The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1907-09-18
THE COTTON CROP .
Dr.. w. w. Ray, Who Has Been Out
South West.

Says 1t Is Much Shorter Than 1t Wa
Last Season and That 1t Shout,
Sell Well.
DR.. W. W. Ray, of Richland Coun
ty, member from South Carolina, O
the Cotton Associations executiy,
committee, has returned from Jack
son and gave out the following fo,
publications:
In responce to call for 1neetin.
Of the executive committee of tn,
Southern Cotton Association, I lef
Columbia on Tuesday morning, th,
3rd at 1925.
I examined, as well as I could from
the cars, the cotton and corn crop
from Columbia to Atlanta. Thes,
crops found to be exceedingly poor
burnt up by the sun and rust, show
ed considerable until 1 reached Spar
! tanburg, there I saw a few crops
which were good, but the balance o.
the way to Atlanta the crops were
away below the average, in conse
Queqce of great drought.
saw nothing of the crop from
Atlanta to Birmingham in conse
quence of darkness. But early next
morning l began to inspect the cror
as we left Birmingham: and as far as
l could see from the train, the cotto1
and corn crops throughout Alabama
and Mississippi were exceedingly poor
as a result of the same causes which
affected the crops of South Carolina
and Georgia.
I reached Jackson, Miss, on We'd
nesday afternoon. The next morn
ing the executive committee of the
Southern Cotton Association held a
session in the knights Of Pythias hall,
in Jackson. We had good attend
ance. was very much impressed with
the personnel of the committee, men
of high character, conservatives in
their views, but with no desire to
make false statements Of the condi-
ton of the crop.
They evinced, to my mind, the
greatest care and painstaking in COM
ing to their conclusions; they SEEM
ed to have gone over the ground in
their several states very carefully.
After comparing notes, the commit
tee, by large majority, decided that
the coming crop would not be over
twelve million bales-twelye million
FIVE hundred, at the outside.
South Carolina reported conditions
about 10 to Is per cent. better than
last year; Georgia reported about the
same condition as South Carolina;
North Carolina reported about the
same conditions as last year; Ala
bama reported conditions about 25
to 80 per cent. less than last year;
Mississippi reported the crop materi-
ally less than last year, as result Of
imperfect stands, having to plant over
as many as four times, and in great
many instances lots of the fields had
to be abandoned, as the cotton failed
to come up; the same conditions pre-
vailed in Louisiana; Texas reported
that they will be at least one million
bales or more shorter than last year,
on account of the ravages of the boil
weevil; also a lot Of the cotton did
not come up.
The area in cotton was much less
than that Of last year, in consequence
of the cotton not coming up; IN
Arkansas they reported cotton in the
bottom lands as being in good condi-
ton; cotton on the hill lands was.
poor, having suffered very much from
want of rain and in consequence of
rust; Tennessee reported a reduction
from last year. The Indian Territory
and Oklahoma were not represented.
The committee, by decisive vote,
stood for fifteen cents as the mini
mum price Of cotton. They think that
the conditions warrant them in this
demand. The editor of the Cotton
Journal wrote an article in the Jour-
nal,. saying that fifteen cents should
be the price under existing circum-
stances. And an article appeared in
the Manufacturers Record comment
ing upon the article aforesaid, sus-
tanning the position taken by the Cot
ton Journal.
The committee also stood for twen-
ty dollars per ton, as the minimum
price for cotton seed. A member OF
the committee, who was a practical
oil mill man and an oil mill owner,
said that this price was not exhorbi-
tant, but in fact, was a just and fair
one.
/ am satisfied that this committee
is an excellent body of men, acting
with the proper spirit, with no desire
to unnecessarily advance the market:
and it is their firm conviction and
belief that the cotton will not exceed
the estimate made, and under exist
ing circumstances fifteen cents is not
a large price for our cotton.
In Wow of the fact that all other
commodities have advanced in price.
we must have a good price for our
cotton in order that we can obtain
labor and compete with prices offered
for unskilled labor in other enter
prises.
We were advised that the demands
of the Farmers Union were similar to
those of our committee. We urge all
cotton growers to stand by us in this
fight, and we will assure them that
victory will be ours.
DIR. W. W. RAY,
Member Of the Executive Committee
from South Carolina.