The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-01-19
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name of the Cotton Growers Protective
association. Later on. as an outgrowth of
this movement, came the Southern Cotton
association, organized in January, 1905, in
the city of New Orleans.
l believe that directly and indirectly
the results which have come from the
meeting have saved the cotton growers
of the south over s2O000O.00O, and this
money has largely gone into the pockets
of the men who labored to raise the
crop, and from their pockets 1t has gone
out into all the avenues of trade.
When we remember that this crop has
brought S4OOO,OOOOOO of wealth from
foreign countries into the United
States, it should make every thought
ful man in the union stop and realize
how important Is that section which
renders such a public service and how
necessary it is to the commerce of the
union.
l have not undertaken to refer to
the expansion of our foreign market.
This alone is a subject for an entire
speech. Nor have l referred to the pro-
posed organization to care for cotton in
the hands of those In distress.
l wish to emphasize what can be ac-
complished in a general way without
depricating other means.
Twelve cents per pound is low es-
innate of the fair value of lint cot
ton in the hands of the farmers under
present conditions, and If it fails to
bring that price. the failure is due to
the lack of cooperation and good judg-
ment in the matter of sales on the part
of those who produce this staple.
go one step further: AS 70 per cent Of
the lint cotton which goes into the man
ufacturies of the world is produced in
our country, the power resides with US
to fix the selling price, and to the ex-
tent that We fail to receive the just
value of the product, we are ourselves to
blame.
Let the kinds of our men and women
be placed upon the problem of the real
value of lint cotton, and realize the inn
portance of making 1t bring its full value.
Let the press of the south make it their
fight.
Let our congressman and senators and
all our public officers see that this is
one of the most important questions to
which they can give their time.
1 would welcome a conference of the
governors of the cotton growing states
to see what could be done by uniform
legislation to perfect our own statistics
for the use of the farmers as to the guam
tity of the crop, the worlds demand and
the true value of lint cotton.
Let the farmers cease to depend upon
the buyers to fix the price. Let them in
telligently and firmly seek to make the
price as stable as possible and fix ths
price for themselves.
At the close of Mr.. Smiths address a
photograph of the interior of the building,
including the audience, was taken.
On motion formally presented to the
body of the convention, President Jordan
and Governor-elect Smith were stationed
III the aisle, where they would occupy
the center of the photograph.
r. H. Hyatt Introduced.
f. II. Hyatt of Columbia, S. c., was
He discussed How Shall We
Finance the Cotton Crop" He said in
part:
"Gentlemen-I received a letter from
Hon. Harvie Jordan, president of the
Southern Cotton association, some time
ago, asking me to deliver an address at
the annual convention of the Southern
Cotton association, which was to meet in
Birmingham from January II to 49, sub
ject, How Shall We Finance the Cotton
Crop? At first 1 hesitated to undertake
the great task, but after thinking the
matter over | decided to write to some of
our leading financiers, some of our cotton
brokers, farmers, bankers
and editors, asking them to please write
me, giving their views as to how we
might finance this great crop of ours.
After getting all of thees repries with
various suggestions, | put them together
to see what l could make out of them,
and try to boil it down so that | might
be able to give it to he <blic for what
ever Il Is worth.
I'm the meantime I made it convenient
to run over to Washington and had a
talk with some of the leading officials
along this line, with such men as Hon.
7 NF Cs1 %
ury, and also Mr.. j. NJ. Carson, chief of
the bureau of manufacturers of the de-
partments of commerce and labor. And
| found them, too, at a loss to know how
to finance this great crop of ours. | wish
to state TO you briefly under three heads:
First, how the cotton crop has been
financed up to the present; second how
It has been proposed OF finance it by ere
ating a great fund amounting to $780,
000, 900 to retire the distressed cotton, etc;
third, to build standard warehouses 70
store cotton in. There are so many things
to be taken into consideration in saying
how we should finnace the cotton crop
successfully, that | find 1t utterly impos-
sible to refer to them all in the short
space of time that ] have to speak OF
course, one of the most important things
to take into consideration is the supply
and demand.
In Past Forty Years.
In going back for the last forty years
we find that the cotton crop has been
handled, as far as the producer goes, with
very little system or order After the civil
war our southern country was bankrupt;
everything was in chaos or confusion. But
H. the short space of three or four years,
while this conflict was on between the
north and south, then the south stopped
making cotton and the civilized nations
awoke to a realization of the fact that
when God made his world He only made
one little cotton patch, in which you
and / live, consisting of ten southern
states. The supply was so limited in that
short space that cotton went up to S1.S
per pound in England. 1t created so much
confusion and distress that the English
government had to come to the support
of their operatives. AS soon as peace was
declared between the north and south the
English and foreign manufacturers said
to the bankers of NV York: I'VE will
buy your cotton at a high price in order
to supply the great demand for clothing
at this time So the plan which was
adopted was simply this: The New Eng
land manufacturer furnished the New
York banker with money, the New YORK
banker furnished the southern banker.
the southern banker furnished the south
ern merchant, and the southern merchant
furnished the southern planter; and the
southern planter furnished the southern
laborer to make the cotton crop. AS soon
as the cotton crop was made and began
to be harvested the manufacturers SIM
ply stated that they would pay so much
for the cotton and made their loans pay
able in the fall months while the cotton
was being harvested And it appears to
me that at that time they simply stated
that they would pay so much for the
nd oil flt thafr u
were maturing. So you see the New Eng
land man pulled the New York banker.