Okolona messenger. (Okolona, Miss.) 1900-current, 1902-07-02

q EA/ been made to signify something an
ESe@< tagOnistic to business princi-
;; S: .ss e :3 %as E:
been attacked through penal legislation as an Of
fence against society and the State. The partlcu-
lar form OF speculation which has offended public
morals most grievously that which deals with ag
ricutural products and which, it is claimed, seeks
to fix in advance and presumably to his detrlment,
the price Of the products OF the tieT OF the soil
From the widespread opposition to speculation
as thus presented in a concrete form, it would ap-
pear at first glance that such methods OF business
or as MANY would term them, such Offenses against
business-are an evil of recent growth, malignant
tumor which is sapping the life OF trade and whose
eradication would give new vigOr to the whole COM
mercial system, if such an sunmixed evil really ex-
iss It's origin should be traced and its roots fol-
lowed until the last vestige be removed How far
q a. then do these sinister roots penetratef
yfe our immediate lorefathers goddess spectators
ike the race Of todayf We, Of the present genera
tion speaking of our own fathers, may have to
plead guilty for them it's just as well to skip
a few decades and 60 back to 'the good old days
before the war" when no nightmare OF the "Fu-
tures Of today disturbed the serenity OF the cotton
planters dream. For to us Of the South, agricult-
ure and futures both spell the one word cotton"
Perhaps in our research we had better leave out
the rOlicking, wholesoued planter, whose heart de-
lighted in the mysteries Of poker and the excitement
OI horse raClngs OURSELVES W
laced keen eyed men OF business at the great ports
where the lords OF the soil disposed Of their produce
Surely cotton in those days not at the whim
and mercy Of the reckless spectators! Let as see
what conditions were in those hRlcyOn days. First,
we must realize that the Atlantic cable was not
even yet dreamed of, and that sailing vessels which
could make the voyage from the gulf to Liverpool
inside of sixty days considered fast travellers
News of the English markets came to as by steam
er to New York, two weeks old, and thence By wire
to New Orleans. When New Orleans merchant
of today cables his Liverpool correspondent offer
at noon and gets a reply long before o'clock, the
time then consumed between the submission of an
offer and the receipt Of its possible acceptance
even using the wires between New Orleans and New
York going and cOming-wOuld have been full
month.
One can readily see how utterly impossible it was
to conduct business on any such line as those laid
down. It follows therefore, that the basis Of trad
ing must have been very different from that since
made possible BY the present quick method Of tele
graphing and cabling. What, then, was the system
which prevailed in that envied periodi Looked al
In the light Of present day trading 1t was nothing
less than the rankest speculation. Even when
mill agent in America bought for Lancashire
spinner the latter could not know what prices were
paid until weeks after the cotton had been bought
nor could he have any opportunity of adjusting the
price paid to the value Of his manufactured goods
BE simply had to take his chances as to gain or loss
as the Fates might decree. But the great bulk O
the cotton crop was handled by merchants-sOme
times also by the planters themselVes-whO made
large consignments to Liverpool and to Havre
trusting to find market favorable to their fortunes
or failing that, to hold their shipments in ware
house for weeks nay months, until conditions
should become more auspiciOus. Frequently the
simultaneous arrival of several ships-iOr sailing
vessels nOtOriously uncertain Of arrival-wOuld
cause q drop OF half cent or even a cent pound
on European markets and this contingency rish
which the exporter had to take. With such posi-
bilities ahead not to mention the chances Of revou
ton en- the continent Of Europe, then always neal
to the exploding point, what margin Of profit die
the merchants reserve to protect himseli And whC
bore the brunt Of al the risks that in the very
nature af things had to be taken by somebody Ger
anly not the consumer Whe bought his cloth in thC
open markets Of Europe, nor the mill man, nor the
exporter. In truth, and in word, the producer
finally paid, in reduced price, for all the risks
inseparable from business, carried on under sucf
hazardous conditions.
The planter or merchant who is paying ten pei
cent for fire protection on bis ginhouse and only OnG
per centon his city property does not need to b.
told that shipper In the olden days had to make
allowance for 3 profit on his foreign Consignment
i've nay even ten times as great as that which hC
nov readily accepts. The reason is obvious, and
the particular cause OF the security which permits
him to work on such slim margin Of profit as Al
present is the facility which the future markets
afford him to hedge or protect his purchases o.
sales Of actual cotton The producer today receives
for his crop within cent Of its selling value II
Ifverpool three thousand FIVE hundred miles away
Al generation ago the difference in price was some
thing like three per cent per pound, Of which, o
course the high ocean ireights Of those days Of small