The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-09-05
COTTON SOLD HIGH
MOST FARMERS LET GO BEFORE
THE DROP IN PRICES.
SAVANNAH RECEIPTS HOLD UP.
UPLANDs ABOUT EQUAL THE TOTAL
FOR SEASON 1s09-10OO.

A Decrease in the Sea Island Crop
Causes the General Receipts 10
Fail Slightly Short of Last Year.
Sea Island Cotton Opened with
Prices Up, but Collapsed in April
when Most of the Local stock
Was Sold-Prospects for the New
Upland and Sen Island Crops.
Cotton.
The year just closed was a very
satisfactory one to the cotton grower
so far as the matter of prices are con-
cerned. AS will be noticed below, the
range of prices was high during the
active marketing of the crop, the lower
range coming only when there was
very little left to be sold.
Savannahs receipts of uplands were
about the same as those of the year
before. but a decrease in the sea ISL
and crop causes the total to be a trifie
smaller.
The total crop proves to be something
like million bales larger than the one
before, but this excess all came from
the Southwest, especially Texas. The
crop was short in the eastern section,
and Savannah has Jared better than
neighboring ports. Detailed figures
will be found elsewhere.
Some harm was undoubtedly done to
the planting interests by various ad-
visors, more particularly newspapers
OF pronounced agricultural type, by
their urging the holding back of cot
ton while the market was at it's best
in the fall. These wiseacres knew that
the crop was less than nine million
bales, that the world needed ten OF
eleven, and that the price must go
to Is cents before spring. The same
class of people make the same mistake
year after year, and yet are always
equally positive and violent every
year. 1t is to be hoped that the plant
er will learn, if he has not already
learned, to follow the dictates of COM
mon sense, and ignore the urgings Of
these ignorant, although well-meaning
advisors.
The year commenced with middling
in savannah at &c, in New York at 95Sc
and in Liverpool 5 23-32d. Immediate
ly the market assumed a
skyrocket course, Influenced by
bad crop reports, and a
very urgent demand for spot cotton. In
less than two Weeks, that is, by Sept
IL, middling in Savannah had reached
10Bc, New York was lie, Liverpool
7asd
These high figures ruled for some
time, but as the autumn advanced the
very fine weather, evidence of a heavy
yield in the Southwest and talk of de-
preston in the dry goods trade began
q ina
end of October prices had materially
reacted, Savannah going to 13-16c and
New York to 91sc.
From this the market again rallied
savannah getting back to 9%c, and
New York to 10Ac, which figures to nc
lower We're maintained throughout the
old year, and well into February.
Persistence of the trade depression.
evidence that the crop was over Il, 900, =
QUO bales and universal talk of a big
increase in the next acreage, brought
about a downward tendency, which
with various minor fluctuations, contin-
ued until the end of the month, when
Savannah had fallen below Sc, and New
York to Lice.
Since then fluctuations have been
mostly spasmodic and of a purely spec.
ulative character. During the summer
savannah has ruled mostly around
81 puI uuIlnS august a stronger feel
ing set in owing to the decidedly I'M
favorable crop reports. At the end
of the year. Savannah was quoted Sssc
and New York 85sc
An exciting feature of the year was
a very successful corner in January
contracts in New York; during the last
few days of the month the price was
suddenly put up to 12Ac. This attract
ed so much cotton to New York that
nothing similar occurred in later
months, the previously existing small
New York stock having alone made
the January corner practicable.