Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1905-04-11
COTTON CONSUMPTION
Valuable Information and Sen.
sible Advice.
COMPREHENSIVE FACTS AND FIGURES

sible Advice.
COMPREHENSIVE FACTS AND FIGURES.
The Farmers Have Made Good Fight
Up to This Time; But Unless They
Now Reduce the Acreage All Will
Be Lost-The Mills of the World
Can Only Consume 100000 Bales,
and Il Is the Height Of Folly to
Offer Them More.
President Harvie Jordan, Of the
Southern Cotton association, has pre-
pared since his return from Texas and
the other western states, an article
regarding the consumption Of Ameri-
can cotton In the markets OF the world,
showing exactly the amount necessary
to supply the demand. Mr.. Jordan
points out that the southern people
are still holding on to their cotton
everywhere, and that this holding
coupled with the vigorous campaign
made by the association has helped
keep the price up. He shows clearly
that another such crop as the one OF
last year would result disastrously to
the south. Mr. Jordan says:
1.-The American cotton crop Of 1904,
as recently estimated by the United
States census bureau, amounts to
practically 13,60O,O00 bales. OF this
amount 100000 are yet to be ginned
and about 250.000 bales are what Is
known as linters, or the lint ginned
from the seed at the cotton oil mills.
This amount of cotton Is far In excess
of any crop previously grown in the
south. The last bumper crop was
made in 1898 and amounted to 11,27O,-
900 bales. The crop of 1904, therefore.
exceeds the crop of 1898 by fully q
millions bales.
THE consumption Of American cot
ton by the mills of the world at the
present time will amount to 100000
bales per annum. II the present rate
of consumption Is maintained, we shall
still have nearly "a million bales from
the crop Of 1904 to carry over into the
fall Of 1906 and to be added to the crop
which will be harvested during the
present year.
1.-The enormous crop Of 13,6O0,OOO
bales recently reported from the CEN
sus department Is, no doubt, practl-
cally correct, as the bureau claims to
have had reports from all the ginners
operating in the south and the esti-
mate Of the crop was based upon
those reports. If we have a surplus
of q million bales and the consump-
ton of American cotton is not more
than ia million bales per annum, Ii Is
quite evident that crop greater than
5000 900 bales the present year would
simply put the producers In a posi-
tion of heaping surplus and thereby
depreciating the price Of cotton next
fall to figure considerably below the
cost of production. Even the produc-
ton of a normal crop-in~1s06, added to
the surplus would give US another alb
normally large crop.
I'VE have been able to retard the
downward tendency in the price OF
cotton for the past two months be-
cause of the persistent holdings OF
SPOT cotton and the promise on the
part of the producers that the acreage
would be largely decreased In 1905.
If. however. on the Sd day OF June,
when the bureau report Is issued by
the United States government, the
acreage in cotton for 1904 Is shown TO
closely approximate that Of 1904. 1t
will be utterly impossible to maintain
present prices for cotton. and the ten
dency will be downward the balance
of the year. In the face Of the census
report and the undisputed fact that
heavy surplus Is to be carried over
into the crop Of 1905. it would appear
foolhardy indeed for the growers OF
cotton to madly rush forward and
recklessly engage in the planting OF
another large acreage of cotton during
the present spring.
There Is but one way out OF the
dilemma in which we are now placed.
The task Is not difficult one II every
man will do his full duty in the prem
iscs. That duty Is to reduce the cot
ton acreage on every farm planted In
1904 by at least 25 per cent for 1905,
and at the same time make a cores
ponding reduction In the use Of com
mercial fertilizers under cotton as
compared with the quantity used In
1904. There Is absolutely no other
way of solving the present problem
which confronts the cotton growers
of the south and to meet the emer-
gency as it at present exists.
Bureau Report on Acreage.
Under the present systematic
method OF gathering statistics by the
United States government 1t Will De
utterly impossible for the cotton
growers to deceive the public as to
the amount of cotton acreage put into
cultivation during the next go days.
The United States department OF
agriculture. through its thousands OF
correspondents in the cotton belt. will
have prepared a carefully tabulated
statement. which will be issued on
June Sd, stating the numbers Of acres
Of cotton that will be planted In the
south this year. If this report shows
general decrease in acreage Of 20
per cent, then the problem Of southern
prosperity during the year 1905 Will
be solved. If, however, the report In
dicates but a small decrease. or shows
practically the same acreage as that
of 1904, no power under heaven can
stop the immediate downward tenden-
Of nottar, nd Rna ncial