The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-12-31
THE SORrH-BURLEsON c.
sPnNnENcE
CoRRE-

whether or not they want the govern
! ment 10 continue 20 collect and
publish the cotton statistics il OBJ
tains from the ginners. II they
don't want them il Is an easy mat
| ter for them to have the publication
Of them stopped. It is costing the gov
eminent $4,000 a year to publish
them. and it is certain the government
| isn't anxious to continue the work If
the cotton farmers are not benefited
by 1t. Il win be recalled that the work
was undertaken at their request. A
condition Of affairs existed that was
almost intolerable. Agents Of the
! great English cotton firms were scat
/ tered all over the cotton belt, and
/ their reports were Of a character to
/ create the impression that the crop
was larger than il really was. There
/ isn't a cotton farmer OF intelligence
who doesn't remember the outcry there
was against the reports Of the condi-
ton OF the cotton crop that Mr.. NELL
sent broadcast over the world every
fall If we are not mistaken they
spinner and against the farmer. It
was because Of these reports, and
others Of a similar character, that an
appeal was made to the government
to undertake the work Of collecting
and publishing statistics relating to
the cotton crop.
Until this year the reports were sat
isfactory. The reason they are not
popular this season is that they have
caused a slump in the price of cotton.
but it IS not asserted that they are not
true. It is a fact, Of course, that the
claim has been set up that the ginners'
reports are not always to be relied up
on, and that when published by the gov
eminent they give too great a jog TO
the cotton market There may be some
truth in this, but, as a matter of fact,
is il not in the power Of the cotton
farmers to have them about as correct
as it Is possible to have such Stats
tics? In some localities there may be
ginners who give out false reports sim
ply because OF business rivalry among
themselves, but if the cotton farmers
let it be understood that they want
only correct information published the
ginners will respond to their wish in
the matter It is TO the interest of
ginners to be in harmony with the
farmers. There is no reason, other
than the foregoing one, why the gin
ners should give out false information
.
ment should abandon the work? The
agents Of the spinners-the foreign
spinners as a rule-would come into
the field again and their reports would
dominate the cotton market, just as
they did before the present system
was inaugurated.
Now the farmers get pretty near
the truth and the market is Influenced
By the reports which the government
sends out When the indications are
that the crop will be a big one the
market goes down. and when. as was
the case last year. they indicate the
crop VIII be a small one, the market
advances, but it is worthy of notice
that the information is of a character
TO enable the farmers to act before
the market is very seriously disturb
ed. This year. for instance, the far
mers We're able to see for themselves
that the crop was likely to he a big one,
and big percentage of them needed
the warning and sold their cotton.
Others thought that the market would
stand a much larger crop than that of
last year, and so held on to at least a
part Of their crop. 1t was impossible
for them to forsee. it was impossible
for anybody TO forsee. that the season
was going to be a phenomenal one in
respect to weather. permitting picking
to go on every day from Sept. to
Christmas But the farmers had
crop at a price that would yield a good
profit.
What viii happen IL the proposed
Cotton Ginners' Association is formed
and information given out only to gin
ners and farmers? Will the informa-
tlon go to all the farmers at once. as
it does under the present system, or
will It get into a few hands and be
used for speculative purposes? That is
a question which the farmers can an
swer as well as others.
AS far as we are able to see the
present system is the best one that
has yet been devised for the interests
of the farmers. They get the in
formation as soon as the spectators.
and it is In their power. as we have
| pointed out, to make it sufficiently ac-
curate for their purposes. Still, as
Director North intimates. if they don't
want it they are not obliged to have
it. If they encourage the ginners to
withhold the Information Director
North will be out Of business. but
would their interests be better served
then? If. for instance. the crop next
year should be a short one. wouldn't
the government report be helpful to
them?
ARMOR PLATE CHARGES.