The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1905-12-20
sULLY's SUCCESSOR.
Some Facts of Interest About Joseph
II. Eoadiey Who IIaGe Millions
Bulling Cotton.

After an lnterregnum extending
over a period from March is, 1904.
to the present, cotton has found new
king His name is Joseph H. Hoad
ley and no moro unique and interest
ing figure has ever donned the fieecy
robes and diadem that gave his su
zerainty over product which in its
unmanufactured state is worth more
than $500, 900, 900 and forms the basis
of the worlds greatest industry. Not
since the downfall of Sully has the
cotton market had a king" It has
its leaders, men Of resources, wealth
and power, but none Of Which exer-
cised that almost supreme authority
which the cotton market once in a
great while recognizes in an individ-
ual
Cotton is a commodity that loves q
master. 1t has seen many dynasties
come and go. Most Of the reigns
have been short and every one has re-
suited in ultimate overthrow. 1t is
long and distinguished list-Inman
fLa5ouisse ,Steenstrand, Ranger, Price
and Su1ly.
The present cotton situation is
from every point of view the most
remarkable in. all history After the
Sully year of shortage and high prices
the South preceded to raise cotton
crop the like of which had never been
imagined except by some Jules Verne
among planters. It amounted to a.
100000 bales, and the supply seemed
unlimited enough to start the world
with a surplus that never would be
depleted, provided reasonable crop
conditions were the rule. Everybody
was talking six cents and even five
cents for cotton in the south. But
here is where a mistake was made.
Dazed by the magnitude Of the yield,
everybody forgot about how the
warld had practically starved for cot
ton in the four years previous; that
the spindles of the world were naked,
the warehouses empty and the shelves
bare of manufactured goods. In ad-
dition to this great deal of heavy cot
ton duck that used up raw materia,
very fast was taken by both Russia
and Japan during the war. A great
revival spread over the textile indus
try. It amazed everybody. Lancashire
which only a year before complained
of being one vast pauper district, put
up scores Of new mills and added
nearly 100000 new spindles, the
largest single increase in any one year
in the history Of cotton. SO the great
IA, ,00O,0 900 bale crop was cut down to
a surplus of only about 100000 bales
by the time the new crop was begin
ming to move.
Something else was happening in
cotton This had TO do with very
unfavorabie growing season. In Mis-
sissippi Tennessee, Louisiana, Arkan-
sas and north Texas the season was
very backward and planting was from
three to four weeks late. May, June
and July had their drawbacks, and
the Government condition figures
showed quite plainly that this was not
a cotton year." as they say in the
South AS the season grew older it
became quite certain that the crop
would be short.
With the consumption Of cotton on
a scale never known before, and with
the new crop undeniably short, what
else was needed to make great bull
campaign? Just one thing-a leader
They didn't get another Sully, but
they did get dashing leader.
Joseph H. Hoadley is not mem
Der of the Cotton Exchange. Any old
time cotton man who has bought and
sold a few hundred bales of ''spots" in
the course of year probably would
regard Mr.. Hoadley as an outsider
in the cotton business, notwithstard-
ing the facts that he is a stockholder
in twenty-six New England cotton
mill corporations, that he has built
the power plants for about 70 per
cent of the New England cotton mills
and that today one Of the most cher
ished Of his great industrial projects is
an up-to-date system for hadlins,
warehousing and marketing the great
staple of the South.
But Hoadley did not know cotton
He had never sat on the end of
bale whiting away on a silver of pine
while he dicnered with the owner for
it's purchase. He had never been ..
planter and probably would not know
a cotton field from a potato patch.
But, in spite of these shortcomings.