The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1894-11-27
AN ADDRESS ON COTTON.
woRKlNe FOR BErrEE rRIoEs

Commissioners Lane Believes In RE-
ducing the Crop-The Farmers
Must Organize.
Commissioner Lane, OF Alabama,
has Issued an address to the cotton
growers of the South, which was au-
thorized by the late meeting of the
cotton growers, held in Montgomery.
He says ::
This convention was called by my
deyising meal through which south
ern cotton growers might protect
themselves from the many unfair
devices used to depress the value of
our chief staple. The most prominent
one being fictitious reports fabricated
in the main cotton markets sent OUT
by cotton exchanges and emap;tino
from the minds of men S%ho make q
precarious living as- Ne bears on the
cotton marketsi~
ne o1eTquotes largely from printed
esGssmates sent out by interested parties
as to the size OF the present crop and
shows by figures that it will not
amount to anything like that what is
claimed. He shows by the following
statement the benefits to be derived
from the producers coming together
and acting in harmony. Consequent
upon the enormous crop produced In
the season 1S91-92 a cotton convention
was hold in Memphis under the
auspices of the Mississippi Valley
Cotton Growers Association. The re-
cent convention at Montgomery was
eminently satisfactory to all engaged
in it.. The express purpose of this
meeting was to take action towards
the reduction of the cotton acreage.
How we'll it succeeded in its effort,
hicfpry Df ooffNp will hoor no ont A
decrease in acreage followed the
ensuing season 90 and 1913 Of 1885, 39,
an acreage that is larger than Is plant
ed in any and State with the exception
of Texas.
Pursuant to the Memphis cotton
convention cotton advanced seventeen
points in three days. Pursuant to the
Montgomery meeting cotton values
advanced twenty-seven points. Wheth-
er these two occurrences were coin
cidental, or whether they were caused
in convention assembled, it is for the
country to judge, but to my mind it is
a practical demonstration of a fact
that the vibrations of the cotton
market are as sensitive and responsive
to the touch Of convention of practi-
cal farmers as they are to manipula-
tions of metropolitan fakirs.
The dominating question confront
ing the farmers, first, is to refute the
%inquitous reports being sent out by
INSCRIPTIONS persons, and bearing
down present prices, and secondly, to
cooperate in an endeavor to again
decrease the acreage by planting the
same ina and producing more home
consumption crops.
"Over production encourages and
fosters manipulation, and it should be
the effort of every intelligent and
patriotic citizen of the South to enlist
all the instrumentalities available to
resist this current that Is ~insidiously
day by day drifting us into the vortex
Of poverty and restitution.
There is less visible supply on hand
than for years. Mills have less on
hand, people have less clothes on ac-
count of the enforced economy of hard
times.
The total visible supply of cotton in
the world is 222, POS bales less than in
1893, and Cos, Ala less than 1892
The currency and tariff questions
are virtually settled and all the in
dications at present point to @ speedy
return of general prosperity, and cot
ton prices must naturally rule higher.
we are of the opinion that after all
this matter q only be accomplished
ny l~nuepenueuU lnulVlQual aCGlOn,
stimulated by intelligent argument,
and shall undertake to prove thai
to a great extent it is Gne over-pro-
duction of cotton In excess OF its con-
sumption that's causing the falling
of in values until it has reached that
point which makes it less than can
possibly be produced by Southern plan
ters."
He Concluded his address by saying:
: Tfe convention at Montgomery adj
j9urned to meet at jackson, Miss, on
the second Wednesday2in January 1895,
when and whore we wilPendeavor to go
into a permanent organization under
the name of the Southern Cotton Grow
ers' Protective Association. The
various Governors of the States will be
requested to appoint four delegates
from each Congressional district and
three from the State at large. The
co%mmioners of agriculture were elected
vice presidents for their respective
States. 1 urge upon all farmers and
others interested in this movement to
attend the meeting at jackson, as it is
a question of the gravest Importance
to the common country"