Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1907-10-01

any public teaching of the doctrine
that the farmer should have say-so
in the matter, and the first suggestions
of the idea were generally dismissed
as absurd. The custom Of years and
years had become so firmly grounded
in the public mind that no one seemed
disposed to question its justice.
Looking back over the situation, 1t
Is not difficult to see how the old con-
ditions were so firmly established.
The independent cotton producer was
the exception. BY far the greater por-
ton Of the crop was produced on a
system of credit so slavlsh inits nature,
that the producer never had any real
title to 1t at any time. from start to
finish. AS he did not own the cotton,
there was nothing to warrant recent
consideration on his part as to what
he should receive for 1t.
AS the result Of the big corner OF a
few years ago, farmers generally
learned in a practical way the possi-
bilities Of cotton values, and thousands
Of them were benefited to the extent
that they were able to become tnde-
pendent producers. For the first time
in the history OF cotton production
there began to develop rebellion
against the idea of selling cotton be-
low cost, and for the first time also
there was seen practical application of
the idea Of simply holding cotton of
the market until the spinners were
willing to come across with a fair
price.
There are and have been all kinds
of specious arguments as to conditions
that affect the price Of cotton; but 1t
takes considerable hardihood to deny
that the unanimous refusal Of produ-
GERS to sell at prices that did not suit
them, has had as marked effect on the
situation as any other one thing that
has ever entered into it. .
Contract speculations are influenced
by all kinds Of real and imaginary sit
uations. The probable date Of the first
killing frost has time and again been
used to make numerous fortunes
change hands. Reports of frosts with
out positive information as to their
actual effects has made prices bounce
up or down. The circumstance Of the
marketing Of many thousands Of bales
in a single day has depressed prices
from half cent to a cent, and the
systematically created impression Of a
large surplus has more than once cost
producers millions Of dollars.
But 1t is a fact that can be demon
strated by the records, that whenever
the producers, no matter what the size
Of their crop, have quietly piled their
cotton under shelter on the farms or
in the warehouses, and made 1t plain
that they were in no hurry about SELL
ing, prices have mounted upward. 1t
is true that In some cases the advance
has been slow. We remember only
three years ago when the farmers
kicked against cents in February and
March and declined to sell. The low
price was maintained through May and
June until the first Of July when there
was a sudden advance to IL and IL
cents.
Except for the stubborn tenacity OF
the farmers that year they would have
sold their cotton at much less than
its value. If part Of them had sold
at and Z cents in May or June, the
balance would have probably sold at
these same prices in July and August.
1t was because Of financial inde-
pendence that they had acquired dur
ing the few years previous that the
farmers were able to do what they did
that year. The financial independence
of the farmers is greater now than 1t
has ever been, and they are better able
to enforce their reasonable demands.
But do not let any one gather the
idea that because the victory Of three
years ago was won as the result or a
kind of a common concerted unity OF
action, there Is to be another victory
of the same kind. What happened
then was so far out Of the ordinary
that it is not likely to happen again
for a generation. 1t was kind OF an
accident-a chance. But If the cotton
producers desire to weld the conditions
they used then into weapon that
may be depended upon to prove sue
cessful and effective at all times, they
have only to bind themselves into a
good, strong organization, and use
their united power with intelligent
justice.