The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1893-03-30
SENATOR GEORGES REPORT.
He Says Cotton viii Never DO f,r AL EN-
elusive Crop.

ae Says Cotton Will Never DO f,r al Ex.
elusive Crop.
To the Cotton Farmers of the Uuited
States:
In discharge of the duty imposed by
the United States senate on the com.
mittee of agriculture, to investigate the
causes OF the low price OF cotton and
remedy, have made some investiga-
tlons which, though as yet incomplete
authorize me TO state the following con-
clusloDs: There are causes for this low
price coming from legislation now in
force; and there Gre other causes coming
from necdful legislation yet to be enact
ed. 1t is certain. however, that these
causes cannot be rcmcdied in time to al
feet the price of the crop now ahCut to
be planted, even in Iced, :! thciA force
ever can be entirely des'r1ved. II } cot
ton farmers must, the.,fOre, f. the
present, resort to such rtn&Iies VI pal
liatives Tor low prices rs my come from
tf cir own action independent oG lcgsla-
tlon. The last crop (!8)! 9}) has
brought higher prices thar tie nrtcccd-
ing one. This resulted fro tle fact
that it was much smaller. TIE p.icc
would have been higher If there h:,I! not
been largo surplus over the ne"us OF
consumption, coming from the very large
crop Of the proceeding year Q891.92).
The natural rise in tho price of Tie
crop now being marketed has been large
ly impeded by the great strike among
operatives in the cotton factories of
England. In this great strike sixty
Thousand operatives, working 81 10000
splndles, have stopped work. The effect
OF this strike upon this date has been
to decrease the amount consumed by
British factories since September first
525, 200 bales, and is likely to amount in
the near future to more than 100000
b b'les in addition. This decrease III the
demand has by certain law Of trade,
diminished the price, Or, which is the
same thing. prevented the full rise
which would otherwise have come from
the small crop.
American spinners carried over from
last season an unusually large stock of
cotton, having bought heavily at the
low prices prevailing in the spring an |
summer; and while doing an exec,
tionally good business they have taken
so Tar $50, 600 bales less than for the
same period during last season. This,
also, increased the surplus. The pros
pect or another large crop coming from
Increased acreage, if that should happen
would not only be an enectual bar tC
any rise In the price but would cause q
still further decline. So that now the
cotton raisers of the South are confront
cd with this serious question for solu
tlon: Shall we, by increased acreage il
the crop now being planted, as com
pared 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 189l.92 and perhaps even lower, or
will we by reducing the acreage TO the
extent necessary to raise all our food
and forage crops and work ANNALS, es-
peclally our meat, corn, horses and
mules, increase the price of our cotton
crop and at the same time diminish the
uses OF the proceeds Of the crop by a
larger reduction in the amount hereto.
tore applied TO buy the necessary sup
plies?
There can be but one answer to this
question in the minds Of thonghtful
men. Ifit be said that aHon3 50 nu-
merous a class as cotton rn * r. il will
be impossible to get ~ al ..sruement
which will result IN combined ton TO
plant reduced acreage in cu,,oG, and
II this be conceded, then tho st:lution
appeals with still stronger force 20 each
Individual farmer to decrease n;a own
crop to the extent needful to rais3 his
supplies, for in case there should not be
such di ninutioD IN the acreage as to et-
iect materially tho price 80 that the
next crop is to be low priced one, the
advantage to him who has wisely raised
his own supplies will be clear and mani
fest. He will not have u BUY high
priced supplies with scant proceeds of
low priced cotton. These proceeds
will then be in the main surplus or
nearly 80. On the other hand, If there
shall he such a general movement in the
direction of raising smaller crop as TO
raise the price, then all who contribute
to it in the mannvr herein in Heated
will enjoy this Increased price Ns the
result of their OWn ,f sc action and Il.
the same time be EXEMPT from Ipcn-
dltures Tor supplies wN "a they h We 80
raised. Alter much !. :! .ciiOn UP data
collected from all conn.tios adai ed 10
raising cotton, Ism sa.'s led 0. this
| painful truth. Tdat We nre mover, at
lc st IN this generator, t, hava scncr-
ally the high prices for c,t,Da wc once
| had. Cotton will never, tat IT, cxCcp.
| tlonal cases and for short unt;oI, be
high enough to warrant the p"o id,:nr to
rely upon 1t as means of l.uc,,, .ein..
supplies which can be raised at no a
Very respectfully,
j. Il. GEORGE.
No PlaCe-Hunter.
WASIIINGTON, March IS. &c II.