The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1901-04-24
COTTON STATISTICS.
Mr. Bewden Calls Upon the Ginners to
Help.

AAs no Vucu Cuitb upon the G1lnef6 10 |
Help.
Mr. Editor-The continuous down.
ward tendency OF the price OF cotton
during the last three months has been
enough to arrest the serious attention
OF everyone who is at all interested in
Southern prosperity. Cotton has been.
ls and Will be for years to come, the
main market crop-the money crop-
OF the country commonly called The
South, consisting Of the South At
lantio States, the Mississippi valley,
together with Texas, Oklahoma and
the Indian Territory. The area con-
ta1ned in the, territory indicated pro.
duces annually in the neinhborhond
oI eighty per cent of the world g SUP.
Diy or raw cotton. The value Of this
crop to the farmer will amount to not
less than 400 million dollars for tho
crop that has just been sold, aud from
what can learn from statistics there
is no reason why it shonld not como
up to that figure every year, the crop
large or small.
MANY authorities maintain that the
consumption of cotton does increase
at tho same pace as the production
and that systematic curtailment
of the crop planted ia the only way
to maintain a price level that is fair
to tho producer. That theory may ha
true IL cotton is to be kept in the
neighborhOOd of ten cents, buC with
the price ranging from to cents 1t
only took few years for the mills to
catch up with the farms to suoh an
extent that the short crop OF the cur
rent year put them on tho verge Of q
cotton famine and sent the price sky-
ward.
The above theory seems tc be tho
one adopted by the Cotton Growers
Protective Association in its effort to
benef1t tine Southern farmers. have
the heartiost sympathy for tho object
of the association and the kindest
feeling that am capable of for those
who compose Its membership, hut it
seems to me that it is wasting energy
us don't see that any direct and
very little, If any, Indirect benefit can
accrue to the average cotton grower
by tho effort to reduce the acreage
planted in cotton. In tho first place
with the agitation for reduction in
acreage TINT has been going on ever
for several years with low priced cot
ton the farmer VINO now doesn't give
his attention first to raising his homo
supplies 80 far us bread and meat is
concerned ut least. cannot be reached
by resolution or argument and induced
to plant less cotton. Those who have
progressed far enough to raise their
food supplies are generally ready to
try another money crop if one could
ba found that would yield, everything
considered, better returns. The farm
or by nature and training acts almost
entirely on individual initiative,
n q t1I m t(N on
ted for cooperative or organized ac-
tion, and If 80 per cent. Of them could
be convinced that there would be
general reduction OF acreage with a
prospect of q rise i'll price every moth
er's son Of them would set about i'm
mediately to enlarge his own crop.
think that eventually cotton will
be forced from this section by compe.
tition from Western plains and the al
luvial soils nf valley and coast regions
and when the CITY population has in
creased and to an extent that will
make food supplies O remunerative
money crop to the farmer Until
that time c0mes the most of us will be
compelled to stick to cotton and raise
all we can after raising enough "hOg
and hominy," and biscuit" I will
aid, to feed all that live on our farms.
While the trusts Of surprising dimen-
sions are being formed on ell sides
very much doubt il the time will soon
come when a trust of the cotton grow
ers will be within the range OF pos
sibilities.
/ won't go into the subject further
as started out to say something
about cotton statistics and make q
SUGGESTION. There ism O business car
ried on in this country that ia based
on such unreliable information az
ls the business OF marketing the cot
ton crop. To begin with. the acreage
planted is only the vague guessing OF
u few. agents. government and others,
scattered over the cotton belt. These
men have nothing to base an estimate
OIL except the census report, only
conversation and correspondence with
q few men in the section they repre-
sent and have no doubt their estl-
mates. are verv generally wide OF the
mark. And then when the guessing
begins again OH the size OF the crop
and even at the end of tho season
equally good authorities differ widely
-as much as @ million bnlea or more
as to tho amount that has been made.
While these estimates are the basis of
the business of speculating in futures
yet they are Of little or no use to tho
owner of the actual cotton who must
sell to got his money.
Last wear the U. S. census office
mndo the effort and succeeded to
surprising extent Ill getting in direct
communication with the ginners Of
the South and received reports at the
end Of the season of cotton actually
ginned aggregatine 9.645,074 bales.
Tkese reports came from 80. $40 gin
neries scattered all over the cotton belt
and doubtless are tho most reliable
that have ever been published. The
census Office stands ready to mako this
a permanent work and get these re-
ports every year even more promptly
and fully than they did for the cur
rent cotton. year. What they want
aud need is tho corporation of all
who are interested in handling the