The Tupelo journal., 1905-10-06
TO The Farmers OF Mississippi

close COucn with the PreSlQ0ntS
of your various County Division
and issue an address asking them
to call their people together, or
to write letters to the members
of the Association urging them
to refuse to sell cotton or at pres
ent prices. We must check up
the present heavy movement
of cotton. It will be utterly i'm
possible to advance the market
so long as receipts are as heavy
as they are at the present time.
In the face of so short a cotton
prospect, it does appear to be
very unbusiness-like for farmers
to sell their cotton at or below
10cts. per pound, when by check
ing up receips they soon advance
the market to our minimum price
of 11cts. | hope to have your
active cooperation along this
line.
HARvIE JORDAN, President
Southern Cotton Association.
At the recent meeting in Ash
vile, N. c., the executive Com
mittee of the Southern Cotton
Association saw proper to fix the
minimum price of cotton at 11cts
basis middling uplands at the
home market. Doubtless many
of you may be inclined to think
that this price is too high, and
that we will not be able to main
tanned it. | want to remind you
that at the New Orleans conven-
ton much opposition was aroused
by the proposition to fix the price
of cotton at 10cts. The cotton
buying world ridiculed the idea.
| did everything in my power
on my return home after this
convention to prevent the sale OF
cotton, and begged and plead
with men not to sell their cotton
at 6 IL and Z cts. | have met
many men who sold their best
grades at these prices, who later
on sold their lowest grades for
10 1-2 cts. The cotton buyer
will certainly not pay 11cts. for
cotton if he can buy it for 10 IL.
If you sell cotton for 10 or 10 IL
cts, you certainly cannot raise
the price to 11cts., so you see
this matter is entirely in your
hands. Your Executive Commit
tee fixed this price after mature
elaboration. They wee well
a lvised as to the condition of
the crop, surplus and dry goods
market; | consider their action
Conservative, and believe that in
a very short while, you will re-
alize this price, and | urge yo Il
not to sell, provided, of course
you can finance your holdings.
If you are forced to sell, sell as
little as possible. | would al
wise and urge youto de vote your
entire time and attention for the
next thirty days at least to the
gathering of the crop and what
you hold, hold in the sead, as the
loss is less.
| have this morning received
the following telegram from the
President of the South Carolina
Division: Encourage your people
to hold; Eastern crop shorter
than expected"
Your committee were OF the
opinion that with normal condi-
lion q 1-2 million bales would be
the maximum crop; of course, to
some extent this is guess work,
but we shall endeavor to keep
you posted about the conditions
in all parts Of the country.
The bears point to the large
receipts. For the past eight
weeks picking has been very
general in parts of Texas and
the eastern belt. In many places,
| am informed that picking will
be finished by Oct. 10th. This
cotton has been ginned and sold
at from 10 3-8 to 10a cents; hay-
ing been sold it necessarily fol-
lows that it should appear at the
ports. In many sections the
cotton has opened prematurely
and everything potts to the
shortest crop we have raised for
years. Dc not sell your cotton