The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1907-10-16

ing Of cotton aud joining the several
farmers organizations In advising the
farmers to hold and warehouse their
cotton this year, I feel that 1 can not
take upon myself the responsibility
OF saying to what extent you have a
right to expect cotton to advance. I
do say, however, that You are not re-
ceiving today what you should re-
ceive, and that I believe this year Of
all years is one in which a stand
should be made and higher prices
contended for. l believe that holding
cotton this year will be to you a prof.
liable investment. l am al much i'll
terested in it's being profitable as YOU
are; for I realize the fact that should
prices decline not only yourselves but
the warehouse system will receive a
serious setback.
Secret in Marketing Cotton.
1.-THE secret, as 1 have already
stated, in marketing cotton is for the
farmer to give to the market the cot
ton as the market demands 1t; and
this he can best do by warehousing
his cotton. Although 1 do not be-
lieve that it would be to the inter-
est Of the farmer at any time to hold
all of his cotton for the reason that
the farmer then becomes the only
bull in the market, being the only
one who owns cotton. If your cotton
is gradually marketed every one who
actually buys and owns 1000 bales
Is to a certain extent on your side
in the fight to maintain the price
he does not wish to sell and It Is not
to his interest to have the COM
modify which he owns lose its value.
Even where a mill has bought cotton
for it's own consumption it is not to
the interest of the mill manager for
several reasons, to have cotton de-
cline. In the first place 1t gives his
competitors who do not W cotton
an advantage oyer him in the man
ufacture of goods and where he has
to borrow money with his cotton as
security, as nearly all mills do, II
makes him liable to be called upon at
any time for additional margins. The
cotton buyer is not materially inter
ested whether high or low prices pre-
vail. He is interested in each indi-
vidual transaction. He simply buys
and sells cotton based upon a higher
profit for each days work; and 1t
does not make any difference to him
whether the cotton which he buys
and then sells brings Is cents or 3
cents aipound, so long as he make mis-
profit. When he become a specula'
ton he then of course, has that Inter
est which every other speculator has,
and it is very material to him Wheth.
er he is on the right or wrong side OF
the market
Question of Holding.
Even il I belleved-which l dc
not do-that it is to the farmers In
terest to hold all of his cotton at the
opening of the season, 1 would 81
somewhat loath to give him such ad-
vice, for the reason that realize tina,
many farmers are so situated that fol-
financial reasons it would be impos,
sible for him to do SO. This being
the case, in such a crisis as this it is
all the more incumbent upon those
who can afford to hold their cotton
and take 1t off the market to do So
BY doing this they not only help
themselves but they help that mai
whose financial conditions are such
that he is obliged to dispose of a Ger
tain amount of his crop.
1T Is exceedingly unfortunate to
all interested in cotton this year that
a stringency in the money market
should prevail just at the time when
it is very desirable and greatly to the
advantage Of the cotton planter to
keep off the market as much as ne
possibly can. In some quarters the
theory prevails that the bankers and
merchants of the South and the coun-
try generally are not helping h far
mer all they should to hold on to his
cotton. If the stringency in the mon
iey market were local, If it were con-
fined in the South alone, ii the mai
who buys cotton were not having
equal difficulty with the man who
owns Gotten ito borrow money with
which to. buy or hold, then there
might be some basis for such an I'M
preston. The cotton industry Is
more important and of greater inter
est to Southern inanciers than any
and all industries of the South COM
bined, for it is the basis of Southern
prosperity. Not only this, but a
bank makes 1t money by. lending
money to any and all who. have prop
.er' collateral, and if the Southern
banks were in a position today to adj
vance money to tho manufacturer,
the cotton buyer or farmer for cotton
transactions they would unquestion-
ably do so. -. ,
Money Stringent in General.
1.-The present :stringency in the
money market is not confined to the
South and to Southern banks: 1t
prevails, l might say, throughout the
United States and Canada, and the
same conditions exists in Europe.
The unusually high rate of discount
which today prevails in British
banks testifies to the fact that the
present money stringency is world
wide, and that for the time being, at
least, the worlds monetary facilities
are inadequate for the volume of
business both in progress and con-
temptation.
1T does not help matters for us
to decry and to blame any one es-
pecially for the present condition Of
affairs i'm this respect. The scarcity
of money affects all alike, and we can
do nothing but meet the situation as
we find it, realizing that we are today
confronted with a condition and not a
theory. Many men differ as to the
cause of this condition, but in my
opinion, the stringency in money is
by the fact that the people Of
country and of Europe have sim
ply in the last year o~verreached
themselves in the amount of business
that they have transacted. Not only