Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1903-09-30
rlMELy ADVICE 10 FARMERS.
Take Advantage Of The Cotton situation.
@sS aarksi suur Crop Slowly.

President of the Southern Cotton
Growers Protective Association, has
issued the following address TO the
farmers of the cotton growing States
The cotton producers Of the South
have long wished to realize good
prices for their staple and the oppor-
tune time has now arrived if proper
Judgment is exercised in marketing
the present maturing crop. To make
q success ofany business, thorough
knowledge of every department con-
nected with it, and judioious exer-
else of sound judgment must be dis
played. We have now reached the
stage in the worlds production and
use of cotton where the laws of sup
ply and demand can be fixed end
regulated upon a legitimate basis.
We are no longer faced with an
enormous surplus as was the case
each year until quite recently, giving
the mills and the speculators an op-
portunity to depress prices by claim
ing the existence of heavy stocks on
hand.
Since the organization of the
Southern Cotton Growers Associa-
tion in 1900, strong efforts have
been put forward each year by the
members and officers of the associa-
tion in each State looking to the
adoption of more systematio and
business like methods in selling the
crop. The rapidity with which the
great staple crop of the South has
been rushed on the market in past
years has been ruinous to the pro-
ducers. An enormous oversupply
has been created during a short
period of time when no legitimate
demand has existed. In the early
fall spinners have been in the habit
of buying supplies to last for 80
and 60 days only, after which they
retire from the market and the pro-
ducers are then left in the hands of
spectators who continue to buy up
the crop, making contracts with mills
for future deliveries as the staple
may be needed for actual consump-
ton. To force the sale of twelve
months supply of any commodity
within the short space of three or
four months will necessarily place
the seller at a great disadvantage in
the market.
The great object and purpose of
our association has been to, first,
place into active operation a scheme
by which correct and reliable statis-
tics could be gathered regarding the
yield of each years crop, and put
that information into the hands of
the producers, manufacturers, and
the legitimate trade as rapidly and
as early in the season as possible.
This is now being perfected through
the CO. cooperation of the United States
Census and Agricultural Departments
at Washington, by the reports of
ginners on the one hand, and the
reports of fully 10000 active cores
pondents through the other. 1t may
safely be predicted now that the time
is near at hand when commercial re-
ports, often gotten up for selfish pur-
poses, will become thing of the
past, and will exercise but little or
no influence upon the crop from the
standpoint of a statistical report
commanding serious consideration.
Our second great aim, equally i'm
portant as the first, is TO educate the
producers upon the high Importance
of moving the crop slowly, to mar
ket one-tenth of the crop each month,
instead of one-fourth, as has been
the rule in the past. If the growers
of cotton will cooperate to break
up the present bad system by which
nearly one-fourth of our cotton crop
is contracted for in October de-
liveries, a giant stride in the right
direction will have been gained. The
Legitimate market for spot cotton
can be and is as easily glutted as
with any other farm product. Two
important essentials are necessary to
solution Of this problem make
our fall accounts due in October,
one-third, January third, and
the balance April 1st the following
year, then begin to raise more sup
plies at home and cut the strong
band of the supply merchant which
dictates the sale of most of the
crop as fast as gathered.
This season the producers occupy
the strongest position in the regula-
tion of prices for the crop which is
now ready for market. Supplies for
the raw staple have been more COM
pletely exhausted within the past
year than at any time during the
past four decades. The present
high prices for spot cotton is due to
a scarcity of raw cotton, and de-
Mai OF this fact cannot be unioaded
on the shoulders of the Brown,
Sully "bulr' clique. The mills have
shut down because they have no
cotton to spin, and because they
caopot Gp1 :, tbo ..osI. -