The Washington herald., 1907-10-16
COTTON CROP IMPROVES
First Damage Neutralized by Ad-
VaAced Condition.
c. T. Revere Gives Impressions of
Trip Through Belt--MOney Mar
ket I'm New Orleans.

{. I. Revere, formerly OF Washington.
and now with Dick Brothers & Co. OF
New York, has returned from a trip Of
observation in the Southern States. where
be went specially to study the condition
Of the cotton crop
He came TO the conclusion that the crop
was better than expected. He also has
something interesting 10 say upon fnan-
cial and speculative conditions in the
South. Mr.. Revere, in an interview, said.
It would be absurd for any one View
ing the crop from a car window 10 ex-
press any opinion as to>the size Of the
yield. One feature, boweter, impressed
me, and that was the evidence on every
hand that the crop had made I'D a great
deal Of time. and the general impression.
even through the Carolinas and Georgia,
was that frost would do little or no
damage, particularly il il did not come
in week or so.
Although a good many persons have
believed that great damage would result
from frost as early as October ., ]
do not believe that they realize that the
~-rF - FANANttAe+Alg AAafttANs " % uoADlG-
ished 10 find the financial stringency is
as acute as it is in the South We have
al heard 50 much Of the prosperity of the
South and the splendid condition Of the
farmers. that very few of US are pre-
pared 10 believe that the situation, SO
far as money is concerned, is fully as
acute throughout the South, and particu-
larry in New Orleans, as it is right here
in New York.
The decline in local securities and
banking stocks in New Orleans has taken
the life out Of speculation in that city.
Money is as hard 10 obtain there as It Is
here. Gilt-edged collateral, even govern
ment bonds, are turned down unless the
/ applicant for a loan is a favored depos-
itor. l do not believe that the farmers
are going to be able to continue holding
The very fact that the farmers have
money in the bank is hurting the situa-
I ton generally. They are paying their
/ bills by drawing out deposits. and theiI
refusal to sell cotton is creating situa-
ton that is certain TO become critical in
the near future.
Il asked one of the big bankers what
the policy Of the leading Southern insti-
tutions was toward the country banks
that wished to help farmers TO hold cot
ton. He replied that the larger banks
demanded their money when il was due
and insisted that If the farmer wished 10
speculate by holding his cotton. he could
do so only by selling part Of his hold
ings The strike Of cotton handlers In
New Orleans is hurting the situation very
much. 1t has caused cotton to accumu-
late in the interior, and if the strike is
not soon broken, cotton viii be diverted
to other ports.
''The exporters report only a moderate
demand. and are unwilling TO do business
on the present basis. Southern mills do
not hold any large stocks of cotton, nor
do they care to. The export business in
cotton goods has died away to nothing.
and instead Of making heavy goods, they
are adjusting their machinery to put out
lighter ones. The owner Of one mill that
used 10000 bales OF cotton last year on
export goods, told me that he would run