The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-12-17
ADVICE ron COTTON FARMERS.

plans that are proposed to the cotton
! farmers TO get a better price for the
balance of their cotton than that now
prevailing. In Thursdays issue of the
Atlanta Constitution. there are three
of these plans outlined. The authors
| of them are Thomas E. Watson of
Thomson, Ga, who was the Populist
candidate for President, George Dole
Wadley of Bolingbroke, Ga, and E.
A. Crawford, of Tallahassee, Fla.
Mr.. Watson says the slump in the
price of cotton was brought about part
| ly by huge combination among the
bears and partly "by the method in
which the government report has been
handled" He is confident there is no
good reason for the slump that has
taken place in the price of cotton. His
plan is to hold cotton. He says:
Keep the cotton and you are the
masters of the situation. Make up
your minds not to sell until next sum-
mer. Do that and stop selling. Then
you will see cotton prices run up.
The bull can do nothing, the
bear can do nothing, the mill can do
nothing, without the actual cotton.
The man who has got the cotton can
dictate prices"
Evidently Mr.. Wadley doesn't think
Mr.. Watson's plan good one. Accord
ing to his view the price is governed
by the actual amount of the cotton
the size of the crop. Therefore, he
proposes to reduce the amount by put
ting part of the crop out of exist
ence. He says:
Let every owner of cotton in the
South bring to the county seat of his
county on the oath day of this month
one-tenth of all the cotton he holds,
whether in warehouses or at home,
and there in one combined pile make a
bonfire of it. These fires extending
from Virginia to Texas, and taking
place as nearly as possible at the same
time, would not only take away from
the supply of cotton in the South some
100000 bales. but would put the man
ufacturing world on notice that we
do not intend to furnish it for less than
remunerative price"
Mr.. Crawford's plan saves the cot
ton to the world and threatens the
bears with financial ruin. He says if
the cotton growers want to get ahead
of those genial gentlemen of the
North who have been industriously
kicking them for forty years or more"
they should carefully consider his PLAN
1t is this:
First, let every cotton grower of the
South go to his local merchant or
banker and have that gentleman buy
for him, through the New York Cotton
Exchange, a contract calling for 100
bales of cotton, to be delivered in Oc-
tober of next year, the price at which
delivery is to be made will, of course,
be the price prevailing now, as fixed
by the bears and spinners.
Second, then let every grower go
to his home and plant just exactly one
half as many acres in cotton next year
as he planted this year, producing
total crop of between 100000 and T.,
100000, instead of a crop of between H.
100000 and 100000, and--then rest
and be happy. Such a crop for 1906
will readily command 25 cents per
pound-S125 per bale-and q total of
about $500. 100000, at about one-half
the cost that was required to produce
this crop. Then his contract cotton
100 bales-will pay him the difference
between, say cents and 25 cents, or
IL cents net. $780, and he can keep
on being happy at the other fellows
expense"
Mr.. Crawfords plan promises much
the largest return. Indeed, if carried
cotton farmers so rich that they could
afford to give up farming and spend
the rest of their days in cutting cou-
pons off their bonds. But there are
two questions which he seems to have
overlooked. The first is, how could all
the cotton farmers be persuaded to
adopt it? The second is. if they did
adopt it. wouldn't the price of cotton
be pretty high before all the contracts
were placed?
Mr.. Wadleys plan would, of course,
affect the price of cotton. but while
every cotton farmer would be willing
for his neighbor to burn one-tenth of
his cotton, how many would be willing
to follow Mr.. Wadley's example and
burn his own2
1t is worthy of notice that in all
the plans the fact is recognized that
the size of the crop is partly, if not
wholly, responsible for the fall in
price. The bulls and the bears, the
spinners and the spectators haven't so
much to do with putting up or putting
down the price as that one fact. The
lesson, therefore, which the present
situation teaches is, don't plant so
much cotton. Diversity crops. Plant
for a fair-sized crop when the price is
profitable, and then the world will be-
come educated to cotton that yields
the farmer profit.