The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1905-01-10
SAM JONES ON COTTON.
The Largest Cotton Crop In the
Worlds History-His
Solution.

loading cars with lrlsh potatoes. l
asked one of the gentlemen "What
are you getting for potatoes this
fall" and he replied. twenty-five
cents bushel." "Why," said l.,
"you got dollar last fall" eyes," he
replied, "they went like hot cakes
at a dollar" "Well," said I, "has
the trusts and combines done you all
up on potatoes?" He said, mo,
sir" l said, "What's the reason you
can't get bus twenty-five cents a
bushel?" "Too many potatoes this
fall" he replied.
Now, gentlemen, you can charge
up to Wall street, or cotton specula-
tors, or padded gin reports, the pres
ent low price of cotton. You can
resolve to hold your cotton, gentle
men, and a fellow can hold up a
hundred pounds, maybe two or three
hundred pounds, but when he gets
under twenty tons to hold it up, the
twenty tons viii, mash the giblets out
of him. It has been nearly two
months since I put friends on no.
tice, through the columns of the
Journal, that there was cotton in
Texas, and the southern states gen
orally, to burn. I did rot get half
through the cotton belt of the
southern states until I wired back
1Sell my cotton" This is the larg-
est cotton crop ever produced in the
worlds history and why the world
did not catch on sooner is mystery
to me. When I passed through the
cotton belt the first of November, l
saw all that came out in yesterday
evenings report. I have not said
50 publicly, but in discussing the cot
ton crop with friends I have put the
American cotton crop at thirteen mil
hon bales for this year and the for
eign crop at two and a half millions.
Cotton yesterday at six and five
eighths for middling, which means
from FIVE and half to six for most
of the cotton now on the market.
Our cotton raisers or farmers always
hold their cotton when they ought to
sell, and always sell when they ought
to hold. Now, let them resolve to
hold their cotton and then remember
what I said about a fellow holding
up twenty tons. The cotton mills
and consumers only want to know
that the cotton is made. They don't
care whether it's on board of ships,
in seaport towns, in warehouses or
lying around the farmers yards at
home. All they want to know is
how much cotton is, made, and the
amount raised, when it's known, will
regulate the price. Consumers can
no more hold cotton down below the
price fixed by supply and demand
than Sulley and his crowd could hold
it up above the price fixed. The
one will get as inevitably mashed as
the other. There is but one relief
now to the man with cotton on hand
and that is to fall back like the
old woman did when she said, amid
all her trials and troubles and tribu-
lations that there was one verse Of
scripture that always comes to her
relief. Some one asked her, "What
was that verse;" She replied, THAT
blessed old verse that reads grin
and bear it.
The bulls have done their best
since the middle of November to
hold the price up, and, in spite of all
that they have done and all they
have lost, cotton has been gravita-
ting to the line marked out by sup
rly and demand. The consumers
were willing to pay eight cents for
cotton until they saw by correct es-
innate of the crop that they could
get it at six to seven cents pound.
I've been going over the cotton pro-
ducing states for more than twenty
years. have seen more cotton this
year in the fields, in the cotton yards,
or, The dennt nlatfnrms niled lid