Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1897-11-10
atliseellaueous geadiag.
GRIP OF THE GAMBLERS.
JOHN T. RODDEY AGAIN RAISES
THE ALARM.
WILL The FARMERS EVER ACT

by Organization of the Growers, They
Can Fix Prices Themselves-Some
Propositions Which Afford Food For
Thought.
Editor of the Yorkville Enquirer:
No doubt the late civil war cost the
south many lives and an immense
amount of money but, in my opinion,
since the war, the south has lost at
least five times the amount through
exchanges on cotton. In fact, the
amount of money lost by the southern
farmer and speculator during the past
25 years, by having the price manipu-
lated by professional speculators, will
amount to many millions of dollars. l
believe the average town in the south
of 5000 people, has lost, by specula-
ton, and having the price manipulated
against the farmer, from $3.50, 1000 to
ST 100000. And think of the number
of towns!
A professional gambler in gambling
only ruins the individual with whom
he is gambling; but professional oper-
ators, in order to accomplish their
ends, not only ruin the individual; but
will also ruin many millions of individ-
uals, by affecting markets which af-
fects them all, in order to make their
profits.
Supply and demand for spot cotton
does not affect the price; but supply
and demand for futures establishes
the price. For instance, every spot
buyer simply asks, how is the future
market, and if the future market is
ten points lower he Immediately
lowers his limit equal to the drop
in futures, and every farmer that
markets his cotton simply suffers
from the drop spectators cause. In
other words, spot buyers and mill men,
only have to break the future market
in order to buy their spots at what
ever price they care to fix, knowing
absolutely that the average farmer
must sell, on account of his poverty, at
least portion of his crop.
Large American and European spin
ners never give themselves one mo-
ment's uneasiness about getting their
supplies. In fact they simply reason
that they will get together, sell thou.
sands of bales of futures, which will
put down the price, and as long as
they continue to sell, the lower the
price will be, and when they get the
price barely where the farmer can ex-
list, they then buy their spot cotton,
realizing that over million bales per
month will be marketed at absolutely
any price they may fix.
The professional operator nearly al
ways takes the bear side. Why? Take
for granted that the bulls and bears
are equally divided, the outsiders, as a
general thing, attracted by the low
price and statistical position, take the
bull side, and the professional operator
takes the bear side. Now, say in crop
of 100000 bales, 100000 bales are
marketed during the day. The spot
buyer buys your spot cotton. He has
not sold probably all the spots that he
has bought, so he Immediately sells fu-
lures against the spot purchases. Isit
not, therefore, apparent that there must
be more bulls than bears to prevent a
decline? The professionals anticipate
the sales of these spot buyers during
the spot season, and of course help
them drive prices lower.
Many farmers owe for their supplies
and fertilizers, and simply must sell =,
and the lower the price the stronger
the creditor insists on his money, be-
cause he fears that at the low price
the crop will not be sufficient to pay,
whereas if cotton was at good price
the creditor would know he need not
worry about his money, and would
not insist on having the crop rushed
to market and forcing a sale. When
an operator with $4,000 can sell the
crop of an entire county, probably rep
resenting the interest and effecting 1O,-
900 souls, to say the least of il, it is
placing little valuation on their labor
one dollar per annum.
1t must undoubtedly be very dis
couraging TO the farmers that before
they begin planting, many wealthy
operators are willing to sell then what
they expect to make at a price at
which they can barely exist.
There is no other class of labor, ex-
cept the farmer, that has the product
of his labor traded upon by people
that neither know or care anything
about his welfare or prosperity. Sup
pose there would be allowed an ex-
change on the labor of clerks, lawyers
or mechanics, where a crowd of unin-
teresled people could get together and
trade in the future labor of this
class of people. One party would Of
fer to get a clerk who is now
receiving $1,000 per year, for 5000.
Another will offer to fill his place for
$3.50, another for $3.50, and so on, even
selling his labor to a point where he
can barely make ends meet. This
clerk must either accept the salary the
spectators tx, or allow his family to
starve, and the lower his salary can be
kept the less chance be has to improve
his condition in any manner. Now it
is just this way with the farmer. He