The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1907-10-02
HOLD THE COTTON.
Urgent Address to the Peo-
pie. of the South. .

Clear Presentation Of Case as Seen in
the West by President Smith Of
Cotton Association.
The State says Mr.. E. D. Smith,
president of the South Carolina Cot
ton association, has returned to Co.
lumbia and found hundreds Of let
tiers awaiting him asking for advise
as to the disposing Of cotton. To
all of these Nh. Smith replied,
Hold your cotton" Other letters
urged him to issue an address to
the people and accordingly the
following was given to The State
Friday:
After a trip through the West, I
find on my return numerous requests
from different parts Of the State
asking me to urge the people to
hold their cotton from the market
until the price set by the Southern
Cotton association and the Farmers
union is reached. T.. ~ - D.,
If ever there was q time when
the conditions were clear and I'M
mistakable, without there being any
complications, it is now. 1t is a
clear case of pure speculation against
real conditions, To put the case as
it is, so that any one may see what
tribute we are paying to gamblers
because we are not organized to
withstand them, the facts are these:
The mills have sold their output for
months ahead on a basis Of Is cents
per pound; the demand for goods at
these prices increasing; the price of
the manufactured article actually
advancing; thessupply of cotton in
sight, the present crop unquestiona-
bly, short, probably 1900, 600 bales
less than last year; the demand for
cotton for the current year far in
excess of the supply; the condition
Of the crop steadily deteriorating;
the mills running full time eager
for cotton; no alarming conditions
in the money market; NO complica-
tons at home or abroad, particular
ly with the ,spinners 80 days ago
buying cotton cheerfullya and profit
ably OF IA cents and IA IL cents per
pound. Yet in the face of all these
favorable conditions the price has
dropped from2 IL cents to 3 cents
per pound. Why? Because a few
spectators, who neither grow nor
spin cotton. please to have it So.
The question is squarely up to the
South, the whole South, the mer-
chant, the banker, farmer, lawyer,
doctor, preacher and laborer in any
and every vocation, avocation or
profession, whether they will tame
ly submit to this outrage, whether
they will allow these gentry to ex-
act a toll from us, at their pleasure,
of from $40 to $25 per bale or
whether they will put their price on
their property and refuse to accept
any other. The only answer to this
absurd decline is to. refuse to take
the prices offered.
I'm the West they are, making a
brave stand. They are complaining
bitterly that the Atlantic States are
not standing for the price agreed up
on. How true this is, I am not able
to say. Let every man in South
Carolina who has cotton to sell drop
me a postal card saying how many
bales he has and how many he will
hold. l will compile the number and
give it to the public, so that we may
know what to depend upon. If we
would absolutely refuse to sell a ba.e
of cottod now, stop receipts, then
reaction would be immediate.
"The only possible way to remedy
this outrageous condition. to refuse
to submit to it.
with present conditions warrant
ing 15-cent cotton, acknowledged by
all parties to be worth Is cents, if
the people put it on the market at
present prices, then we acknowledge
that neither the law of supply and
demand, the condition of trade and
finance, or the cost of production
have anything to do with the price
or value of cotton, but simply the
caprice of a few millionaire gam
blers. Surely we are paying dearly
for the privilege of being disorga-
nized, for being without warehouses,
without organized capital to hold
our cotton.
"Can not each community meet at
once and devise means, where there
are none, to help each other to hold
cotton. 1t will take organized CO.
operation to accomplish our purpose.
Every bale sold at the present
prices means a gift of SIS to $40 per
bale to the gambling bunch to en-
able them to take a like or a great
err amount from your next bale.
"Ex-Gov. D. c. Hayward. who is
president of warehouse company
in this State, informed me that he
is doing all in his power to secure
funds and to provide warehouse ia
cilities for the farmers in this emer-
gency. So that all parties interested
can communicate with Ex-Gov. D.
n uo,ror1 ~ roforoooo r. +bo poot