The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-01-03
THE COTTON BURNING BUSINESS.


 In another place The Advertiser copies an editorial from The Indianap- oils Star. partly to show how the fake story about burning cotton in Georgia has spread. and partly to show how such proceeding would be regarded in other sections of the Union.
 The Star. 1t will be noticed. speaks of this cotton burning as "a shameful, wicked piece of business" and we can not say that the terms are too severe. If 1t Is not really lawiess. it should be made so. Tn one sense of the word we might say that a man has right to destroy his own property, but there is . broader view than that, for such an act affects the entire country. If the people of the Northwest, for ex- ample, should burn a part of their wheat and corn, in order to raise the price of the remainder. there would go up a chorus of protest and execra- ton from all parts of the country against such an act of worse than van- dalism. No doubt force would be used to stop 1t.
 The principle is the same. Cotton Is almost as much q necessity now as corn or wheat are, for the destruction of the crop. or large per cent. of 1t, would mean loss of employment and consequent suffering to many thous- ands of poor people. both in this coun- t- closing down of thousands of mills and factories would mean ruin, and would be worse than famine or pestilence in many sec tions of the world. As a general prin- ciple, no man has the right to destroy that which Is needed by others, wheth- CT 1t be food or clothing.
 The farmers are getting volumes Of advice and counsel from many sources, some of it good. some impracticable and some worse than worthless. The Advertiser is not going to set itself up as a counsellor, but there Is double line of policy that they can pursue that will be of benefit to them. They can hold their supply of cotton, where that is possible, and they can determine on a reduction of the coming crop It will soon be time to commence prepa- rations for planting, and if the price of cotton is still low when planting time comes a material reduction in the acreage will necessarily raise the price of the old stock on hand.
 In order to keep all the mills and factories going a certain amount of cotton is a necessity. Whether that amount was exceeded last season Is a question that Is not yet settled. The estimates sent out by the Government and from other sources indicate that there was another reason for the drop in prices. The last season was pecu- liarly favorable one for getting out the crop and getting 1t to market. The prices were good and the cotton was rushed forward. That indicated a large crop and the so-called expert statis- tics confirmed it. It was not to be ex- pected that prices would keep up un- der this double bear attack and they did not. But suppose all the farmers had rushed their entire crop to market as fast as they got 1t ready, would not prices have been bound to fall. and at an earlier period than they did? There can be no doubt of It. It is a well es- tablished business proposition that when the supply of any article exceeds the demand. prices must go down, and it applies to cotton as well as to other commodities. The unusual supply sent to market early and the extravagant reports sent out about the over-crop accounts for the drop, of course.
 The desperate resort of burning cot- ton is not necessary. In few weeks planting time will be here and then, if there is still an over supply in the country, and the market is still de- pressed, the farmers can take measures to assure smaller crop next fall, and if they carry out the plan prices must go up, for the world needs and must have certain amount of cotton Burn ing 1t is wicked and foolish, and a bad business proceeding.