Birmingham age-herald., 1895-07-26
HECTOR LANE ON COTTON He Jumps on MT. NeiII With
 Both Feet. HE'S COACHED BY BRIT0NS And They Put Him Through the Manual at
 Stated Intervals WHAT HIS CITATIONS COST THE SOUTH He Advises Cotton Growers to Move Their Crops as Slowly as Possible, and
 Not Be Terrorized Into
 Rushing.
WHAT HIS CITATIONS COST THE SOUTH
Age-Hcrald Bureau,
 Exchange Hotel.

MoHtSoHleTy Juiy 70.
 Hon. Hector D. Lane, president of the American Cotton Growers Protective as socaton, arrived in this city this morn ing from Mobile. where he has been in attendance upon a meeting of Alabama Commissioners of the cotton states ex- position at Atlanta, of which board MT. Lane is general manager for Alabama.
 Upon being asked as to the condition of the cotton crop. market, etc. MT. Lane made reply: I'm very glad that you suggested this subject. It is one of intense interest to the south and in which l am exceedingly interested, espe- cially so, occupying the position l do as president of the Cotton Growers Protec- tive association. l have read with great deal of interest. not unmiXed with some surprise, MT. II. M. Neills letter of July 20, to the Times-Democrat. This ebullition of fallacies has been looked for for some days, as it is well known that MT. Nell periodically perpetrates just such about the cotton market ev- cry year
 MT. Neill is a bear the pet bear, of coterie of speculative gamblers and English manufacturers. They coach him and he "carries arms, shifts arms, grounds arms,'' lies down or up in con- formity with their interest and com mands, and his gyrations are annually costing the impoverished southern plant CTS millions of dollars of sheer hard earnings He is now, by fabrication and Fictitious reports. paving the way with all the astuteness of the profession to frghten the farmers by using between 5000 900 and 9000,000 crop "bugaboo' into marketing their whole crop in the early months receiving then what they can get from the hands of their masters, but later when the practical demonstration comes of the production, and the crop is safely in the hands of the speeulator and manufacturers, to see values flse fs or 2 cents.
 sMr. Neill naively remarks that there was a general purpose at first among planters to decrease their acre age but there was so much noise made that speculators took hold of the market and ran it up This induced the planter to reconsider and plant more. This coming from MT. Neill, should be a warning to cotton-growers of the cum ming and the methods practiced by the speculators. I called this turn on these gentlemen last spring, and addressed letter to the cotton-growers of the south, advising them that this was a trick and device to circumvent decrease of the acreage, and as MT. Neill now frankly admits that such was true, coming as it does from their friend, the enemy, I hope in the future they will heed such warnings.
 ''AIr. Neill advises the world that Texas has only decreased her acreage , per cent. The spectators were just a little late in their efforts to prevent a decrease as far as relates to Texas, for they had substantially planted their crop when values began to rise.
 "I have spent five weeks in Texas since the planting season commenced. and l state without fear of honest contradic- ion that the decrease in that state is not less than 16 per cent. Mir. Neill accepts Texas as a criterion. Tn view of this fact 1 shall make a trip to Texas in the next few days and shall investi- gate the condition to my own personal satisfaction. To my mind to make an S000o0o crop superior weather to last years phenomenal conditions must pre- vail hereafter Killing frosts must be two weeks to enc month late. and without such conditions the crop may be easily under 7500000 if not 1000 coo.
 Europe will take this past year 6,S6e- GOO of America s cotton, while North and South America, Canada and Mexico will take 3,100,000 bales, and with improving trade America will surely take 3.300. 900 bales. which would leave only 4,700.0G0 bales for export. Even if 5000, GOO were raised, which is practically impossible. If the crop is only 7,200. 900 then less than 4000. 900 would be available for export.
 "A scramble for cotton would set in and such as has not been seen since 1879. as Europe is entirely dependent on the south for her supplies of raw cotton, as statistics show that her importations this year from India, Egypt, Brazil, etc i, is only equal to 1,600, GOO bales of Ameri- can cotton.
 ''The manufa cturers of Europe are sell ing their goods months and months ahead, without protecting themselves by the purchase of raw cotton, expecting that the necessities of the planter will force him to sell at any price that the mill owners and spectators choose 10 pay.
 Now advise and sincerely hope that the cotton growers will move their crops on the market just as slowly as they can possibly afford, and not allow them selves to be terrorized into rushing it all on the market during the early months, but to hold back 25 or 50 per cent of what they usually market, and thus by q judicious distribution we will realize handsome results.'
 THE SUPREME COURT.