The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-04-08
COTTON ACREAGE
POINT TO LARGE DE-
 CREASE.
And the Amount of Fertilizers to De Used Under Cotton VIII FaIl on Decidedly in Opinion of Har-
 vie Jordan.


 | return to Georgia from a tour of the southern states in the interest of the movement inaugurated by the South ern Cotton Association, has written an article for the press of the south in which he points out that there will be a great reduction of acreage in every section of the south. MT. Jordan is well satisfied with his trip and the re- suits accomplished.
 In this interview he calls atten- tion of the press to the fact that all sorts of 'bearish" literature Is be- ing disseminated throughout the coun- try for the purpose of influencing peo- pie in every section to plant more cot ton. He cites instances of where the buying of so much cotton in Texas is all a fake, and shows up iI decided terms well known cotton buyer in the Lone Star state MT. Jordan says:
 Bearish Literature.
 Never in the history of the south has so much "bearish" literature been dis seminated throughout the entire cot ton producing belt as has been done during the past few months. The press of the south has unwittingly pub lished an enormous amount of these mfsstatements, sent out In special dis patches by people who are interested in depressing the price of cotton, and have been used as a medium to create false impressions upon the minds of the people with reference to the pres- ent movement of the cotton crop While the entire press of the south has given to the Southern Cotton Associa- tion and it's objects and purposes the most loyal support and cooperation, nevertheless. the columns of their pa- pers have been used to further the of publication of misstatements which have been furnished the press as ap- parently, coming from authoritative sources. The time has come. when the press of the south should criti- cally scan all statements furnished them from such sources and refuse to publish information of that kind until after a complete investigation has been made as to tn etruthfulness or falsity of the statements made. I am satis- fled that no southern newspaper would lend It's columns to the support of this bearish literature if they knew at the time of its publication that 1t has general. misrepresentation of facts and only intended to serve the purpose of depressing the price of our great staple crop. Recently, the sale of a few bales of cotton in any particular nefghbor- hood has been multiplied into thousands. A cotton buyer of one of the principal interior markets in Texas recently in- formed me that he had purchased over ten thousands bales of cotton in ten days. In discussing this matter inn mediately afterwards with the banker who advanced the money for the pay ment of the cotton bought by this par ticular buyer, I was informed that the entire purchase of this buyer did not a mn fA Ffftonv, and yet, the extravagant statement had been made to me that the fifteen hun dred bales of actual cotton bought had multiplied itself to ten thousand bales. Last week the statement was generally made in Texas that more than two hun dred and fifty thousand bales had been sold by spot holders during the three or four days when prices were up to ' IA cents. I was lated informed by large buyers at Dallas that the entire sales of cotton in the state that week would not exceed one hundred thou sand bales. Publications are made in the newspapers in Texas stating for instance, that the spot holders in Georgia and other states east of the river. are rapidly throwing their cot ton upon the market and selling it; also that the demand for commercial fertilizers fin the old states Is heavier than was ever known in the history of the south. The Texas people. gener- ally, are unable to verify these state ments. and, seeing them in the press of the country, naturally believe that they are true. On the other hand, the statements are made in Georgia and the Carolinas. that the farmers of Texas are rapidly unloading their cotton up- on the market and that instead of the farmers of Texas undertaking to de- crease cotton acreage for 1905, that the in that state will be largely increased. Seeing these statements in the press in the old states and being unable to verify them, naturally, the people believe them to be true to a greater or lesser extent
 But One Motive Desired.
 There is but one motive actuating the people who are sending out litera- ture of this kind. It largely emanates on the one hand from a certain class of our exporters who are heavily short on their contracts and want to weaken the present cotton holding policy of the farmers so they can se- rIre cotton at present prices, and on the other hand, by the large fertilizer dealers who have manufactured an enormous amount of guano and are making every effort in their. power to induce the farmers to Durchaae he