The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1899-10-20
Ghelrmnrrat-S Star
HIGH COTTON AND GOOD
TIMES.

Prosperity and contentment at Tn,
South is largely a matter OF a few cent.
per pound in the price OF cotton
Every immaginable plan has heen suy
gested for securing this. We hav,
tried To maintain a corner, and have
failed; we have begged for production
on our product to offset that we paid
Others, and found no relief; we have
tried to restrict" the output. only tc
see 1t steadily grow as the weeds took
possession OF a greater proportion of
the plantation each year, and left the
remainder to be better cultivated
Now comes a change, and a contcmpo-
rary well says:
The advance in the price OF cotton
means better times in the South. Mid
ding cotton is worth 80 a bale more
than il was at this date last year. 1t
Is not improbable that within two
weeks IL will be worth $40 a bale more
than it was at the same date last
year.
An increase Of $40 a bale means as
much to the cotton farmers of the
South as 81 wheat does to the wheat
farmers Of the West. What 81 wheat
did for the West last year and the year
befor the whole country knows. Mort
cages were Cancelled by the tens OF
thousands, and the people began to
ride in carriages. The worried look
disappeared from the faces OF the
farmers and their wives, and in its
place there were happy smiles.
Let cotton 90 to Scents a pound and
the South will be on a boom. Mort
cages will be lifted from farms, and
the debts to the storekeepers will be
Cancelled. Not only that, but the
farmers will have cash enough to
raise a crop next year, and will not
have to pay credit prices, which are
double prices, to the country mer-
chant while the crop Is being made.
There is no reason why the farmers
should hurry their cotton to market
now. 1t is reasonably certain that
the crop is smaller than last years
years crop, and that the demand for
cotton goods will continue strong.
That being the case. there IS every
ground for thinking that there will be
a still further advance ia the price OF
cotton.
Here is an important fact; what is
the cause? The South has made her
own market by putting up cotton
mills at her doors; instead of begging
forever, the South went to work and
won. To supplement- t,le above state.
merit we give the following from the
Birmingham Age-ITerald:
The value of Southern mills to
Southern producers was never more
plainly shown than it has OF late been
shown in the cotton market. The
Southern mills, taking no stock
IN Mr.. Ncill or his crowd Of bear op-
orators, have been buying a years sup
ply of cotton. They are taking all
the cotton offered. $50 we have"
says the Columbia State. "this condi-
ton: The price Of cotton in the cot
ton manufacturing States Of the South
is as high as in New York, and in
some placeshigher, while in New York
1t is relatively higher than in Liver
pool. Liverpool has been paying I
cents for middling cotton, and mill
towns in South Carolina have been
giving as much as 6 IA and 6 - cents
for it, The result is that it does not
pay to buy cotton for export, and un-
less Liverpool materially raises its
bids 10 will be able to buy very little
In the near future. This Southern
buying which keeps the price up, and
even raises it IN the absence Of foreign
competition, Is being done by the South
ern mills. Their managers see for
themselves the hollowness Of Neill's
estimate; they know the crop is going
TO fall largely below last years; they
believe that the price is certain to 20
higher, and as pr0vident men they
are laying in their stocks now"
In South Carolina this is not a
small matter. That State will this
year spin 500, 900 bales out Of her esti-
mated crop Of 700, 600 bales; and her
spinncrs propose to buy the clean,
high-grade offerings first brought to
market. Exporters are feeling the
movement, and they will be compelled
to pay more for cotton in order to get
much of the crop.
Kansas men are SO enthusiastic
over big crops that it il dangerous to