The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1907-09-18
COTTON PRICE FIXED.
Farmers Will Hold for Fifteen Cents
, ,as . Rcsuls of Cotton Growers Com
mittce Meeting.

mittce Meeting.
From the State.
DR.. w. w. Ray. a member from
this State OF the. executive committee
OF the Southern Cotton association,
has returned from Jackson, Miss,
where the committee met to name
the minimum price which farmers will
be expected to take for cotton. n
1t has already been published that
the committee holds out for Is cents
per pound minimum. In talking of
the matter yesterday. GDr. Ray said to
The State: af
I'm response to call for a meet
ing Of the executive committee OF the
southern Cotton Association, 4 left
Columbia on Tuesday morning, the
Cd. at 7.25! eNl
n examined. as well as could from
the cars. the cotton and corn crops
from Columbia to atlanta. These
crops I found'to be exceedingly poor.
burnt up by the sun and rust showed
considerably until. I reached Spartan
burg. There i saw few crops (which
were good. but the balance OF the way
to Atlanta the crops were away below
the average. In consequences of great
drought. I saw nothing OF the crop
from Atlanta to Birmingham in con-
sequence Of darkness. But early next
morning began to inspect the crop
as we left Birmingham, and as far as
I could see from the train the cotton
and corn crops throughout Alabama
and. Mississippi were exceedingly poor,
an y result Of the sanie causes which
affected the crops OF South Carolina
and Georgia. !,
II reached Jackson. Miss, on We'd
nesday afternoon. The next morning
the executive committee Of the South
ern Cotton Association held a session
In the Knights Of PytKias hall in
Jackson. We had good attendance.
! was very. much Impressed with, the
personnel Of the committeeman Of
high character; conservative in their
views and with no desire to make
false statements Of the condition Of the
crops. They evinced to my mind the
sreatesbca and painstaking In COM
ing to their conclusions; they seemed
to have gone over the ground in their
several States very carefully. After
comparing notes ths committee. by
large majority. decided that the COM
ing crop would not be over. IL. 900, 900
haies---12,5oo,Ooo at the outside.
South Carolina reported conditions
about 10 to Is per cent. better than
last year; Georgia reported about the
same conditions az last year; Alabama
reported, conditions about 25 to 80 per
cent less than last year: Mississippi
reported the crop materially less than
last year. as, a result Of imperfect
stands. having to plant over as many
as four times. and IN great many in
stances lots OF the fields had to- be
abandoned, as the cotton failed to
come up: the same conditions pre-
vailed In louisiana; Texas reported
that they Will be at least 1000. GOO
bales or more shorter than last year.
on account Of the yavases Of the boil
weevil. also a lot Of the cotton did not
come up. The area In cotton was
much less than that Of last year, In
OF the cotton not coming
up. In Arkansas they reported cotton
In the bottom lands as being in good
cotton the hill lands was
poor. having suffered very much from
want Of rain and In consequence of
rust Tennessee reported a reduction
from last year.. The Indian Territory
and OKLAHOMA were not represented.
"The committee. by a decisive vote.
stood for Is cents as the minimum
price OF cotton. They think that ,he
conditions warrant them in this de
rnand. The editor OF The Cotton Jour
nal wrote an article In The Journal
saying that Is cents should he the
price under existing circumstances
and an article appeared in The M1nu-
fncturer' Record commenting upon
the article aforesaid, sustaining the
position taken by The Cotton Journal
The committees also stood for $50
per ton as the minimum price for cot
ton seed. member Of the COM
mittea who was a nractiAnl oil man