The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1900-03-08
KING COTTON
CLIMBING UP
Price of the Fleecy Staple
Jumps to Ten Cents.
NEXT CROP IN DEMAND.
Dealers Are Buying For Delivery Next
Fall at Prices Ranging From
Seven to Eight Cents.

Monday at the closing OF the cotton
market in New York middling spots
were selling in that city at 9 1916 for
uplands and 10 1-16 for gulf. May
closed Saturday at $3.50 and Monday
rose TO 9.54. Atlanta spot cotton
jumped up to 81, at which point the
staple was worth about S47 per bale,
which is more than it has brought in
some years.
Cotton is worth about $40 per bale
and the crop is worth about $50, 900, 600
more than It was on New Years day.
The cotton market is excited and
speculation as usual is heavy, but the
most remarkable and significant feat
ure OF the present situation is that
cotton houses are buying next falls
crop, seven to ten months ahead OF
time.
This is not a purchase Of futures in
the ordinary sense, but a contract to
take actual cotton when it natures aad
is ready for market:
Prominent cotton firms are Offering
to take next falls crop at u to 8
cents, and great deal of cotton has
been sold to them already. It is re-
ported on what appears to be good
authority that the fertilizer compa-
nies, who will receive an immense
amount OF cotton in payment for fer
tilizers, have already sold their con-
tracts at u cents to cotton houses:
The Virginia Carolina Chemical
company supplies large part OF the
fertilizers sold in Georgia and other
southern states, and is reported to
have sold an immense quantity at $50
ponnds of cotton per ton.
This would make the Virginia Caro-
lima Chemical company long on fall
cotton, and it is reported that they
sold or agreed to sell their cotton con-
tracts to prominent cotton house for
r cents. This would net them $27.1
per ton for fertilizers which sold last
year below $40.
Thus large part of the cotton crop
of this section has been bought with
fertilizers at q boom price and sold for
cash against the market.
The question naturally arises, how
can the cotton houses afford to buy
next falls crop?
The answer is that they can sell it
as they buy it, ahead of time, and they
do 80.
The speculative market is such that
fall cotton can be sold in New York at
a fraction over cents, and when a
cotton firm buys cotton for actual de-
livery next fall, it protects itself from
the hazard Of the market by buying
futures to the same extent.
The question arises again, how does
it profit them to buy and sell at the
same figures, paying commissions and
other expenses?
They contract ahead of time for the
handling of 80 much cotton, on every
bale of which they make the ordinary
profits of the business.
In other words, they are securing
business ahead of time and ahead OF
their competitors.
Other motives have been attributed
to the cotton men. It has been sug-
gested that they wish to handle big
| crop because their profits figure at so
much q bale, and knowing the effect
of such an offer on the acreage, are
pnblishinq it broadcast in the plant.
ing season.
Whether the have any such motive
or not, there can be no doubt that the
offer of " to cents for the fall crop
will induce the farmers to plant very
heavily.
The trouble about it, so far as the
farmers are concerned, is that it will
induce many to plant beyond their
means who will not be careful to make
themselves safe in doing so. The pub
lication of these advance offers for
next falls crop will affect the action OF
hundreds of thousands Of planters,