The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-10-07
FARMERS SEEM FIRM
VANGUARD OF DISTRESS COTTON
 DISPOSED OF.
Some sharp Inquiries But Have Had No Effect and Movement of staple
 Has Halted Considerably.

sarhere ts no money in it," is the axnrassed consensus of opinion of the southern farmers in regard to cotton planting. when cotton brings Iess money for pound than meat
 Today, they say, meat costs them eleven and a half cents a pound and cotton is bringing less than nine.
 Tuesday showed the first signs Of the reaction predicted last week and wagon trade which has ever since the last few days of November been It, orally pouring into Montgomery, slack ed, hesitated. and to all intents ana purposes stopped. The real fight be- fvean thA farmers and their market ia now on, and it remains to be seen whether the agriculturists can hold their crop until they get the price they want.
 Those farmers whose goods have been practically forced from them 70 satisfy debts and notes. have as far as their class goes. been dealt with, and now the representatives of the eoinners and the warehouse men, which last are generally more on the side of the farmer than the spinner, will face the vanguard of King Cotton's army, having captured the skirmishers.
 Az Q result of the approaching con- dition the market quotations Tuesday and the day before had about as much stability as a weather vane in an April thunder storm. The quotations did not make any remarkable changes. but the uncertainty of the movement was plain to be seen, and one thing was shown more plainly. the instability of the market was caused by tendency to- ward going up. for it is realized by all that seven cent cotton is an impos- sibfaity and eleven cent cotton Is high ly probable. This fact induced specu- laAors, more boldly inclined, to make tentative purchases which though small were known to come from cer- tain sources and only failed to boost ] the price because of the earllness of the movement after the late general condition.
 Another factor that tended to un- settle the market was a string of very pointed questions received from coast ports from agencies there which want ed to know how much cotton was to be had, who had it, and what they wanted for it. Besides this there were several purchases for firms that are known not only to supply the continent al spinners, but American mills as well.
 Spots were quoted Tuesday at nom finally eight and a half cents and few were the bales sold. The warehouse men, to keep busy. went out and marked cotton they have on the street, re-weighed some of 1t and generally looked over their stock on hand. as a fsrTner expressed 1t, "sorter getting &C., Quainted."
 It is not generally thought that the present cotton in the hands of the To- cal warehousemen will stay here long. Some cotton will, in spite of all prev alent conditions, be bought, and all that is ready for the market now is that in the store houses When this ts gone. to do any business at all. the warehouse people will have to cast their fortunes whole-souledly with the planters and help the grower in his demand for higher prices.
 With the backing assured the farm CTS by the financial institutions in enabling them to hold their crop 1t is only a matter of time. the influence of the Presidential election to the con trary notwithstanding. when the spin ners will have to say teen" after a numeral in offering a price,