The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1899-10-13
Spirit Of the Press.
UNDER THE COTTON BANNER. !
Atlanta Constitution.

UNDER THE COTTON BANNER.
Atlanta Constitution.
In the fight which is now being made
to rally the farmers and the business
men of the south against their bond
age to foreign Influences The Raleigh
News and Observer has taken de-
served part.
In its discussion of the reasons for
the present agitation, The News and
Observer draws attention TO the fact
that the planters of the South invested
for a II 100000 bale crop. They pur-
chased fertilizers, seeds and paid for
the planting and cultivation of large
crop. If the crop had realized the eX-
pectations of the planters, the price
would probably not have exceeded
cents, but owing to foods, drought and
bad seasons, the crop was shortened
certainly 100000 bales. In the nat
ural workings of the law of supply and
demand the farmers ought, under any
circumstances, to have got Il much
larger price for their cotton than they
did last year. As has been pointed
out by 4he Constitution, the circular
of Henry NJ. Neill is responsible for
the fact that during the first three
weeks of September, those who sold
their cotton were robbed ON the legiti-
mate margin in price which should
have gone to them. The price of cot
ton within the past week has risen III
value about so bale, SO that calcuLat-
ing upon this difference the Southern
farmers, that is, the most needy, who
were compelled to sell early, have been
robbed of millions of dollars which prop
erly belonged to them.
1t is somewhat upon this line that
News and Observer says:
(IIere follows long quotation from the
News and Observers editorial. -EAlitor.)
There is to be a cotton convention to
be held within a few days in Raleigh
which, it is to be hoped, will join in with
the general movement for the union of
the agricultural and business interests
of the South SO that in the year to como
the blrnder of the present season may
be averted. Within a few months our
people will be pitching another cotton
crop. To do this they will be calling
upon their merchants and factors for
certain supplies. 1t is highly important
that i'm all these transactions an eye
should be had to the accommodation of
the farmer so that he will not be forced
to a sale of his product during the first
few weeks of the market. The present
practice of making all bills due between
the 18th of September and the 15th of
November is responsible for the loss of
millions of dollars to our farms, which
if obtained, would have been spent with
our merchants and bankers. and thus
there would have been a general pros
perity all around. One of the greatest
difficulties in urging our farmers to do
what they slould have done this year
was the fact that they We're under 'Cbli-
CATIONS to make these early payments to
their creditors. To have advised them
to have held back their crop until De-
cember or January, if necessary, would
have been to injure the men who We're
relying upon them for payment in Sep
TENDER, October and November. Hence,
the work of rallying our people against the
ubiquitous conspiracy of which Mr.. Neil
was the mouthpiece was sadly handicap
ped. and has been only partially carried
on But with the coming year things can
be different. When our bankers or mer-
chants trade with their customers Tor
the coming year, they can have in view
the fact that European spinEers will be
again bearing the market for September
as they did this year, and that 1t is nee
eSSary THAT the farmers SnolHu n;lNe
sulncient latitude in which to- fight this
combination. There are two plans by
which merchants and bankers can ac-
compiish this result with perfect safe
ty to themselves, the first of which is
to let their customers have until Decen-
Der or january in which to settle UP, or
to loan them a sufficient amount of mon
ey upon their crop next September to
enable them to hold it back from actual
sale to the world abroad.
This is a condition which must be met
and discussed, and i'm the settlement Of
which our business men are even more
interested than are our farmers, for the
farmer is accustomed to privation,
whereas that which will come upon the
merchant and banker will be over
whelming because of its novelty. Now IS
the time to study out the plan SO that
next year we will be ON the right side OF
1lx. bot