The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-08-02
HIGH PRICE OF COTTON IS
 NOT DUE TO SPECULATION

on the world that not only were we right but that we are face to face with an &C., tual cotton famine, and that the next crop Is a month late.
 We are accused of cornering the mar ket and holding the cotton. The fact of the matter is that we broke up corner of the cotton market. When we bought this cotton, 1t was with the intention of insisting on delivery. 1t is not our look out that the sellers thought we could not come up to the scratch and pay for 1t. We bought the cotton, and now have practically all of the American visible supply. But we are not holding 1t. 1t was hoarded in New York for the pur- pose of bearing the market, and now that we have 1t, we are selling 1t to the mills right along. This has been denied time after time in New York, and 1t has been stated that the mills would close down rather than pay the market price for the raw product Many of the mills have closed down, and many more will close down. but that will not affect the situation. Do you know that the entire visible supply of American cotton would not keep the mills running one week? We are supplying both eastern and southern mills, and even selling cotton to European mills. Today l sold about 5000 bales of spot cotton. l have been HlHnB OfueTb TibHl dloHBs VIII toH- tinue, as long as l have the cotton to sell, and get a fair price for it.
 "The price of cotton has not advanced in relative proportions as the price of other commodities. Look at iron, and compare the price of today with what it was five years ago. Take pork, corn, mules and take labor. That Is the ques- tion in the production of cotton. The great industrial development going on in hao ho al Iar do from the cotton fields by increased wages. The negroes are flocking to the towns and cities. and are working in lumber and railroad camps, until 1t has become almost impossible to get labor in some localities. The wages have to be increased and an increase in the price of cotton in proportion to the increased cost of production is not only natural, but actually necessary. The south has a monopoly of the production of short sta pie cotton for the world, and the con sumption is continually increasing. In Europe they realize the situation. There is talk of holding conference In Ger many on the question of developing the production of cotton so as to assure a supply for the European mills. If has already assumed the form of serious problem there. They foresee a large in- crease in the demand for manufactured cotton goods, and they cannot see where the raw product is to come from.
 "The bull campaign has demonstrated one fact: that the bear clique in New York cannot dictate the price of cotton all the time. This one fact alone Is of inestimable value to the south. By mak- ing New Orleans the cotton market of theN world, something has been accom- plished which will benefit every planter in the south directly. and the whole south in a general way"
 Mir Brown was asked about the '1n- visible supply" which has been fre- quently alluded to as a source of danger to the bull movement. He replied: That is all thin air. There is no such thing as an invisible supply Do you suppose for an instant that a mill Is going to load up on cotton at 10 or 12 cents pound