The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1899-09-27
OUR HOME MILLS.
They Have Made Themselves
Felt This Year
SOME ADVICE TO FARMERS

Will Pay Them To Market
Their Cotton Crop
Slowly.
There IS spread before the people OF
the South at this time great object
lesson Of the value of home cotton mills
to cotton planters. Everybody reallz IS
that these mills do good to the commu-
mites in which they operate; that they
build them up in population, in wealth
and in Importance, raising the villages
to towns and the towns to cities. In
telligent farmers realize that they do
good to the country also, increasing the
home market for produce Of all kinds
and increasing the value Of lands IN
their neighborhoods. 1t is also under
stood, although for the most part loose
ly, that they nelp the cotton planters
near them by giving them better prices
for their staple than they could get
from exporters. But only now is there
so great and broad an example Of this
last benefit as to impress not on ly the
whole South but the cotton trade In two
hemispheres.
The situstion is m,st interesting,
even to those whe have no hazard IN the
outcome. The cotton crop, which SIX
weeks ago promised a great yield not
withstanding its partial failure in this
part Of the South, has since declined
rapidly in condition, owing to the
drought in the southwest. Before the
effects Of this drought were fully re-
vealed Henry NJ. Neil, the New Orleans
representative of British exporters, gave
out an estimate of over II, 900, 900 bales,
and the Liverpool market, responding
to it, at once and sharply lowered the
price. This drop spontaneously az
fected the New York market and, to
lesser extent, all the American mar
kets.
Soon afterHard the government crop
report for September revealed the full
extent Of the drought injuries in the
trans Mississippi region aad the South
ern markets began to rise. The news
since then has confirmed and helghten-
ed the governments estimate of losses,
and throughout the manufacturing South
prices have advanced materially. To
this advance there has been partial
response in New York, but Liverpool,
pinning its faith to Neill's estimates,
has maintained practically the prices of
a month ago. 49,
So we have this condition: The
price Of cotton in the cotton manutact-
uring States of the South is as high as
in New York. ard in some places hig b.
er, while in New York it is relatively
hig CHER than in Liverpool. Liverpool
has been paying cents for middling
cotton, and mill towns in South Caro-
lima havebcen giving as much as ct and
6! cents for it. The result IS that 1t
does not pay to buy cotton for export,
and unless Liverpool materially raises
its bids it will be able to buy very lit
tie in the near future.
This Southern buying which keeps
the price up, aud even raises 1t IN the
absence Of foreign competition, is being
done oy the Southern mills. Their
managers see for themselves the hollow
ness Of Neills estimate; they know the
crop is going to fall largely below last
years, they believe that the price IS
certain to 90 higher, and as provident
men they are laying in their stocks
now. In thus reasoning and acting
they are indubitably right. At the
present and prospective prices of cotton
goods they can afford to pay what they
are now paying, and even much higher
prices. The demand for cotton both at
home and abroad is greater than it has
ever been, the crop is the shortest in
several years, and the margin between
the prices of raw and manufactured cot
ton is very large. This is the time for
Southern planters to hold al. they can
and for Southern mills to get all they
can. We hope that but little will be
marketed for the present and that every
bale Of that little will go into the ware
houses of our own mills.
The significant point Of the whole
matter is that Southern mills, by COM
petition among themselves. unalded by
foreign buyers, have for weeks kept up
the price of cotton over large area.
This is in defiance Of English spacula-
tors and spinner;, and it is great step
toward Southern independence. We
can make it the rule and fix our own
price for our great staple if we will only
build mills enough. OAce we spin all
orr cotton what will We care for Liver
pool, or for New York an: Boston mar
kets In cotton prices 1e will be law
unto yourselves, and no false estimates
of yields need compel US to sacrifice
our crop. For all that we raise we will
have purchasers at home. The mill
stockhclder will plant cotton and the
cotton planter will buy mill stock Ks.
There will be profit in both planting
and manufacturing, and an adjustment
of prices between them will not be dill
6cult.
South Carolina last year manufactur..
ed a per cent. of the largest crop OF
cotton she ever raised. This year she
is likely to consume fve.sevenths of
short crop--half a million bales OF
crop of 700, 900 bales. If we keep up
the pace We have taken now five years
more will raise consumption above To-
cal production. Every cotton planter
with as much as hundred dollars to
invest should put it if he can into
new cotton mill convenient to his plaa-
tation. 1t will buy permanent insur-
ance against foreign and speculative
capacity.
Since the foregoing was written we
have seen Wednesday reports from the
Liverpool and New York markets.
They show that the former has taken
.l.rm Of the freeness of Southern buy