The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1905-12-20

as he is quick on his feet" it has
never taken him long to get on the
right side. One of his big cotton deals
this year was pulled off this spring,
when he joined hands with Theodore
H. Price in an effort to boost cotton
from the seven-cent level. Price got
tired little above eight cents aid
played for a turn Oh the bear side.
Hoadley persevered in his original
course, and inside of week Price was
back on the bull side again. Cotton
went or up to eleven and a quarte:'
cents Price turned bear. This time
he was a real grizzly with ripping
claws and thick hide. Hoadley still
remained bullish. Cotton went down,
and there was gossip to the effect that
Hoadley had lost a lot of money. Lf
he did his face never showed it. Cot
ton declined about cent and three
quarters. Price was triumphant and
predicted an immediate drop to nine
cents and below. Hoadley was just
as cheerful and just as bullish. He
said cotton would sell at twelve cents
before nine cents.
In the end Hoadley won out. His
profits must have been great. He fol :
lowed the advance steadily up from
nine and a half cents to twelve and ii
half cents, to say nothing of holding
an enormous line Of long cotton over
the census report issued on November
21, when prices jumped 100 points in
five minutes.
On account of it's rapid action, cot
ton speculation runs into money,
either for or against one, faster than
any other commodity. Even making
large allowances fer exaggeration, Mr..
Hoadley's holdings during this rise Of
800 points have been sufficient to net
him several million dollars.
The most unexpected development
of the Hoadley campaign has been the
rout of Theodore H. Price. The situe :
ton has it's ludicrous side when one
stops to think that Theodore Price is
considered the best-informed cotton
man in the world, while Hoadley
laughingly confesses he knows moth
ing about cotton.
And the strange part of it all is THAI
Hoadley is said to have gone to Price
and begged him to join him in a bull
campaign. Price, still imbued with
the idea, of a. bumper crop, refused.
'T can't conscientiously bull cotton
at these prices" replied Price.
you'll be buying little, just the
same" laughed Hoadley.
'.Not as bull" replied Mr.. Price.
'.Be that as it may" said Mr.. Hoad-
ley. ga scared bear sometimes buys
a good deal faster than the most en-
thusiastic bull
And so it proved. Price stood it as
long as he could. At first he regarded
the advance with amusement and
then with mild respect. Then it made
him angry and he fought it. Then he
sulked for While. These traits and
actions are rot peculiar to Mr.. Price
They are generic to all bears on the
cotton maket. But the last stage was
yet to come Mr. Price got frighten-
ed.
Just as it is impossible to tell what
Hoadley may have won, it is also i'm
possible to tell what Price may have
lost, and, besides, it wouldn't be polite.
Giving him credit for candor and sin
cerity, it is safe to assume that Mr..
Price had a large chunk taken out Of
his bank roll as a result Of the big
rise. Moreover, he didn't know where
the top lay. AS a matter of fact, he
had been reaching for the top for
some time past ululSSll. ne udu SOIllS
large commitments on the bear side
outstanding The market was nerv-
Gus. The situation was ticklish for
him. Moreover the circulation of
some cowardly and unwarranted ru-
mors regarding his credit did not add
to his peace of mind.
One night, SO yhe story goes, Price
met Mr.. Hoadley at an up,
town cafe and acknowledged his de-
feat. All he asked were hon
orable terms of surrender. He asked
to be. given the market for the next
two days. He knew perfectly we'll
that if Head1ey caught him covering
his shorts on the sly there would be
skyrockets. SO, frankly and without
any pretense he acknowledged defeat
and merely asked for the liberty Of
leaving the field as unostentatiously as