rise
which would otherwise have come
from the the small crop. :
American spinners carried over
from last season an unusually
flarge stock of cotton, having
bought heavily at the low price
prevailing in the spring AID sum
1l +, and whilst doing an excepi;
tionally good business, they have
taken SO far $4,000 bales lesa
than for the same period during
the last season. This, also in
creased the surplus.
The prospect of another large
crop, coming from increased acre
age, if that should happen, would
not only be an effectual bar to any
rise in the price, but would cause
a still further decline. So that
now the cotton raisers of the South
are confronted with this serious
question for solution:
Shall we, by. increased acreage
in the crop now being planted, as
compared to the acreage of the
last season, raise crop of nine
or ten million bales, and thereby
glut the markets of the world,
causing fall to the low prices of
1892, and perhaps even lower;
or will We, by reducing the acreuge
to the extent necessary to raise all
our food and forage crops and
work animals, especially our meat,
corn, horses and mules, increase,
the price of our cotton crop, and
at the same time, dimish the uses
of the proceeds Of the crop by
large reduction in the amount
Heretofore applied to buy neces-
sary supplies? ..
There can be but, one answer to
this question, in the minds of
thoughtful men. If it be said that
among so numerous a class, as to
the cotton raisers it will be i'm
possible to get up an agreement
which will result in combined
action to plant reduced acreage
| in COTTON. and IF th1s he couceded