The Tupelo journal., 1905-10-06


cotton at any price to fulfill their
contracts. The present crop is
only nine and one-half million
bales, and therefore lacks two
and one-half million bales of sat
isfying the demand. If there
nothing to be considered except
the present crop, the demand
would force the price to fifteen
cents.
But spectators who want to
get peoples cotton at 10 cents a
pound and sell it to the spinners
for Is cents, will urge that there
is a surplus of two million bales
from last years crop, but when
you add this surplus to the pres
ent crop, itonly makes II, 800, 900
bales, or in other words the pres
ent crop and the surplus from
last years crop lacks more than
a half million bales of satisfying
the demand.
In view of these facts and of
the increased cost of production
the Ashville convention deter
mined that IL cents per pound
was reasonable and just, and the
present cotton crop is certain to
sell for that or probably for more.
The only question is whether or
not the Southern farmer and
merchant will turn the cotton
over to spectators for less than
III cents and permit them to
reap the profits of higher prices
later in the season.
The fight will be won, if the
farmers and merchants will hold
the cotton 60 days. The surplus
of two million bales for last year
crop would all be woven into
cloth by the first of November,
and the farmer could then get
his own price for the present
crop. This would be the case
even if the spinners could get all
Of that surplus, but the fact is
that the surplus of two million
bales is in the hands of men who
have held it for a year. who are
therefore able to hold it longer,
who have held it while cotton ad-
vanced from 6 to 10 cents, and
who are not going to turn it
loose when there is a certainty
that by holding it a few months
longer they can get IL cents.
The surplus Of two million
bales does not constitute the real
difficulty. tits merely used as
a sort of scar Grow by specula-
tors to frighten the farmer, and
deceive him into rushing his pres
ent crop to market. There is
not half the danger that the
men who hold at least half the
surplus will sell it now, as that
the farmer will be misled by it
into selling his own cotton. The
situation therefore, seems to me
to be entirely dependent upon
the actions Of the farmers and
merchants, and the holding of
the present crop for 60 days will
win the fight. 1t would be a
good idea for every farmer to
tag on each bale the date it was
packed and to sell no bale of
cotton until it was 60 days old.
1t would be a good idea for every
farmer to build a cotton house
and make it a rule that every
bale of cotton must stay in that
cotton house at least sixty days.
The trouble with cotton is that
while houses are built to keep
corn, peas. hay, mules, horses
and all other property, yet no
place is provided to keep cotton
the greatest product of the world
but the idea is that the cotton
will be taken from the gin to the
market and then redisposed of
at such prices as spectators
dictate. 1t is the purpose of
the Southern Cotton Association
to put a stop to this ruinouS prac-
tice, and we appeal to every
farmer in Mississippi to build a
house for his cotton just as he
does for his other property, and,
when his cotton is packed into
bales, to put the bales in the cot
ton house and there let it stay
until the price advances to IL
cts.
But some will say but the far
mer must have money to pay his
accounts, but / say that is not
true. Let the merchant wait.
Ii the merchants needs the money
to pay his debts let him get his
debts extended, and if he cant
get them extended let him bor-
row the money from the bank.
That is what banks are made for
It is a great deal better for the
merchant and the banker as well
as the farmer that the farmer
should sell his cotton at q prof.
table price, for it is out Of the
profit made on cotton BY the
farmer that the merchant. bank