The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1907-10-16
he unnrecedented prosperity Of the

the unprecedented prosperity Of the
country, an increase In consumption
of at least one-half million bales.
The years 1905-06 show an in
crease of over this amount. There
fore summing up: with a crop for
which all indications point to a
shortage of one million bales, a prob
able increase in consumption of five
numbered thousand bales and carry
ing over into the coming season not
more than one million bales, prices
can not legitmately be depressed by
the claim that the world does not
need every pound of cotton which the
South will produce this year because
the supply scarcely equals and GER
tainly will not exceed the demand.
Fair Prices For Cotton.
"a. fair price for cotton for this
year and for every year as long as
present conditions continue is a price
which would be renumerative to the
farmer and which will also allow the
manufactures or consumer to realize
a legitimate profit upon his invest
ment. To this both are entitled, n
this both have a right to demand.
Neither will receive it unless they de-
mand it.
Of course the most difficult prop
osition to be encountered is the de-
termination of a price which will be
mutually agreed upon as fair and
equitable by both producer and con-
sumner. The first step to be AXE IN
arriving at such a price is to decide
whether the prevailing prices are the
proper ones. Are they too low or are
they too high? In my opinion they
are lower than circumstances war
rant, and I believe that If the farmers
will take steps they should take there
will follow an advance in prices. To
what extent this advance will 60 l
am unable to- say; and no one, gentle
men. is in a. position to determine
this question; no n actually knows.
: s"The farmer has a right, which eV-.
cry one comedies, to hold his crop for
Is cents a pound and to. hope that II
properly marketed it will reach that
figure. T join with him in this hope
because as I have already said, the
prosperity of the Southern cotton
planter means the prosperity of the
South. AS he grows rich we all In
the South grow rich with him. But l
am unwilling today to take upon my
self the responsibility of saying that,
in my opinion, If you; hold your cot.
ton there is any absolute certainty OF
it's enhancing in price to Is cents a
pound. However, there are certainly
more reasons why Is cents is an
equitable price than the prices which
are now being paid are fair, and I'M
der such circumstances there is every
reason why our farmers should cas-
giving their cotton away at rates
which at present prevail, Cotton in
Orangeburg today Is bringing I'm the
neighborhood of II cents a pound to
the producer. Last year the average
price throughout the South for cotton
was 10 GIG cents a pound for mid
ding. A year and one month ago
today 9 1-8 cents per pound was the
marketed value of your cotton, but
towards the close of the season, on
the 9th day of August last, the
same cotton selling in September at
9 1-S cents a pound was worth IL
cents a pound. Why today 1t
has fallen in price nearly 3 cents?
Certainly conditions do not warrant
it. If last August. with a crop which
necessitated the carrying over: into
the next year of one million bales,
cotton was worth 1875 cents per
pound, is, it not worth just as much
today with a crop every pound of
which will be consumed by the spin
dies; Of the world? That cotton today
is selling for less than it did go or
40 days ago. is due entirely to the
fact that the farmers by forcing their
product upon the market play abso-
lutely into the hands Of the specula-
tors. D.. Every possible excuse is used
by the speculator to bear the mar
ket. And whether or not there Is any
sense or reason in the pretexts which
they give for a low market, as long
as the farmers insist on disposing of
their product as soon as 1t Is made,
these pretexts will have their effect.
Reasons for Lower Maket.
"If a storm is reported or even if
a slight atmospheric depression is
mentioned In the West Indies cotton
goes up on the New York exchange,
in the fear that the storm will ret
duce the production. When the storm
does not materialize the market is
promptly reduced because the storm
has not reduced the production.
When the government report as hap
pened this week states that the com
dltion of the crop is not as good as it
was. a month ago, the New York
SPECTATORS choose to place an en-!
tirely different Interpretation upon
the report. They prefer to say that
white is black, and black it becomes;
and as a result the cotton market
promptly weakens.
, 1T is the speculator today who has
the winning hand, and he will con.
time to hold this nand a long as
the farmers allow him every time to
hold the trumps. and to play them
when he thinks best.
"It is the sp%eculator and not the
mill people, who, today. is
down the prices Of cotton.
The cotton mills did not object to the
prices which prevailed before the re.
cent decline in cotton, for the reason
that they. were making a reasonable
profit on the goods which they are
having made their contract
for goods based upon higher prices
than, are being paid today. 1t is not
to the interest of the mills to have
decline. Already as a result
Of the decline, cotton yarns have gone
down. and, where such goods are
manufactured by mills which have
bought cotton at much higher prices
than prevail today, it is not to the
interest Of such mills. to have other
-.;lln nnnlrn nnntrantc fn1, uarnc of a