Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1896-05-07
THE PRICE OF COTTON
GOVERNED BY TIE LAW OF SUPPLY
AND DEMAND.

Free S:!veiiteS Should study This History
of Prediction and I'riccs Since 1901
What the Record of Crops Proycs-SiI.
Yer Iias No Eject Oh Prices.
The spread of FREQ coinage sentiment
i'll the southern states has been almost
/ entirely duo to tho belief that the low
! price of cotton was caused by tho adop-
ton of the gold standard. Tho main
argument of the advocates of so cen:
dollar i'll this section of the country has
been that the alleged demonstration Of
silver was tho cause of the marked fall
i'll cotton during the past 23 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 money has nothing
to do with tho decline in value of cot
ton. Beginning with 1871, with crop
of $3.50 bales, worth on an average 26
cents per pound in the United States,
tho production rapidly increased during
tho next ten years to 21O, 52G bales, and
the price at the same time advanced to
A cents In 1902 tho crop was PAL, 1928
bales, of which 1870, G19 were shipped to
Great Britain, but, owing to the great
ly increased supply and - large stock
154, 600 bales-On hand at the close of
the year, tho price dropped to 10 cents
per pound III New York.
In spite of this remarkable decrease
in price the crop increased to $40, 900
bales i'll 1910, worth 1G cents. In 1916
tho crop was 457, 500 bales, but the
enormously. increased demand from
Great Britain forced prices up to 29n
cents, and the next year to 81 cents.
These high prices caused an increase in
the acreage of cotton, and by 1920 the
crop was G0G,O bales and the price
dropped to 7 cents. The production in
creasing, prices fell, in 1929, to H. 40
cents, and i'll 1927, with crop of 057,-
2S1 bales, and with 562, 800 bales in
stock, to 9.29 cents.
By 1884 an increase in the European
demand for cotton had advanced the
price to nearly ID cents, with crop of
1,205,394 bales. For the next five years
prices fiuctuated widely, averaging from
IA to 20 cents per pound, and when, in
lS40, the crop amounted to 2,177,S5
bales, the average price Went down to
500 cents. The great crops and tho ac-
emulation Of large stocks in Liverpool
caused q still further decline, in 1915
reaching 5 cents, the lowest recorded
price, with % crop of 1884, sos bales.
by 1850 prices had advanced to 1884
cents, and for the next ten years aver
aged about II. GnsSe q ''--'' 90 '-'''-'"'"
to q, ooo''
The war which broke out in 1861
brought on tho "cotton panic" which
lasted to 1866, when prices went as high
as 81. SO per pound. The close of the
war left many of the cotton growing
states in an impoverished condition, and
it was not until 1876 that the crop was
as large as that Of 1860. In the mean
time the price had fallen with the grad
ual increase i'll production until i'll 1871,
with crop of 4,352, 317 bales, it aver
aged 16. 95 cents In 1872 cotton was
badly damaged by excessive rains, and
with crop of only 2,974,351 bales, the
price reached 20. 4S. III 1880 the crop
was 5,761,252 bales and the price had
fallen to 1902.
The increased European demand for
time prevented prices falling to tho 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 $685. 97 bales
forced the price down to 9.O3 cents. In
1899 the crop was 9,O35, 1910 bales, the
stock on hand amounting to 2,253,00O
bales. Prices fell to 7.64 cents, but adj
vanced in 1898, when on account of I'M
favorable weather the crop fell off to
G,7Oo,3G5 bales, to S.24 cents. An in
crease to 7,549,S17 bales in 1894 was
followed by decline in price, and the
greatest crop on record in 1895, amount
ing to about 9,47G, 435 bales, brought
down tho price to 6.26.
The following table gives the compar-
alive crops and stocks Of cotton and the
lowest and highest prices in tho 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