The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1905-02-18
ADDRESSES GREENWOOD COT
TON GROWERS.
The Cotton Situation Tersely Stated By
Hon. Geo. A. Wilson. Good Ad-
vice to Farmers.

At meeting of Greenwood farmers
on the llth, Hon. Geo. A. Wilson. OF
Lexington, delivered an address which
is full of good thought. Mr.. Wilson,
besides being an extensive planter, is
president of several banking inStitu-
tionS, two congresses and The MissiS-
sippi Fire Association, and is regarded
as very astute financier. The follow
| ing is the address.
Gentlemen: Being interested in
many ways in the production of cot
ton, | have given much thought to
the problem with which the cotton
growing states is presented by the sup
posed production last year of some
thing like thirteen million bales. Cot
ton statistics show that a small crop
i'm years gone by sold for more money
than large crop. This being true,
the producers of cotton receive not
only less for a large crop, but are put
to greater expense to gather and mar
ket the large crop; hence the loss by
the production of a large crop falls
heavy on the producers. The raising
of ten cent cotton offers so much re-
muneration to the people engaged in
the production Of cotton that they put
forth every energy necessary to pro-
duce more bales, that their incomes
may be correSpondingly larger. Ten
cent cotton also induces men OF means
in other business and callings to
abandon other lines Of business and go
into the production OF cotton. Ten
cent cotton also induces people in the
sugar and rice raising country OH the
south and the wheat and corn coun-
tries on the north and west of the cot
ton belt to plant cotton, and thus if
the price remains at ten cents. we
may reasonably expect the annual pro-
duction of cotton to be not less than
twelve million bales, and to increase
rapidly at compound rate year after
year.
The production of raw cotton
in the long run will make against the
cotton factories and spinning mills be-
cause the cheap raw cotton will be
manufactured into cheap manufactur-
ed goods, SO that the surplus. instead
of remaining in cotton altogether, will
be i'm the shape of manufactured goods
at the mills. Thus the farmer cannot
have any money, because the price is
too low, and the manufacturers can
not make lany money because they
cannot sell their manufactured pro-
ducts equal to the output Of their
mills. When such state of affairs is
brought about by the existence of
more bales of cotton in the world than
the mills can consume at remunera-
tive prices, it is up to nature or the
people in the cotton belt to do some
sense in the world than ever before,
hand at this juncture, in years gone
by, and brought about readjuStment
prOpituouS to the cotton planter and
the cotton country. Nature has not
responded promptly and at once to
the relieving of the congested cOndi-
tion in recent years, but has come in
by rather slow process that has
taken from five to seven years to ac-
complish the renewal of prices high
enough so place the country in pros
porous condition.
However, times have changed; in
ventiOn is at work: civilization pro-
crosses; the world grows better.
There are more clothes in the coun-
try to cover the naked, and more
beautiful fabrics to adorn the rich.
More things to eat; more charity, and
more the mills can consume at remun-
erative and things are being done
and accomplished that ten years ago
would have been regarded as fairy
talk.
Zone of the greatest things evoluted
of late years, when properly conduct
ed, are trusts and combines. Under
this idea people can make more money,
perform greater charity, and can do
more good by working together and
cooperating than by fierce and un-
seemly competition. OF course, bad
or greedy individuals have taken ad
vantage of the trust idea i'm some in
stances, and worked it for their in
dividual gain more than for public
welfare. But all of the best things
in this life have at times been used
wrongfully. We should not condemn
the whole idea because of the miSuSed
in a few instances. The trusts and
combines have come to say, and the
way for the cotton growers and the
people dependent in their businesses
in cotton and its by-productS in one
way or another, is to combine, and
do the very thing that the manufac-
turers have already done. There is
one way to prevent the assembling of
all the presidents of all the cotton
mills i'm the United States at the Wal
dorf- Astoria hotel in New York city
and discussing things good for the
good of the cotton manufacturers, and
pointing out the things that should
be avoided, and urging upon each
other to do and perform certain things
for the benefit of all. If such a con-
vention should agree not to buy any
cotton until the first day of June, and
should stick to it certainly no cotton