The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-01-18

of this great association in its aeht for
the protection of the south's own monono.
ly-cotton
Your association was the leading fac
tor in advancing prices ten to twelve
dollars per bale on the five million balls ;
of cotton sold during the spring and
summer of 1905, that amount representing
the unsold portion of the great crop Of
1904 at the time the association was or
ganized This astounding advance in
prices, under such remarkable circum.
stances and against the combined ener-
g1es of buyers, spinners and Spectators,
Melted the spot holders in the south fully
| seVenty-five million dollars more than
they would have received under their for
mer method Of selling without regard to
cooperation and resistance of depressed
markets. Following fast upon the heels
OF the 1904 record breaking yield. came
the second large crop of 1905, and upon
the price of which the association recon-
mended minimum value of II cents Der
pound, basis middling at interior points,
II is now matter of history that,
! through the loyalty and eo-opera ton Of
the farmers and business interests gen
orally of the south. with the objects and
purposes OF this great movement n sec
ond complete victory was won for the
cotton growers. Recognizing that the
crop of 1906 would materially exceed in
production the crop of 1906 your execu-
tive committee, guided by conservatism
and sound business judgment reduced the
minimum price again to 10 cents per
pound, basis mldding. for the present
crop, and the wisdom of their action has
! been expressed in another victory of un-
usual magnitude. So that up to this good
hour every minimum price fixed by the
association since its organization, and in
the face of the three largest crops ever
produced In the south, has been COM
pletely victorious. Not only is this true
but each succeeding crop has been sold
in the aggregate for more money than It's
predecessor. The big crop of 1904 sold in
the aggregate for S6Ss O00,00 that of 1875
for 50,0O0.000 and the crop of 1905 will
pass into the markets of the country at
an aggregate value of $500 100000 The
grand total of three crops aggregated the
enormous amount of $1.950,0OO.000. not In
GLIDING the value of the seed It would
have required the entire output of all
the gold mines of the world for eighteen
, months to pay for any of the three
crops of cotton stated above, or it would
have required s10000OOO0 more than the
capital stock Of all the national banks in
the United States to have purchased any
one of these three crops. IT cannot be
! denied that the farmers OF the south have
made net saving of at least 10000 600
in the marketing of these three crops,
through the effective aid of this associa-
, ton and allied organizations When it is
borne in mind that the total subscriptions
paid, by farmers. firms and people of all
avocations In the south to the support OF
the county and state divisions and the
national organization of the association =
does not exceed a total of $4,000 for the
two years of its existence. it will give
you some idea of the tremendous results
which have been achieved through an in
finitesmal investment.
Old Methods Revolutionied.
The Southern Cotton association first
began the active agitation for the bul1-
ing of first-class cotton warehouses all
over the cotton belt thereby providing a
swift and permanent method of securing
good and safe storage for cotton, cheap
insurance and satisfactory method Of
financing the crop so as to inaugurate i
slow movement of the staple on the mar
kets of the country. 1t is the only or
ganization which ever secured practical
reduction in the cotton acreage when
reduction in the acreage became impera-
tive 1t is, the only organization which
preferred charges against the wrong do
ings of certain officials in the bureau #
cotton statistics at Washington, and SUI
cessful1y proved them 1t is the only
association of cotton growers which
brought about a conference between do
nestle and foreign spinners and the pro-
ducers of American cotton 1t was the
first and only association of cotton grow
ers which has been able to name and
maintain its minimum price on cotton
three years in succession, against ths
organized brain and capital of the word.
This association has within two years
established fixed minimum basis of ~
cents per pound for American cotton, and
that price is now recognized as unaltera-
BILE throughout the entire cotton spinning
area of the world. Through the propo-
ganda of this association, scattered
broadcast throughout this beautiful land
of Dixie, the southern farmer is being
fai oh tn nd hfpIy for /,
diversity his farming interests and make
his neccary food supply crops at home;
to break up the Ubiquitous credit system,
which has so long been one of the
fortunate legacies of the civil war; to
cooperate among themselves and invite
the aid of all legitimate southern inter-
ests in the fight to maintain the price
of American cotton at fair and profitable
figures. The highest ambition of the
Southern Cotton association is to aid in
securing prosperity to the rank and file
of southern farmers; to see them, the
producers of the natural wealth of our
country, happy and independent; to
their children enjoying all the advantages
of a first-class education and training.
which will properly fit them for the avo-
cations they expect to pursue in after
years; to see beautiful rural homes, filled
with many of the luxuries of modern
life; splendid public roads, and withal, a
high type of educated, prosperous huS-
bandry, such as should be the portion or
every member of the south's Anglo Sax
on race This association does not be-
lieye that the burden and the many intr!-
cate problems wrapped up in the solution
of marketing future crops of American
cotton should rest entirely upon this
soulders of those who produce it. Recog-
nizing the undeniable fact that cotton
Is the basis of southern prosperity, the
association takes the broad position that
every interest in the south should sup
, port any movement organized for the ex-
press purpose OF maintaining the price OF
cotton at high levels.
Realizing further, that the annual ex-
ports of raw cotton from the south
amount to more than four hundred MIL
lions of dollars. and therefore in excess
of the combined exports of all other farm
products from the United States. and
that the balance of trade to the American
union is maintained through the exports
of our raw cotton, the association takes
the advanced high ground that the
south's cotton crop should no longer be