The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-07-04
AS VIEWED BY BROWN
LEADER OF BULL MOVEMENT IN
 COTTON STOCKS.
Says His Campaign Is Not e Matter of speculation-Requirements of Trade are More Than the
 Crop, He Declares.


 Baltimore. July 3.--(Special. 1.-The Man
 ufacturers, Record publishes this week a
 dispatch from its correspondent at New Orleans containing an itnerview with w. P. Brown. the leader of the great bull
 movement in cotton, in which Mir. Brown
 talks as follows about cotton prospects,: This is not a matter of speculation.
 We are merchants of cotton and have
 been for a good many years. I have been a bull on cotton ever since 1t was selling at 41-2 cents. Cotton has simply gone up in common with other values. When cotton sold at i-2 cents other things were low. Iron has gone rom v a ton to as much as $26 in this period ana iron Is not subject to drought or to poil weeyil All you have to do Is to dig the ore from the ground and turn 1t into pig iron. Cotton Is selling at It's present price because 1t is satisfactorily worth it. Last fall predicted that this crop would be about 10, 0,OO0 bales. and 1t is being de- monstrated that my prediction was about right. The requirements or trade are very much more than that.
 .S,onditions entirely warrant present prices. for cotton has never failed to sell around present prices with the statistical condition anything hke as strong as the present one There Is not only a famine in cotton, but there is famine in dry
 goods now. If the mills shut down, Of
 course that will add very much to the present scarcity of dry goods supplies. Aithourh manufacturers and jobbers of
 dry goods complain that they can't sell goods on the present basis of raw mate rial. this will eventually regulate itself. Consumers must pay the prices or so without the goods, and we know they won't do that. Trade all. over the world was scarcely ever better and the consum- ing world is in condition to pay high prices. It is a mistaken idea that cotton has been forced to present prices. A le- gitimate demand and 'oe strong statisti- cal position have put prices where they are If this were not the case wouldn be pulling cotton at present prices, If prices had been forced up. and the actual stun could not be sold at present prices I woald say that. cotton was dangerously higa.
 AS to the new crop. it is exceedingly late. This adds very much to an already strong situation, as we cannot expect much new cotton now until late in Sep tember. As to. the size Of the new crop, 1t is entirely too early to say much, though we know a late crop Is subject to great many more necessities than an early one. For instance there are three things that could make this crop fail k | few weeks, or a severe drought during July and August; or an early frost. On l the other hand, if none of these things happen and we have perfect conditions | all the way through and very late fall. we might make an average crop. But II | is easily to be seen that the odds are against this years crop turning out an average one and the world needs a big crop a very big crop. Eleven and hall million to twelve million bales would moi be any too much. In fact, with a croI of 11,5OO,000 bales, I think prices VII range high all during next season. The whole truth of the matter is, consumption
 has overtaken production and there is not i much of either raw material or manu1ac' | tured goods on hand.
 | In spite of the temporary effects oi high-priced cotton Southern capital aIit l capital from other parts of the country | are finding steady investment in South l ern textile enterprises, the additions tC
 | established mills has for some time pas' | exceeding the investment in new mills
 | Reviewing the second quarter Of the year
 The Manufacturers Record says tha
 | while there were no especially large in
 dividual enterprises announced. severa
 | $500. 900 companies were organized with al | the required capital secured. During tht
 | three months eighteen new mill compa' | nies were organized with total of 1l9, ,5Ol
 | spindleS and 2s64O looms 10 D0 InStaHeO | indicating an expenditure of about e, 300 900 and nineteen established mills an nounced their intention to add 172.554 spin | dIes and 2,369 looms indicating an expen'
 allure of about $3, ,460,OO0. The total of ad- ditions is 202,054 spindles and 6,le0 looms | requiring an expenditure of about $0,S4O,- 900. Of the additions Georgia is to have | 95, ,112 spindles, South Carolina 96,OOO. North l Carolina 7S.9E2. Alabama 1sOOO and Vir' | ginia 6vvV.
 | During the first half of the year there was a notable activity in organizing com panies for the erection of oil mills. Ac- cording to The Manufacturers' Record | the new capital invested in this industry during the past six months is greater than the whole capital represented in cotton | oil mills in 1880. Tn that year the South | had 70 oil mills with a capital of s3,60O.0OO l During the past six months 94 new com | panies were organized to build mills al an estimated cost of $3.675,0O0. In this movement the greatest activity was ir | Arkansas, where .7 new companies were | formed with a total capitalization of 0.- | 17OVO0. Mississippi was second with Il | companies, capitalized at $665,O00; South | Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Louisiana, | Texas, Alabama. North Carolina. IndiaT
 | Territory and Oklahoma. following in the
 order named as to the amount of capita
 invested.