Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1907-12-31
REASONS FOR IS CENTS COTTON.
Former Citizen of York, Now of Texas,
Puts Up Strong Arguments.


borhood. has called the attention Of
The Enquirer to the following inter-
esting article written by his uncle,
Mr.. ]. c. Kuykendal, formerly Of York
county, but for many years past cit
izen of Texas, for the Gonzales (Tex)
Enquirer:
The farmer in his fight for 15
cent cotton is charged with eXtortion
or an attempt to eXtort. Since the
advent of the weevil four bales per
annum Is perhaps as high an average
as can be expected from the labor OF
one man. This cotton at SIS per bale
is worth $500, a little less than 81
per day for the farmer, as it requires
3l3 days labor to make 1t. Is there
anything extortionate in this? OF the
one billion, six hundred million OF
inhabitants of the earth, about one
billion use American cotton. A
100000 bale crop Of 500 pounds
each would give each Of the one
billion of persons six pounds OF cot
ton, which, at Is cents would be 80
cents per capita for raw Gotten per
annum. Is there anything extortionate
in this?
Silk; flax, wool and cotton are the
textiles with which humanity is
clothed. Perhaps 80 per cent of the
world is clothed with wool and cot
ton. 1t requires three pounds OF
wool in the grease, or as 1t comes
from: the sheep now worth 15 cents,
to make one pound Of wool ready
for the cards, making pound or
wool ready for the cards worth 40
cents. A pound of cotton will make
as much covering for humanity as
a pound Of wool and a covering far
more preferable to wool In tropical
and sub-tropical countries. Is there
anything extortionate in the farm
er asking for a pound Of cotton, one
third the price of a pound OF wool,
when the pound Of cotton will do the
work Of q pound Of wool?
Not until late years mas COTTON
responded to the economic law OF
supply and demand so readily as
some other commodities, for the
reason that supply and consumption
were largely matters OF guesswork.
But with the system OF reporting the
ginners now In vogue the size OF the
crop is known as soon as 1t can be
known-when it is ginned.
Consumption depends upon what
the spinners call "the outlook forl
trade" that is the prospect OF peace
and average crops throughout the
now being marketed, the crops the
world has harvested and the pros
poets Of continued peace make cotton
statistically strong and as compared
with wool worth 20 cents per pound.
The day laborer in the towns and
cities receives $1.25 per day for his
labor This must be so as he cannot
support his family on less. This wage
of $l.25 per day for the farmer
Thic TDT.ina iS
coming because the farmer can get
1t and accept 1t without injury to any.
Besides it will take 20 cents cotton to
enable him to surround his family
with the present day ideals Of south
ern country life.
Those who contend that they can
get cotton cheaper elsewhere vii!
please name the country in which
1t Is produced. The world outside the
Arctic and Antarctic regions has been
explored and tested by the English
as to its adaptability to cotton pro-
duction and every such test so far as
: the writer has seen has been a failure.
Also those who contend that the
world will not use cotton at 20 cents
per pound are not up in the history
OF the staple. In December, 1850,
cotton was selling around cents per
pound. From this price 1t advanced
TO 100 cents gold per pound In Feb
ruary and March In 1865. From this
price It declined to less than cents
per pound some years since in Con
zales. From this we learn that the
world must have cotton at some
price, at 81 per pound II 1t Is forced
to give 1t, but will buy II as cheap as
possible It Is this .'as cheap as pos
sible" phase that the Farmers Union
was organized to counteract, and that
ii has been at least partially success
full, Is evidenced by the fact that 1t has
received a rich reward of abuse and
villification from all interested in the
low price of cotton aided by the cot
ton exchanges Of the world and bril-
gade or so Of commercial buccaneers
located in Wall street, New York city.
The difference in the price Of cotton
between the farmer and the spinner
is around $40 per bale. This on a
100000 bale crop means $24O,OOO,-
900 to the successful contestant. This
is a grand prize, the greatest ever con-
tested for in the commercial world
and the world Is watching 1t as ii has
watched no other contest unattended
by the use Of arms. If the farmer
wins he wins not for this year alone
but for the years to come and emanci-
pates himself from the industrial ser
R1tude in which he has been held by
>Se spinners for forty years. If the
b. INNER loses he loses the profits on
'pr labor of the millions of cotton
heRers Of the south not for this year
rals he but for the years to come. The
aloEe Is q great one and each party to
PRIV contest is prepared to make "a
thei ditch fight" Of it with the farmer
laSlding the winning cards. The far
mer enters the contest with twelve
months supply Of hog and hominy'
and by the time that Is exhausted an
other twelve months supply will have
been produced. So there is no danger
Of cold and hunger driving the farm
er into terms. But If the farmer will
sell only a sufficiency of his cotton to
pay his debts he can force the spinner
to terms for the spinner can maintain
a campaign Of starvation only so long
as he is willing to support his opera
tives in idleness.
In all probability had it not been
for the warehouses cotton would now
be selling around eight cents per
pound.
The following relative to the pro-
duction of cotton in the English,
French and German colonies through
out the We. ii is from the last report
on the subject issued by our secretary
of agriculture at Washington on the
29th ultimo. Crops of 1905, average
weight of bales 500 pounds:
English, exclusive of India and
\ Egypt, 10,016 bales; France. exclu-
sSve Of India and Indo-China. 400
bales; German colonies, 1900 bales;
total, 1875 bales. There is not much
in tAhis showing to frighten the holder
OF Nfteen cents cotton. "On with the
dance" ]. C. Kuykendal.
/Wrightsboro, Texas.