The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-12-28
OUTLOOK is BRIGHT
MIR. j. p. WILLIAMS COMMERCIAL
FORECAST FOR 1904.
TALKS ON NAVAL STORES.
MARKET WAS NEVER ON A FIRMER
BASIS THAN NOW.

Produce Is Master of the Situation
and Can Command just Prices for
His PrOduct-Fifteen Cent Cotton
in the Near Future-Line of steam
ers Between savannah and Cuba
AdVOcated-New Year Will Be the
Brightest in City's History.
The turpentine and rosin market
was never on better basis than at
the present time" said Mr.. ]. P. Will
liams yesterday. THE year has been
one of the best in the history of the
naval stores trade and the prices were
highly gratifying and satisfactory.
While. in my opinion, the present
prices are high, and indeed in some
quarters might be regarded as abnor-
! mally so, yet 1 see no reason to fear
a retrograde movement.
THE fact of the matter is that the
! consumer for years past has been get
| ting the best of it," said Mr.. Williams,
and the producer has scarcely obtain
| ed enough to pay for the cost of pro-
| duction. Now all of this is changed,
the producer is absolute master of the
situation and is in a position to COM
mand his own prices, so long as he
keeps within the bounds of reason.
1t is not generally known" said
Mr.. Williams. that the sources from
which turpentine and rosin are OBJ
tanned are growing less each succeed
ing year. This is attributable to the
fact that the fires and cattle are de-
pleting the pine forests which formerly
| abounded in large areas in this and
contiguous states. Then. too, the
forests are becoming thinner on ac-
count of the ravages of past produc-
ton so that in a very few years the
supply of turpentine and rosin will be
very limited. AS the market price is
based upon supply and demand, and
as the latter is getting greater and the
former smaller, 1 see no reason why
the coming year should not excel all
previous years in the prices for naval
| stores"
Protect the Pine Forests.
Touching the question of protecting
the pine trees from the ravages made
| by fire and cattle. Mr.. Williams ad-
vOcated a rigid forestry law, which
would superintend the cutting and
bleeding of the trees, and a fence law
that would compel farmer to keep his
cattle within restricted bounds, THE
present lGNSs lie Sdlu, are ueaQ 16I-
| tiers inasmuch as they are not carried
| out stf.-.-
with proper protection, and with
proper care on the part of the producer
| the turpentine trade could be made
one of the best paying industries we
have in Georgia. The producer how
! ever, must not cut too many boxes,
and labor must be kept under control
in order to attain such a result.
Optimistic on Cotton.
Mr.. Williams is optimistic in regard
| to the future of cotton. Touching on
| the subject of the recent advance, he
| said: UNLESS / am very much mis-
! taken, we shall soon see 15-cent cotton.
Everything points to such a condition.
| Here again we have the question of
/ supply and demand, and on account of
! the short cotton crop the price at pres
| ent is not the result of a concerted eff
| fort on the part of one man, or any
| set of men to bull the market. Spot
cotton would be sold at the present fig
| ures if there was no such thing as an
| exchange in the land. The late spring,
| the dry summer, and an early fall are
| responsible for the shortness of the cot
| ton crop, and for the reasons just stat
| ed l think that the government will be
| in better position to furnish statisti-
cal information in regard to the size
! of the crop than ever before for the
! reason that they have had a better OPP
| pOrtunity to study conditions. The ma
| jority of the cotton crop has already
been sold, and this fact will help to
| maintain and keep up prices.
| The high price of cotton has had a
very material effect upon all branches
of trade" continued MIR. Williams, "as
| it has put unexpected money into the
/ hands of the farmer. This money will
find its way into all mercantile chan
| nels, ana therefore, l think that the
! coming year will be a banner wear in
| our commercial history"
Mr.. Williams warmly advocates the
establishment of a line of steamers be-
! tween Savannah and Cuba as outlined
! by Mr.. Moynelo in an inter-
view in the Morning News. "Such
departure" he said, would give us
great and additional facilities for ex-
! porting our lumber, cotton goods, naval
stores and other products. and would
be of very material aid to Savannahs
| commerce.
Advice to Young Men
Mr.. williams said the opportunities Of
| fered young men at the present time
| We're never brighter. But in order to
attain wealth and independence" he
continued, they must quit the cities
and go to the farms. Let them be
part of the soil. and not the slave Of
| aVaricious corporations. What this
country and particularly the South,
needs at the present time, is men of
| independence, for however small the
farmer may be the countrys further
prosperity must be made up by a
| multiplication of mediocre integrals
| In this connection he pointed out the
| advantages offered by Southwest Geor-
gia, and the rapid advance in lands
/ by this state and Florida.
What l would like to see," he said
lis agriculture taught in every com
| mon school of this broad land Teach
the boys the use of the harrow and the
plaugh, and that their future destiny
lies in the rural districts"