Catoctin clarion., 1895-09-05
THEPRICE OF COTTON
GOVERNED 6Y THE LAW OF eUPPlY
AND DEMAND.

Free silverites Should Study This History
Of Production and Prices Since 1891.
What the Record Of Crops Proves-sil-
vsr Has No Effect ON Prices,
The spread of free coinage sentiment
In the southern states has been almost
entirely due to the belief that the low
price Of cotton was caused by the adop-
tion of the gold standard. Tho main
argument Of tho advocates Of so cent
dollar in this section Of thocountry has
been that tho alleged characterization Of
silver was the cause Of the marked fall
in cotton during the past 20 years.
A bulletin just issued by the depart
ment Of agriculture giving the history
Of the production and price Of cotton for
over 100 years proves conclusively that
the use Of silver as m~ley has nothing
to do with the decline in value Of cot.
ION. Beginning with 1901, with crop
Of $3.50 bales, worth on an average 26
cents per pound in tho United States,
the production rapidly increased during
the next ten years to 210, ,526 bales, and
the price at the same time advanced to
Al cents. In 1902 the crop was 2ll 22S
bales, of which 120,Gl0 were shipped to
Great Britain, but, owing to tho great
ly increased supply and large stock
154,00 bales-on hand at the close OF
the year, the price dropped to 10 cents
per pound in New York.
In spite Of this remarkable decrease
in price tho crop increased to $40, 200
bales in 1910, worth 10 cents. In 1916
the crop was 1866 bales, but the
enormously increased demand from
Great Britain forced prices up to 291a
cents, and tho next year to 34 cents
These high prices caused al increase in
the acreage Of cotton, and by 1890 the
crop was 6O6,O61 bales and the price
dropped to II cents. The production in
oreasing, prices foil, in 1892, to LAO
cents, and in 1897, with crop Of 957,-
28l bales, and with 562,3GO bales in
stock, to 9.29 cents.
BY 1884 an increase in the European
demand for cotton had advanced the
price to nearly IS cents, with crop Of
1906, 1914 bales. For the next five years
prices fuctuated widely, averaging from
7N to 20 cents per pound, and when, in
1910, the crop amounted to 2,l77, 500
bales, the average price went down to
500 cents. The great crops and the ac-
oumulation Of large stocks in Liverpool
caused still further decline, in 1S45
reaching cents, the lowest recorded
price, with crop Of 1894, 50S bales
By 1850 prices had advanced to 10. 94
cents, and for the next ten years aver
aged about II cents, tho crop increasing
to 8,655,557 in 1855 and to 1851, ,292
In 1850.
The war which broke out in 1851
brought on the "cotton panic," which
lasted to 1853, when prices went as high
as $l.89 per pound The close Of the
war left many Of the cotton growing
states In an impoverished condition, and
It was not until 1879 that the crop was
as large as that Of 1860. In the mean
time the price had fallen with the grad
ual increase In production until in 1871,
with crop Of 4,352,8l7 bales, it aver
aged l8. 05 cents In 1879 cotton was
badly damaged by excessive rains, and
with crop Of only 2,974,85l bales, the
price reached 20.48. In 1880 the crop
was 8, 78l,252 bales and the price had
fallen to l2.O2.
The increased European demand for a
time prevented prices falling to the level
Of the decade previous to the war, but
by 1889 the stock on hand began to in
crease beyond the demand, and in 1891
the unheard Of crop of S,652,59 bales
forced the price down to 9.03 cents. In
1899 the crop was 9,035,8 bales, the
stock on hand amounting to 2,253, 900
bales. Prices fell to 7.64 cents, but ad-
vanced in 1898, when on account Of un-
favorable weather the crop fell of to
6,7OO, ,885 bales, to 8.24 cents An In
crease to 7,549,817 bales in 1894 was
followed by decline in price, and the
greatest crop on record In 1895, amount
Ing to about 9,478, 435 bales, brought
down the price to 6.20.
The following table gives the compar-
ative crops and stocks Of cotton and the
lowest and highest prices in the United
States for two decades, showing that
prices reached the lowest point during
the years when the accumulation Of sur
plus stocks was the largest, and that
those were the years Of largest crops:
1SAl-l83O.
Crons in Surplus in MiddlinR up