The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1907-12-21
PRESIDENT WALTER CLARK
Advices Cotton Growers as to Organ
ization and Protection.

there is so much rake off" In it's passage
from grower to spinner.
l believe it to be the duty of every
man in Mississippi to aid in correcting
these evils and in getting from the out
side world every dollar possible for this
crop. One cent per pound on the cotton
crop of Mississippi will pay all State,
county and municipal taxes and give a
nine months free school in every county
of the State. This is something to work
for.
The purpose of this article is to outline
briefly a way by which, l think, the price
of cotton can be maintained.
First: The most essential feature of
all is the growing on each and every farm
of the necessary food crops. Just 80
long as the greater number of cotton
growers grow cotton with which to buy
food crops, just so long will we continue
to sell the cotton crop below it's market
value, and the lands will become less
productive each year.
IL PiOtSSt COtCOA "
"bear" raids it is essential that a large
amount of ready money be available. l
do not, however, believe in the organi-
zation of large banking institutions or
the concentration of large amounts of
money at any one center, ~ from the
fear of graft and incompetent manage.
ment, and (2) the varying conditions in
different communities. For these rea.
sons, / think that each community should
organize a local cotton selling company,
capitalized at 81 per bale for the cotton
grown in the county OF community. In
crease this capital each year at the same
rate for five years, then we shall have
the whole cotton belt capitalized at from
sixty to seventy million dollars.
Once organized, with the capital paid
in, a board of directors should be select
ed from among the stockholders, who
would proceed:
First: Either to build or lease an up
to-date, fire-proof warehouse.
Second: To employ a competent cot.
ton man to class, grade and sell the cot
ton of the community under the direc-
ton of the board of directors.
Third: They should build a gin plant
with a gin compress, making a bale AS
inches long by 81 inches wide and pressed
to a density of from 35 to SO pounds to
the cubic foot, as recommended by the
Atlanta conference.
Fourth: They should take steps to
get either cotton or light burlap bag
ging.
Thus organized, it does seem that we
would naturally take steps to know in
advance of every one what the prospec,
tive yield of the crop was each year and
also to learn something of trade condi
tions and what the requirements were
With this information we could with
some degree of intelligence say what cot.
ton wa worth, and with the funds avail
able there would be little difficulty in
maintaining the price against "bear"
raids.
For the first few years | would suggest
that the agents of these various COM
panies offer the cotton for sale through
the present channels, at what they con-
ceived to be its market value, and just
so long as the buyers would take it at
it's value, to let it go, but when a bear
raid came and the buyers refused to take
it, then the company with its own funds
xra,,l1 no IN fhn n orlaf RI h1u oil thou
could with the available funds at the
price the buyers were willing to pay for
it; such cotton to 60 into the companies
warehouses, to remain until it could be
sold at the price demanded, the company
in this way taking the place of the
cotton merchant who is always willing
to put his money in cotton when lie
thinks it cheap.
1t will take time to bring aboLS salts
factory direct trade relations with the
spinner; and think it best to 60 slowly
along these lines; but with each county
organized in this way, and with a com
mercial rating, and selling all it's cotton
through its own agents, direct dealings
would be the natural result, and in time
the present necessity for the various
future boards" would be eliminated, the
spinner being able to hedge his sales by
buying the actual cotton for delivery at
any season of the year from these COM
panies.
l do not believe in a~ntagonizing bank
ing institutions by organizing banks or
loaning the funds of the company to
farmers, but think the funds should be
deposited in local savings banks, at the
best obtainable rate of interest payable
on demand. In this way the good will
and cooperation of all present banking
institutions is assured and retained.
Now, it will be said that it is impossi-
BILE to get the farmers to take this stock,
but when we consider that we have sold
every crop for the past twenty years for
at least S. per bale below its market
value, and the ever-present uncertainty
about what the price win be, and know
ing that 81 per bale annually for a pc
riod of five years will protect the price
and correct all the evils of bad baling,
poor bagging, bad handling, and cut out
so many unnecessary middlemen, it ought
not to be such an impossible proposition.
WALTER CLARK.