The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-12-07
BIRMINGHAM BEARS ANSWER BROWN Cotton Men Here Have Small
 Hope of High Prices FARMERS WON'T UNITE
If They Should Pull Together They Might Boom the Market = Prob- able Surplus of 1,5oo,ooo Bales
 Depresses the Market.

"If the farmers take W. P. Browns advice and hold their cotton they will get less for 1t than they can get today"
 That Is what majority of the cotton men in Birmingham said to a reporter for The Age-Herald yesterda.- regarding the interview sent out by the noted New Orleans cotton bull.
 Many of the cotton men here declined to permit the use of their names for publl- cation, for the reason that they did not wish their clients in the country to think they were hearing the market.
 Others talked freely. believing that ex- isting conditions require prompt and can- didly expressed opinions.
 Among these were w. L. Sims, a mem Der of the firm of Cothran & Co.,, who was inclined to be a trihe "bullish;" w. E. Gardner of Knight, Yancey & Co.. who felt that the market had touched it's proper level and R. H. Gilbert of Inman. Akers & Inman, who could sec no reason to expect a rise in prices.
 With the Farmers.
 "It looks to me-" said Mir Sims, ''as though the farmers themselves hold the cotton market in the hollows of their hands They can put cotton up or they can drive 1t down. They are absolute masters of the sltuatlon-if they only could be made to understand that they are.
 If the farmers were properly organized they could knock the bears on the mar ket out of sight and out of memory. But the lack organization. With them it is too often a case of each man for himself. They never even make unit ed, concerted and consolidated effort to keep prices up.
 If the farmers should follow MT. Browns advice and hold their cotton, the market would rally instantly and bound upward.
 "The question now is whether or not the farmers will have the sagacity and the sand to do as MT. Brown suggests"
 Somewhat Bearlsh.
 R. H. Gilbert said:
 There is, in my judgement, no process of human reasoning by which MT. Browns advice can be justified.
 q admit that if the farmers should all stand together they might stimulate the prices to some extent, but everyone knows that the farmers, widely separat- ed and unorganized as they are, will not do this. But even if they should do 1t, they would buoy the market only tenn porarily.
 "The big factor in the cotton equation this year is the enormous crop. Sane men never attempt to blink at a fact, and there's one fact in the situation this year that nobody can walk around or walk through, or climb over, namely, IaIN of cotton more than we can consume. And that estimate doesn't include linters.
 Now, in the face of that stern, physi- cal fact, how is any man with a. head on his shoulders going to expect, or even hope for higher prices?"
 w. E. Gardner of Knight, Yancey & Go. was about to answer The Age-Iier- aids question when a telephone call came from J. M. Crawford of Jasper. MT. Crawford wanted to know what MT. Gardner thought of the market.
 Here Is what MT. Gardner said over the 'phone:
 "Cotton closed 12 points today below yesterdays quotations. It has gone down no points since Saturdays opening
 Brown of New Orleans is advising the farmers to hold their cotton. I can't see how he can do so. think the crop will run above the government reports esti- mate. We shall have a surplus of at least 1,50O.00O bales and it may touch 100000 bales. The Fall River strike will cut down the demand.
 Browns Efg Job.
 My observation is that farmers sell oa a falling and hold on a rising market. Browns advice won't reverse that rule. The farmers, of course, think that Brown is just what the doctor ordered, and they have reason to think so; but think he has undertaken too big Job this trip when he tries to bull this market. I'm afraid he can't stem the torrent.
 q think the market has touched its proper level It may go down or up 30 or 40 points on speculative operations. To- days market Is, think, normal"