The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1905-01-06
VERY LITTLE COTTON
IS BEING MARKETED
Farmers Have Placed Their
Cotton in Warehouses
DECREASE OF $50 A BALE
The Drop Within Twelve Months
Amounts to Above Flgure-HoIders
Advised to Keep Cotton
Until Next Fall.
DECREASE OF $50 A BALE

The cotton market is very quiet. Com
partively little of the staple has been
sold for several weeks past.
The number of bales handled in the
Birmingham market ranges from 1000 to
5000 for the local crop, that which is
brought to the market by wagon and
from adjacent territory by rail- and the
total amount handled annually by the
dealers here runs from $1,000 to $4,000
bales. The amount compressed here went
over 100000 bales one year.
Only about 60 per cent of the cotton
which according to estimate will come to
Birmingham buyers this season. has been
received at the congresses. This has been
holding year from the first of the
season, when prices were to 10 cents
the planters were slow to SELL The prices
received for their product the previous
year placed them in a financial posi-
ton to hold cotton at will
The Gambling Spirit.
The phenomenal and untenable prices
reached in the season of 10000 seemed
- 'ASASo hAp SPtiih Vi tut bdiuDltT,
which appears to be, to some extent,
inherent with every man who handles
cotton, and conspired to make the mar
keting slow. Now tho severe slump has
put prices so close to cost of produc-
ton. the farmers are placing cotton in
warehouses, awaiting a turn In the mar
ket Some cotton men figure that one
third of the crop is in the hands of the
producers. and further deduce from sales
balance in storage.
Cotton Conditions.
In speaking of cotton conditions yes
terday. Walter e. Gardner, of w. d. Mes
bitt g. Co., said: "This year has been a
remarkable one for cotton. Within twelve
months COTTON has decreased in value $50
bale. The staple never sold, except just
after the civil war, so high as last Febru-
airy, and only one year--1S9S-rec
prices so low as were reached the past
week.
THE weather conditions were perfect. If
the farmers themselves had looked after
the weather bureau, seasons could not
have been more favorable. The autumn
was dry and picking and ginning was
finished without damage from transforms.
True the acreage was large, but 1 do
not believe the same acreage would pro-
duce similarly large crop once in a
decade. 1t appears to me we have 13,000,-
coo bale crop, but with all of this cotton
the present price is too low. just as last
years price was too high.
Price of UnsoId Cotton.
1.-THE price of the crop unsold will be
governed largely by the planting of the
1905 crop. the acreage, the season and the
stand"
When asked regarding the burning of
cotton by a few fanatics, Mr.. Garner
said: yes, I believe in burning cotton,
figuratively speaking. That is, 1 believe
in putting away about 100000 bales of
the superfluous crop until next year. The
farmers should devote the acreage and
labor necessary for Its production to
something else. and in the fall of 1906
place the old cotton on sale. Cotton does
not deteriorate from storage. 1t becomes
a little lighter, but the mills will pay
20 to % points more for old than new
cotton"