The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1895-05-11
TO COTTON GROWERS.


President Lane Warns Thorn Against the
wiles of the ManIpuIator : Fictitious
Prices. 3. = - -et u -
Proctor H. d. Lane, president of the
American Growers Protective associa-
ton, has issued the following address:
ATHENS, Ala, March IS.
To THE COTTON GROWERS OF THE SOUTH
I wish to call the attention Of the cotton grow
ers to the strategic movement being made by
cotton manipulators to delude them into the
suicidal act Of planting again large acreage
OF cotton. That uneasiness has been felt in
Liverpool for time In reference to the de-
creased acreage goes without saying. and had
this menace not existed, cotton values would
have been lower than they have been. and now,
as the end of the season is AZ hand, the
staple is substantially out OF the hands Of the
farmer; these gentlemen who have represented
the bear element for so many months while
cotton was moving in large volumes resort to
this method Of running values up simply to in
duce the farmer to plant more cotton than,
possibly, he intended <ff
/ warn the farmers Of the south that the
price of the last few days is fictitious and is
the product of a conspiracy of men to sys-
tematically rob the producer of his legitimate
gain. 1t is o delusion and snare to catch the
unsuspecting farmer, to inveigle him into the
tolls of another 100000 surplus, SO that they
can bear down values lower than last season,
with an increased surpl is on hand.
Let the people beware. 1t is q bait to catch
all who will bite There can be no legitimate
reason shown for this increase in values. The
production has exceeded the most sanguine
expectations. Russia has placed a virtually
prohibitive duty on American cotton, so we can
no longer expect to sell her 50 200 bales.
There can be no change made by next season
in the financial laws of the nation Therefore,
where is the legitimate cause for this rise IL
cotton has been selling at legitimate figures.
1T is simply the old spider and fly game, .
recurrence of the farmer and the "bunko steer
err" and am constrained.to exclaim: How
long, oh, Lord, how lonRg Isit to be ever thus,
that our people are to be waylaid and robbed Of
their meager substs.nceg
/ deny the proposition that any man can
produce cotton legitimately for five cents with
any reasonable profit; and state advisedly
and emphatically, that the southern cotton
grower-I mean. literally man who digs the
ground; the unfortunate who pulls the bell
cord over the mortgaged mule'-is not realiz-
ing twelve cents q day for his labor the year
round. What is to be the fate OF this man II
cotton goes down one TO one and one-half cents
"a fall which is not at all improbable when
we recognize the conditions that confronts
US and take into consideration that we had
most phenomenal season for picking our crop
last season, and its classification was higher
than ever known, hardly any grading less than
low middling?
-"Still, 1t averages under five cents, and
though we may make q smaller crop the en-
suing season OF 1866 II we have rainy or
unpropitious gathering season, cotton. in all
probability, will grade lower, and mayhap we
will have a recurrence Of the season Of 1881,
when we had a superabundance OF the poorer
qualities We could then expect the same
relative difference in the grades, which must,
Of course, result In considerably reduced re-
turns from the whole crop.
invoke the most earnest attention Of cot
ton growers to this nefarious scheme, and adj
dress you this letter as a caveat that you may
not be deluded by this wolf in sleeps CLOTH
ing" or. in other word this bear in bull cloth
ing"