The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-01-10
WILL AID FARMERS
 ID HOLD PRODUCT
Virginia-CaroIina Co. Will Ex-
 tend Notes of Patrons
COTTON IS DISCUSSED
Company VIII Allow Farmers Money On Cotton to Prevent Their Having to Sell It at Low
 Prices.

s. T. Morgan, president of the Virginia
 Carolina Chemical company, has Issued
 letter to the division sales managers
 instruoting them to do all in their power
 to aid the cotton-growers in holding their
 cotton when they so desire.
 | The letter instructs that any notes
 of farmers held by the company be con- tinued for six months longer on request of the farmer, provided that he delivers
 warehouse receipts for cotton covering the value of the note. The action Is taken
 to allow the farmers to protect them- selves against the low rates The follow
 ing Is a copy of the letter received in | Birmingham.
 ITO the Division Sales Managers Vir-
 ginia- a-Carolina Chemical Company: "Gentlemen-The treasurer of this com
 pany is having so many requests to ex- tend the notes of some of our customers
 and patrons, who have not finished paying | their bills and who desire to hold theip cotton, stating that they believe they will get more for the cotton later on. that his company concluded to issue
 general letter on the subject as fol- lows:
 Any farmer or merchant who may be owing your division money and who has
 cotton which he desires to hold you are
 at liberty to extend his note for him for
 six months from January 1, with interest | at the rate of per cent per annum, pro- | vided he will deposit sufficient cotton to l pay the note in any reliable warehouse,
 and will turn over to you warehouse re- ceipts for same. You are authorized to l pay the insurance on said cotton and
 make no charge against your customer I for this item.
 Every Facility.
 I've do not pretend to offer advice | to our customers to hold cotton, but we do intend to offer them every facility and I accommodation In our power to hold their cotton, if in their good judgment 1t is best. Whatever fnures to the benefit of the agricultural classes in the south is to our benefit; our interest Is identical with theirs We are more closely and intimate ly connected with the cotton grower of the south than any dozen other concerns combined. They are our customers in I the purchase of fertilizers, and we are 1 their customers in the purchase of cotton | seed. We both sell and buy of them and l deal In every cotton-growlng county from l Texas to Virginia. Therefore anything l that WILL improve lne | tions or help the farmer must necessar- | fly benefit us, and if holding their cotton will be a benefit to them, 1t is our desire | to aid them in this as far as we can. "Other farm products, aside from cot l ton, appear to us to be selling at very | full values, and we believe 1t would be wise in the farmers to sell any of their other surplus farm products which would | materially aid them In holding their cot | ton.
 Acreage Too Large. We are also of the opinion that the acreage last year devoted to cotton was too large and that it never could have been cultivated in normal season. The | good weather during the spring enabled the farmers to cultivate every acre they planted; consequently the tremendously big crop of this year As ordinarily 1t would | be impossible to cultivate such an enor- nous acreage, we believe 1t would be wise in them this year to materially de- crease the acreage. If 1t was decreased | 10 per cent it would mean a reduction of more than million bales next year, even l if the crop yielded as much per acre as | 1t does this year.
 ''It strikes us that what the farmer | wants is to make his cotton at the low l est possible cost. The profit derived from growing cotton Is not so much the price
 
 has been grown. Mules and horses are | high-much higher than a few years ago; I the price of farm labor is high and scarce. Therefore every acre cultivated means a l large expenditure. It costs more to cul- tivate an acre of land growing a quarter I of bale of cotton than one growing a | bale. In the latter instance the plant soon grows up and shades the land, and consequently the grass does not grow so | rapidly or luxuriantly
 Cheapest Item.
 "The cheapest item that can be used in the production of cotton is commercial fertilizers used literally. With liberal application of fertilizer the farmers can grow a bale of cotton where he has here tofore grown half bale, and do 1t with the same cost of mules and labor and the additional quantity of seed will moro than pay for the extra amount of fer tilzers used. Therefore encourage your customers to reduce their acreage and to increase the amount of commercial fer tilizers per acre, believing, as we do, that this is the way and the only way to raise cheap cotton.
 "The south must continue to produce around eleven million bales of cotton, or they will find in a year or two the balance of tho world competing with them in growing this staple, and our for
 eign market largely supplied from sources that now produce but a limited quantity.
 Wishing for you a happy and pros porous New Year, and also for our cus- toners and patrons, l am yours truly, IS. T. MORGAN President Virginia-Carolina Chemical