The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1901-10-11
Cotton Crop and Prices.

| 'N"N'uS Aht AuNdHCcs
Cotton Crop and Prices.
To the Editor of The Post
Houston, Texas. October i0.-we all know
| the interest Of the manufacturer and specu-
lator in Europe is to buy the American
cotton crop at the lowest figure posstb'o
and to do this uses every available means
they can In past years MeSsrs Nell
Brothers have been the medium of Europe,
lattcry their errors proved SO disastrous,
! costing their friends aud followers such
large sums Of money. tnat they have been
relcEated TO the past, Only a few weeks
since the Manchester Guardian contained
an article claiming this as the bumper cot
ton crop Of America and that Il would
reach 100000 bales. Then within the
past week comes a fuli-hedged Wild Briton.
rides on the cars from New York City to
Selma, Ala, and conveys the information
by telegraph and cable that the cotton crop
is enormous and he expects Scent cotton
IN our own country the large operators,
buyers and exporters Of cotton sell to Eu-
rope thousands OF bales before the crop is
gathered and SO their interest. like that OF
Europe, is to do everything in thHr power
20 depreSs prices In order to secure profits
on sales made In this way The above
conditions are all against the interest OF the
producer
Today we have special and peculiar feat
ures presenting themselves, as follows:
! One year ago the cotton world became
alarmed, fearing a cotton famine, and
| prices advanced to II centB per pound
/ under that fear. Now The visible supply
| OF American cotton is less than last year;
| stocks In Europe are fast running down 10
and below last years figures Onird you,
when they had reached the danger polntl,
/ England seems TO have aroused herself and
! In the past four days the sales Of spot cot
| ton ia Liverpool have been nearly 5000
/ bales. Splnners In Europe and America are
| almost bare Of stocks-stocks NJ United
/ States ports are over 10000 bales less
1 than same time last year Much capital
/ has been made of the expected Fan River
strike by the bear element; In former years
such u thing meant much to the trade and
! reflected heavily on prices. Not so now,
] when the two Carolinas consume more cot
/ ton IN their mills than they produce, and
Georgia fast encroachlng upon her prod
uCt. Every bale Of cotton shipped out q;
/ by the product from some other state
| Hence the consuming world must come
/ West to secure their wants.
/ We now come 10 the base of II al--the
/ cotton crop OF America. The bureau Of
I agriculture at Washington has sounded the
! alarm. though the cotton trade, especial y
! In Europe, is loathe 10 believe II, That
l the decline Ia condition In August and
| September was something scarcely ever be-
fore equalled at the same season. Early
in September we estimated as follows:
/ Georgia 10000 bales increase Alabama
/ 10000 bales Increase Mississippi JppObu
! bales increase, or total of 10000 bales
| increase east Of the Mississippi river, Civ
ing the other States an Offset against last
! wear, against q decrease west OF the mis-
| sisstppi of 100000 bales. making total
| Of 10000 bales under last years crop
| Since then the commissioner OF agriculture
of Georgia estimates the crop In that state
! $1,000 bales less than last year Well In
| formed cotton men 10 Alabama state that
come cotton has been injured by frost
the crop turning out light and do not ex
| pect any Increase over last year. Messrs
a. 5. Johnston & Co. of Meridian, Miss
aud others say the deterioration In Sep
| tember was great and they can not, undel
most favorable conditions from now Tor
| ward make a big crop or such Increase az
| we expected. In Texas we are reliably in
| formed that the bulk Of the crop has been
| gathered and ~ per cent OF the cotton gins
In this State are running on less man ma, !
time Some Of the large oil mills held on
| and refused to pay the high prices ruling
for seed They now ind their mistake ana
| having contracts which must be nlled, nave
| Instructed their buyers 20 buy them wher'
they can ind any quantity for sale. An
| other feature Of the cotton crop sold betorC
| n was pitched in the ground. Never before
In the history Of cotton culture IN ieAa 81,
| was the crop almost entirely gathered 10y
| October 10. Top crop is the bears strong
| est card A good killing frost would
notify the world Of It's destruction, though
| scarcely any exists. since insects have de
stroyed what the plant did not she'd sum
ming mn the information now before Us
! Il x clear that our Views In enriy Sep
/ tcn'bcr arc much too high now, and th,'
crnn Is surely 10000 bales under the last
with further possibility OF running unael
"prices AS already Indicated, combinef
r7nro1e with thc large operators on TIM
Side, have ha ldied the market most ciey
oriy and kent Nrlces thus far from $40 u
| S56 ner hale lower than one year ago, dolni
| tsoiF most TO secure the bulk and cgeap
Of this crop at low and remipneratiye price,
| DoAa long since The China trade hai
anered ami they need much Of our eottol
Spods Japan had a surplus Of American
cotton left over last year, hut now that u
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