The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1900-08-19
LITTLE ACTIVITY IN COTTON
OPERATORS AT NEW YORK HAVE
NO DECIDED OPINIONS.
No Marked Decline seems Possible,
but Traders Do Not Expect
Higher values.

New York, August is.-operators In cotton
are strtdng the fence, willing to fall in
either direction. and the smallest thing seems
able to push them over. and peculiarly tho
least significant items have the greatest in
fuence.
To look at the situation the way the ex
porters and spinning interest do u is found
to be very momentous one. Think OF Il,
mills closing by the dozen both here and in
England, the China difficulties likely to make
serious complications any day, the India
famine and plague unappeased and still
cotton options firm around 8 cents in New
York.
The spinners have quit work in the face
Of these conditions and tho exporters iosi-
tate to do any more than they have 10. but
the floor operator and the room trader are
still rampant spectators. II anything more
than intrinsic value is holding cotton up just
now some old exchange men nero would like
to know wha. II -.
The presence OF the public in the market
should be especially appreciated. So far as
the New York portion IS concerned il has
always bcen said that 1t was 10 a considerable
extent maze up OF what IS known as the
"Nai street clement. This is supposed 10
be primarily stock dealers VINO in playful
way TOOK up cotton on the SIDE. But wall
street today can hardly keep IT'S own ex-
change gong. The average brokers' Once 10
empty OF custom rs. the Post correspond
emit was in Two yesterday IN wh.ch here Was
a total OF hve persons, four OF ihom were
dealng IN cotton ana the NTH was buying
bonnS for an investment. some stock
change men have every reason to be Lrdt efui
80 ms handsome cottDn institution on Han
over square
Cotton speculation has been kept up un-
wayerngiy Tor over two years now ana there
10 no syn al decrease. The commodity has
/ been brought from an unwarfantodly lDw
VaIuation TO figures approx mating real value.
There 10 no use OF reckon .ng on me more
immediate facts in trying to Judge the trend
OF the market The staple seems 10 lave
reached higher figures to stay ami cohs as
| ii 1t were seeking even better ones.
| In the matter OF points, however, the
| things that are most likely to cause nuo-
tuat.on can be stated briefly as these.
All widely published crop advices, with
| out regard to reliability. are very potent
] People who have no idea about the growing
/ of cotton say significantly that tle next
! thirty days is the critical period with the
/ crop" then they begin to look for crop in
| formation ana they mud 1t everywhere. Buy
| ing or selling is the immediate result. Most
! OF them are 80 unHophisucated that hey even
/ have faith IN the government report. Again
/ the loose way in which contracts are neld
/ by these spectators. the tendency they per-
! sst n showing toward continuing tho snort
! interest, their anxiety to cover on oven
hints OF a rise must be taken INTO consdera-
I ton.
/ these must deal to a certain eXteut with the
actual consumers and consumers there are
| not Just now.
August last word for Vt, is very fraii.
/ II shows a Willingness to go down that Will
probably only be Limited by its inactivity.
/ There IS no hope to induce the spinngrs To
| make purchases for several weeks 20 come
aud then It seems hardly possible tha. they
viii have gained much by having waltca.
Liverpool keeps up at the 300l-baie a day
clip. it has even failed to respond On scy.
eral critical occasions 10 the overnight &, n
tlment here, Stocks down there 10
point where 1t would seem that there mus
be soon absolute necessity 10 repleLisf
them,
Another factor not TO be overlooked Is tn,
Improvement IN the dry goods trade as
whole the downward movement pr!cc
seeming to have ceased and some reaction
taken place Profits to tho naker Of outloI
goods can now he reckoned even with h. h
er hgures for the material,
Altogether 1t begins to look as II the r"io'
of the commodity would not accommodate IL
solf to the late conditions surrounding th
[ textile market but rather that 'nc tsers o
, raw cotton will have to bring thsir cell MS
prices up to those allowing profits ater rur
: chasing the staples at current quotations
Stuart Achcson.