The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-02-23
COTTON AND ITS LOST CROWN.
HOW THE ERsTWHILE King OF
CROPS WAS DETHRONED.


dies He Thinks should he Applied
10 Restore the Crop a. Its Former
Profitable BasiS-The Republican
Members of the Committee OF
Course Disagree with Him.
Washington, Feb. SENATOR George,
chairman Of the Senate committee on ag-
riculture. has made a report to the Sen
ate on the condition of the cotton crop,
the causes for the existing depression,
and the remedies that should be applied.
The Investigation was made under au-
thority Of a Senate resolution Of April le.
1884
The cotton report is divided into five
parts, the FIRST part being devoted to the
financial condition Of the producers of
cotton, from which it appears. first, that
generally the financial condition of the
farmers is bad q very large percentage
being lnsolvent and that very few indeed
are substantially increasing in the possess
sion OF property
Second, that with the prices prevail
ing in the years iSgi-'92-'g I'm nearly every
part of the cotton producing region the
cost Of production equalled, If it did not
exceed, the value of the cotton raised.
The result has been to produce wide
spread discomfort among cotton produc-
ers, and a disposition to discredit their
old-time conservative methods and TO IN
duce a too ready acceptance OF plausible
theories fof relief
With regard TO the causes OF the low
prices, the report says: TT is conceded
that the obvious, apparent and approx
mate cause is over-productlon Since ia
the mann. with the deyiations produced
by abnormal conditions, price is regu-
lated by supply and demand-a fun sup
ply with relatively diminished demand
bringing low prices. and great and active
demand with relatively diminished supply
bringing higher prices-where there is ara
annual increasing supply there ought
also TO be, TO maintain prices, an annual
increasing demand
Statistics are produced TO overthrow the
theory of over-production being the cause
of the low price, the surplus IN America
and Europe being less than in 1860. Con-
cluding this part Of the report the COM
the ultimate consumer which fixes the
amount Of the demand for the raw cotton.
II there was not a cotton factory in the
United States. and foreign cot
ton manufacturers were admitted
free Of duty and sold at a
cost no higher than is now charged for
cotton goods, there would not be one
pound less consumed in the United States
than at present. Ii such goods were adj
mitted at a lower price consumption wOulI
be advanced. So that the real effective
home market for the raw cotton, wherever
manufactured, is in the consumpt.ve power
of the people. Whoever takes the cotton
from the farmers and gives il In "a manu-
factured state to the consumers at the
lowest added cost is a beneficial agent,
both to the consumer and the producer,
by increasing consumption and prevent
ing a surplus Whoever and whatever
increases this additional intermediate
charge reduces consumption and Injuries
both producer and consumer"
The curious extent to which dealing
in futures has attained in late years
is also set as another cause contributing
to low prices. Much testimony on this
subject was taken by the committee. An
elaborate argument IS made to show the
power of congress to deal with this sub
ject and control or suppress II. Having
established this fact to its own satisfac-
IT would seem 10 require no argument
TO show the propriety Of the exercise
of the power, if the only result would be
to restore to the public at large the free
and untrammelled right Of buying and
selling, and thus destroy an illegal monop-
oily Cotton eXchange) confined TO the
members of two corporations and to the
membership of which only a few can be
admitted, aud these only by the selection
Of the corporations themselves"
TwO-thirds OF the cotton Is exported.
This expectation plays a most impor-
tant part in the regulation of our foreign
exchanges and contributes very largely
to the maintainance of our financial sys-
TEN Of securing to US favorable exchanges.
Tho higher, therefore. the price of the
export the greater the value Of our for
eign trade in bringing larger wealth to
our country. In this view it is the mani
fest interest of the whole country that
all the arrangements and customs Of
trade which artificlally depresses the price
of cotton should be abolished. Cotton
raising is the principal business OF at
least nine states, the people Of which
are IN the main, from many causes,
unable to change to other business for
many years to come. To these people
specially shown by the evidence we re-
port TO be in the bad financial plight
we have described, it is a high duty
of the common government Of the Whole
country that it shall use its power to pre-
vent depression in the price OF their
great staple by the tricks. devices and
articles os gamblers in human labor, as
we have shown these dealers to be-
The committee concludes this part of
its report by stating its conviction to be
that whilst these dealings in futures can
rot for any long period control abso-
luteIy the price of cotton independent
of the supply and demand, they clearly,
sometimes abnormally, produce too low
prices az well as high prices, as is adj
mitted by their advocates, for a tenn
porary period. But generally they de-
press to a considerable extent prices ana
that congress not only has the power
to abolish them, but is ia duty bound
to do so.
Under part Of the report the demone-
tization Of silver is discussed, this being
a cause for the low price Of cotton in
the estimation Of the committee more
potent than any. There are many printed
pages Of argument in favor Of the re-
of silver and the prevention
thereby Of the falling prices produced
bv the oppression of gold. The commit
tee also finds that the Importation Of
gold from Europe other than by the reg
ular commercial methods tends to de-
press the price of cotton. as it lessons /