The Port Gibson reveille. [volume] (Port Gibson, Miss.) 1890-current, 1905-04-20
COTTON ASSOCIATION,
First of a Series of Letters From
Hon. J. Mcc. Martin Explain
ing Its Organization.
Continued From Last week.

tcctlon against combines, maTke
! manipulations, false statistical re
:. ports, crop guesses and organiza
! tions to depress the value of wha
I its 5000, 900 actual workers pro
I duce. The merchants, banks anC
:. capitalists, who venture means il
! aid of this array of laborers, or who
! look to the fruit of their labor fol
! reimbursement find all their calcu
lations worthless and shattered by
fluctuations as violent as they are
unreasonable, in the space of forty
eight hours. In short. all are al
the mercy of every scheme set on
foot to speculate upon their sh IT
sightedness.
Again. The users of raw cotton
are manufacturers. These are thor.
oughly organized. and. yet, they
7 are as much the victims Of violent
fluctuations in the price of cotton
as are the producers. As individ-
uals it is impossible to get into con-
tractual relations with them. As
organizations nothing is easier.
Hence. SO long as manufacturers
deal with the cotton interests in a
disorganized state they naturally
seek raw material at lowest possi-
bic price and are forced to join with
market manipulators to lower the
'Iprice. Who would not, similarly
placed and consulting his special
INTEREST,"
| Again. There are 4442 banks,
the number rapidly increasing, in
the 8I2 counties and parishes,
wherein cotton is grown. They
represent $500. 900. .ooo5 or close
to that sum. They use this to earn
interest, just as the owner of land
uses his land to get rent In max
ing loans of money to the trade. IS
we'll A. land owners or farmers, the
rule Is L. make all such loans fall
due about close. of year Hence, a
crop of cotton, which represents an
entire year supply for the mills,
is forced upon the market to meet
obligations. inside of four months
That is, SO far as the actual pro-
ducer is concerned. ANY ordinary |
thinker will see. at glance, the
evil of this.
Again. Every mercantile estab-
lishment, as we'll as the thoughtful
producer of manufactured goods, is
constantly looking ahead for two
things Ist. Larger markets. I'd.
More varied uses for what he pro-
duces. The cotton growing inter-
ests are absolutely idle in this re-
spect, except as some enterprising
anufacturer explores new fields,
or except as some genius develops
new uses for raw cotton.
Again. Foreign vessels actually
carry away trade from Southern
shores which legitimately belongs
to our section, if proper efforts were
made to secure it. Our ports, as
fine as any in the East. are neglect
ed and fishing smacks or oyster
schooners alone seek them, with /
now and then lumber transporters,
encouraged by individual effort, to
carry away what comes from coast
wise forests. One individual, has
striven manfully to build up a great
shipping point on the Gulf coast.
He has ventured his millions, and
to this day no Southern organized
effort has been made to aid or en-
courage him. Still, the masts and
tunnels of the ships riding at safe
anchor and in deep water, created |
by this one mans energy, bespeak
the vast opportunities awaiting such |
powerful organization as above out
lined.
Again. Manufactures of every
kind only await invitation and en-
couragement. from some authorita-
tive source, to set creative. invent
i've and developing engines at work
to aid in making a new Manchester,
or new Manchesters in every cotton
growing State and Territory. The
separate County, or individual
State, cannot alone speedily bring
about these magnificent results, but
such organizations, as are compre-
hended in the Southern Cotton AS
sociation. can develop agencies and
put them into operation 50 power
/ fully, as to give the glimpse OF a |