The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-01-27
a REPLY TO MIR. PRICE.
rs Mr.. w. Il. Neal and Company Sec
the Cotton Situation.

! TO the Editor: The undelivered
| address of Mr.. Price, To which YOU
gave so much prominence in your
| sundays issue, While Astounding in
statements which are calculated to
shake the faith of the average man III
The poSs bility of any rise in the price
OF cotton and also interspersed with
gleanngs from statistics Of the past
to in n measure prove a certainty of
the correctness Of his deductions and
his still further statement thai be
cause he knew these things before The
est of us and was an intelligent
speculator 81 unbiased mind prepared
to make money whichever way Che
market went" and hence sold ana
made ii and has been making it ever
since cotton was seventeen cents, re-
minds us very much of the self-con-
gratulatory letter which came from
MIR. Sally when he was at the zeAith
ot his fortunes in which Letter, as YOU
may remember, he explained how by
careful observation he had found that
on account Of the infirmity OF the s"cJ
and several other reasons large
crop was an impossibility, and aetiEg
upon this knowledge went IN and
bought cotton and made fortune Or
the advance which he foresaW must
come
Did cotton continue to rise? Where
are Mr. Sully's millions? VIII cotton
continue to fall? Where will Mr.,
Prices millions be in June? We
would like to take a eursoly view OF
some facts which if Mr.. Pr.ce knew
he failed for some reason TO call our
attention to;
list There came into SIGHT last year
UP to the 10th January 7,1S3,545 and
this year up TO that time S,56S,5S2, so
as last years crop proved TO he only
10,011.374, the same movement would
indicate for this years crop only H.
020.6T0.
End. Looking over the statistics for
the last thirteen years we find that
the crop OF 1900-190l was, the most
backward OF all. In that year UP to-
The 10th of January 7,225, 22S bales
had come into sight which was, how
ever, .7055 per cent of the i0,3S3,422
crop of that year Allowing this crop
10 have been as Backward as that
still it viii give US for this year only
.I4,l45,k00.
9rd. The planter having, according
to Mr. Price. received as much FOR the
g. 600, 900 bales already marketed as
he ought to have had for his whole
crop if he only wished fair remun-
q IA ton for his labor. is now in posi-
ton to hold indefinitely.
4th. Every mill owner. banker
merchant. lawyer and farmer is in
terested directly in maintaining cotton
at fair price.
9Th If this years supply is more
ti2;l the mills can use the true policy
OF the farmers and all business men
OF the South is - market this crop
as slowly as possible and use every
means TO make small crop this year
a certainty.
9th. AS Mr.. Price says Il costs money
to hold cotton, but it costs a great
deal more to raise too much and sell
at half cost,
It'll If, as Mr. I'ric@ says, this years
supplies is a gift of God and costs
nothing, the planter would show very
little appreciation of 1t if he failed to
hold TO it until by curtailment of acre
age and reduction in guano "a small
crop being assured. he is unable to
get for it Al price not yet reached.
As 10 the quotation from Swift about
making two ears of corn and two
blades OF grass that is exactly where
the whole trouble lies, for instead of
dong this, we have all been trying
to make two bales of cotton instead
of one and paying for guanO almost
as much as the increased yield
amounted TO.
Then. when they are put or the
market. the second bale reduces the
price of the first ut least one-haif. Let
every farmer throughout the South
this year use all his guano under
corn. tobacco. etc, and use none un-
der cotton. Then we will guarantee
that the gift of God. of which Mr..
Price seems to thinks so little, win
bring something.
W. p. NEAL & co.
Louisburg, \. C., Jan. %. 1900