The leader., 1905-03-01
ADDRESS TO
MISSISSIPPI IANS.
ISSUED BY THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE
APPOINTED BY THE STATE COT.
TON PLANTERS CONYEN
TION FEB. Il.
Some Very Wise and Timely Sugges-
tons that the People Of this
State Should Carefully Con.
slider Read and Decide
to Act On.

G1OS NY VAAC - pi|[AlNt NOA1lA91tOGC vi
the Cotton Planters Convention,
composed Of Messrs. e. H. Noel,
j. 6. Hardy and N. b. Crawford /:
10 the People Of Mississippi:
The Mississippi organization of
1.-THE Southern Cotton Association
invites your attention to the ne
cessity and method of organized
efforts on the part of those affect
ed by cotton production.
The South, fits opportunities
are properly utilized, will become
the most favored and prosperous
agricultural part of the earth.
Climate, soil and seasons give it
a practical monopoly Of fone of the
worlds most needed products,
cotton. During the four years Of
our civil war, when the plice Of
cotton reached about a dollar a
pound, and ever since, especially
when prices were high, all other
parts Of the earth endeavored to
deprive us of our supremacy; but
only about fifth Of the total
yield, which does not appreciably
affect the price, is their utmost at
tainment. By proper regulations,
limiting the amount of cotton rais-
/ ed to what will command remu-
Inerative price, by increasing con-
sumption, by cutting off all avoid
able expenses Of intermediary
handling, and by iudicious mark
Ieting. the land and labor employ
ed in cotton production can be
made the most profitable of The
world. All of this can be certain
| Is accomplished by sensible and
we'll organized effort. The cotton
manufacturers of all countries are
combining into one association
which will act through one set of
buyers and utterly destroy com
petition. By organization, cotton
| producers can treat directly with
this organized body, discussing
conditions, agreeing on prices
THAT would be permanently remu-
lucrative to both, ending gambling
lin futures and artificial fuctua
tions of values.
A crop of ten or eleven million
bales is worth, now, $100, 900 900,
more than a crop of $4,000, 900
bales. Had one-sixth of the time
employed in producing this crop
been spent in idleness, cotton pro-
ducers would have been more than
800, 100000 the gamers. Indus
TRY should never be punished, nor
| is it, when properly directed, nor
SHOULD idleness be encouraged.
IF instead Of spending sixth
Of the time in idIeness the pro-
ducers of the South had devoted
that portion of their energy, labor
land capital to other and diVersi-
fed crops, corn, forage, trucking
/ Hive stock, ETC., our section could
have been more than $200, 900, 900
1.-THE net gamer. This proposition
is manifest to all well informed
people who give the subject
Thought.
Some contend that FIVE cent cot
ton is better than ten cent value,
but this is a delusion, unless pow
Ierty for cotton producers and q
starvation scale of wages and liv-
ing constitutes a public good.
Mississippi's present crop is es-
timated at one and one half mil
llion bales. An advance of one
cent per pound, FIVE dollars per
bale, means seven and one half
million dollars brought into our
borders, chiefly from England, a
larger amount than is needed to
pay all State, county and other
taxations. An advance Of four
Eeents per pound on a million bale
crop means $20, 700 900 brought
ito us from the outside world,
would be so evenly distributed
there's not a man, woman or child
lin our borders would not be I'M
Intensely the gamer. With just
prices for cotton the wealth of our
State could soon be doubled and
its prosperity become unsurpas-
sed.
OroaniZati0n will cprtainlV All.