Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1899-11-08
MIR. HENRY NELL AGAIN

MIR. HENRY NELL AGAIN
ga very pretty controversy is
going on just now between Mr..
Henry Neill, the famous cotton
expert of New Orleans, and Mr..
John Hyde, the chief statistician
of the Government Department of
Agriculture. Mr.. Neill is easily
the best known and most import
ant private cotton expert in the
country, and his views may be said
to be controlling upon the English
buyers of this staple. He has been
out for several months with q
prediction of another enormous
cotton crop. based chiefly upon
the favorable weather which, he
declares, the g owing crop has re-
ceived. The data of this character
and the general crop conditions
reported by the Government are
not nearly as favorable as that
given by Mr.. Neill, although the
Government has made no definite
estimate of the crop, as Mr.. Neill
has. A long letter has been pub
lished, written by Mr.. Hyde to a
firm of cotton merchants here,
controverting in detail Mr.. Neill's
statements, chiefly those referring
to the amount of rainfall in the
cotton belt. To this Mr.. Nell has
replied in second proclamation.
People in the cotton trade are
naturally interested in the dispute.
If the crop turns out to be a short
one there will be big rise in
prices, while if there is another
bumper crop prices will prices will
probably recede. From the fact
that. the price of cotton has risen
decidedly already we infer that
general opinion of the trade leans
in Mr.. Hyde's favor. Hyde re-
csives support also il the move
ment of the crop fro the planta-
lions TO- the interior.
cities, II being a,s-sa ss.;fssssss;ss, Y
last year. On the oth5 hand,
Mr.. Neill and his friends maintain
thatan immense quantity of cotton
has been picked and that the
Southern planters are holding it
back for more money. Some day,
they, say, cotton will come out
with rush.
We feel that we may not i'm
properly allude at this time to
certain convictions that We have
heretofore freely expressed con-
cerning Mr.. Neill and his pro-
phecies. 1t is exceedingly unfor-
tunate for any one business that
the views of any one man have
come to exercise a predominant
influence over it's variona huctua-
tions and vicissitudes. We do
not think we exaggerate in stating
that such Is the influence exercie-
ed in the cotton trade by Mr..
Neill. In some way-which is
not altogether explained by the
fact that on several occasions Mr..
Neill has been very lucky in his
crop guesses--enormous weight is
attached to Mr.. Neill's utterances.
When it is known that he is about
to issue q circular, the trade n
cotton is quieted and rumors as to
the probable character of the
circular become thick as snow
fakes If he predicts a small
crop there is an excited rush of
prices upwards, and if he predicts
a big crop there is a slump.
Millions of dollars hang upon his
words, and of course something be-
sides modification is felt when
these words prove to be mistakes.
Now, while We wish to state
most emphatically that We have
never heard a syllable spoken
against Mr.. Neill's integrity and
that we believe him to be an
absolutely honest man, yet it is
obvious that any such position as
he occupies must be very uncom-
Portable for an honest man to be
in. 1t certainly imposes upon
him strenuous obligations Of re-
ticence and extreme csrefulness.
Indeed, one would think that MI.
Neill would wirh to stop issuing
crop estimates or would issue them
% rarely as possible and at such
Late dates in the season that thev