The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1904-11-09
MARKET COTTON CROP SLOWLY.
Appeal from Southern Cotton Grow
ers Protective Association.

citation, held at the worlds fair
grounds in St. Louis, Sept. 26, 1904,
where several hundred progressive
cotton planters were present, repre-
senting every cotton growing State ir
the south, the following resolutio-
was introduced and unanimously
passed:
Resolved by the Southern Cotton
Growers association in convention at
st. Louis, Mo, Sept. 26, 1904, That
we urge as fully as it is in our power
to do so that every cotton producer in
the south place minimum price Of
10 cents per pound on all cotton to be
hereafter marketed this season: that
no cotton OF middling grade be offered
f. sale if the market at any time,
due TO the fiuc5uating irfluences Of
speculation, fill below the price Of 10
cents per pound; that each and every
producer IS urg to market his crop
as slowly as possible, b l:eving tnat if
the crop is marketed slowly thri ugh
tie months OF October aud Novembe5
the price OF cotton can be maintained
at II cents per pound, it's true value
at the present. time, during the bal
ance Of the season.
Your committee further recnm
mends that this association iDsisi
upon the better handling Of cotton t.
the end that cur cotton when prepared
for market may be placed in more &C
ceptable, merchantable condition,
thereby eliminating as far as possible
macy OF the abuses to which the sta
pie is now subjected"
Up to the present time the cot:or
producers from North Carolina to tie
Brazos river, Tex, have generally
stood firm by holding a part Of their
cotton and refusing to throw it upon
the market at prices under 1G cents
per pound. With the most deter
mined efforts on the part Of the bear
speculators and other combinations
formed to depress prices the market
has only been forced down so points
below our minimum price, during the
month in which most of the farmer
obligations fall due, and an uaprece
dented season for gathering and gino-
ing the crop. The ginners' report is
sued Oct 18th indicated d That a little
more than 5 900, 600 bales Of the pres
ent crop had been ginned, while Sec
retary Hester's report for the same
time indicated that only about 2,000,
600 bales had been marketed, showing g
that ore than 80 per cent. Of the
crop was being held in the hands o.
the producers. If only 100000 and
a quarter bales had been ginned up to
Oct. Is, it must be clear to every
farmer that the high estimates placed
upon this crop by the bear element OF
speculators will never material;z,.
They are using the same devices
adopted last year to b.eak the nerve
of the producers. Note their figures
cf last year compared with the facts:
Mr.. Theodore Price, on Sept. %, 1905
sued circular estimating the crop
for 1903 to be l !, 144,855 bales. A. j.
Buston, the palace car statician OF
Liverpool, Eng, on Oct %, 1908, fig
ured the crop at 1l,250,00 bales.
Neil Bros. OF England est!mlted tn:
crop on Nov. "a, 1903 at 1000, 600
bales, and II. c. Gorst Of Liverpool
on the same date issued an estima'e e
fixing the yield at II 430, 1000 bales,
Now let us lcok at the estimates OF
disinterested parties: The Uuited
States department Of agriculture, on
Dec. 3, 1903, issued its estimate fix.
ing the yield at 1852, ,o39 bales. The
southern States ccm missioner Of agri-
culture in convent tion at Montgomery,
Ala, Oct. 9, 1908, estimated the crop
at 10,47l, 900 bal.s. Nov let US see
what was the actual crop. We find
that the actual cCm nercial crop Of
1903 04 amounted to 10 0l1,374 bales.
Note the comparisc u Of bear estimate
aud government estimates. The
United States department. OF agricul-
! ture vas under the actual figures only
49, 900 bales. The commissioners OF
agricu ture overeStjmated the crop
$50, 900 bales, while Mr.. Theodore
Price missed it 1,734,000 bales, and
the rest Of the bear element all the
way fIon million to a million and a
half bales. Mr.. Price is pursuing the
same course this season and calling
upon the farmers everywhere to dump
their cotton on the market so as to
depress prices and let Mr.. Bear"
Price coin his millions at the expense
Of hundreds OF thousands Of producers
in the south.
The recent estimate Of tie south
ern commissioners of agriculture in
convention at Baton R que, La, o.
tober 22nd, figured the crop for this
season at 10. III, 0G0 bales. MI. Theo-
dcre Price and other bear spectators
figure the crop at 100000 bales.
The commissioners of agriculture
overestimated the crop 100000 bales
lasi year, and the indications are that
their present estimate is not so far
wrong. Even if the crop should reach
II, 900, 900 bales the world wants
every bale IF it and the spinners are
better able to pay high prices this
season than last, tecause yarns have
advanced cents per pound this sea-
son and heavy demand for cotton
goods exists.
l therefore call upon the producers
throughout the South to stand firm
and refuse to sell their cotton at pres
ent prices. Heavy receipts depreSS
the market. The spectators have
sold millions of bales for future de-
livery and they want to buy that cot
ton for less money than the staple is
actually worth. The producers Should
demand from II TO y cents for the
balance Of the crop. They are in
position to force prices up by selling
the staple slowly. Debts have been
paid as rule, and there Is no longer