The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1901-09-19
IMPORTANT NOTICE
To the Cotton Farmers aud dinner,
North Carolina.

North Carolina.
In acsor.inus,. With Il Restitution ,t H.
recent meeting Of the Farmers Aii,n..
authorizing tn. appointment of d. r,,n'
mittee To is>u- an address to- the cote.
farmers, ginn. ~, and Others interested j.
procuring better prices for cotton s,,J
this committee met Tuesday in IN. cut
OF Raleigh aud authorized the iullowin,
letter:
HILLsBoRo, n. C., Aug. 81. 1901
To Tie Clifton Farmers end Ginners of No-,,
Cdro(iaa:
GENTLEMEN:-This letter is issued r..
the purpose Of awakening iu you an IN.
terest in and appreciation of the yaIns
Of the cotton seed crop this eomne
season.
As is well known, the corn crop in ,hs
corn growing States is short: in fact !,
is short in most sections Of the rni,.J
STAGES. We all know that q short cron
means higher priced corn, which in tprp
means higher priced hogs, cattle. etc
and for their products. As these rfoduc,,
advance in price, substitutes, such ne
compound lard, oleOmargarine, butter.
inc, ETC., largely take their places. The.
substitutes con6in cotton seed oil, hene.
the demand for that will probably h.
greater than ever before, consequence
higher prices. The cattle feeders Of the
West will have to substitute some oths.
feed for corn, and as cotton seed meal
has proven to be better than corn 10,
this purpose, it is but natural that tbev
will largely substitute cotton seed Meal
for corn the coming feeding season. In
consequence of these demands cotton
seed meal and oil will both bring higher
prices than heretofore This being true
cotton seed also should bring hrbr
prices than they have been selling for.
Within the past few months s,adi.
cate has been taking options on oil
mills, and now, it is reported, they own
more than so per cent. OF the mills in The
South. or it's equivalent in output. The
American Cotton Oil Company. il j.
claimed, owns 40 per cent, SO there are
less than 10 per cent. in output, accord.
ing to this calculation, that are indepep.
dent mills.
From recent occurrences it il probable
that these two oil companies, controlling
over 80 per cent of the cotton seed oil
products of the South, may combine or
have an understanding "a to the prices
to be paid for cotton seed. The situa.
ton is such, that in our opinion, the
farmers should take some action to pro-
tect themselves and have some voice in
naming the price their own products will
sell for. This can best be done By 60.
operation in selling. which can be accom-.
plished. The cotton seed crop of North
Carolina will probably be at low esti.
mate, 1O,OOO, 900 bushels. Of this crop
1000, 900 bushels will probably be sold.
1t by cooperation OF the farmers the
price can be advanced 10 cents on the
bushel, it will give to the cotton farmers
of the State SOC, 900 more for the crop
than they otherwise would get, but con-
cert of action will be necessary to obtain
the desired results. 1t is to be hoped
that the farmers in all the cotton-grow-
ing States will take similar action To
that end this letter will be sent To every
Southern State, that success may BE-
assured.
We deem this of enough Importance to
suggest that the farmers meet in their
respective counties at the court house on
Saturday, September 21st. and select
delegates to attend State meeting TO
be held fn the city of Raleigh, September
25th. If it ia deemed advisable, tow nship
meeting can be held earlier Than Septem-
Der 21st; each township or neighborhood
can determine this for themselves.
The short corn crop and the high
prices consequent thereon have made
this a golden opportunity for the cotton
farmers, aud it il for them to say
whether they will take advantage of it
or leave all the profits arising from these
conditions to the cotton seed oil mills
You may rest assured that they will rot
turn them down. In justice to your own
interests you should step forward and
offer 10 share these profits with the mill
men.
This letter is addressed to every cotton
farmer and ginner in the State, from the
least to the largest. Let them a.! CO.
operate. Let no reasonable excuse keep
you away from the meetings.
r. B. PARKER, S. Is. A.