The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-03-08
JORDAN ADDRESSES CITIZENS AT CLUB President of Cotton Growers
 Association Talks TELLS OF BIG MOVEMENT Says Time Is Ripe for the South to Protect Herself Against the Man
 ipulators of the Market
 In the East.
TELLS OF BIG MOVEMENT

President Harvie Jordan of the South ern Cotton Growers association, ad- dressed a meeting of the citizens of Bir- mingham and vicinity yesterday morn ing at the Commercial club. The speaker told of the movement of the cotton men to organize and protect themselves and their product against market manipula- tors of the east. He said that cotton men wanted to prevent fluctuations of the market, and to hold cotton between and 12 cents a pound, making the sup ply just meet the demahd.
 MT. Jordan stated that the next time he came to Birmingham he hoped to have accomplished the purpose for which the movement had increased the value of the cotton crop s2OOOO.OOO, and that it would increase it millions every year.
 Basis of Prosperity.
 Mir. Jordan opened his address by saying:
 T realize that Birmingham is one of the greatest industrial centers of the country and that it certainly is the greatest industrial center of the south. You have great coal and iron interests that will probably absorb your atten- tion almost exclusively, but I am here for the purpose of asking you to give the cotton question a little of your at tention. You must admit that the cotton crop is the basis of the south's prosper ity, and this being so, I think it would be of advantage to you to turn your att tention to that question and assist us for a little while to establish ourselves and help us to form a uniform rate perma- nently.''
 MT. Jordan then referred to the New Orleans cotton convention. held a few months ago, and said that at that time great interest had been manifested in the cotton situation and that definite action had been taken toward the work ing of movement for the proposed pur- poses. Speaking of the present situation he said there was now a surplus of at least two million bales of cotton in the south which was going to waste in various ways, and that unless something was done a large amount of money would be wasted to the southern farmers. He said that at that convention the bankers and merchants had met with them and prom ised their assistance, and that so far the promise had been carried out. He was very much encouraged by the as- sistance he had been given.
 Price of Cotton.
 In regard to the price of cotton Mir. Jordan said that 1t was the aim to secure a uniform price.and that to gain this he proposed that the production of cotton for this year be limited to 100000 bales which added to the present surplus of 100000 bales would give total of It, 0eO, ,000 bales to be used during 1906, which he said was all that could possibly be needed. If larger crop than this was produced he said there was certain to be a large amount to go to waste He said that in February last year the price oi cotton was 171z cents while this year it was as low as cents. While f1uctua- tions like this was taking place, he said the south could hope to attain nothing, and that so long as this state of affairs existed in the agricultural field the other industrial pursuits could not make very much headway. He hoped for the year 1896 to establish a uniform price of cot ton from to 12 cents, and said that if this was done the bankers and merchants of the south would be more willing to render their assistance in dealing with the financial part of the business.
 The South's Cotton.
 Mr. Jordan then spoke of the southern cotton as against the cotton that is rais- ed in India and elsewhere. He said that there was no cotton in the world that was as good as that produced in the south, but that the reason the south did not maintain the supremacy 1t should was owing to the fact that there was no system at present in the regulation of the cotton market. He said that last year foreign countries sent to this coun- try over s53OO0.O00 in gold in exchange for about TO per cent of the southern crop. He told of the absolute need of a well equipped system of bonded ware houses, and stated that it was the hope of the committees appointed at the New Orleans convention to arrange a system of these warehouses that would grant such safety to the cotton placed in stor-