The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1908-09-22
FIXING PRICE OF COTTON.
Why Efforts are Being Made in Some
Places to Prevent Ginning OF Crop
Explained-Harmony Between far-
mers' Union and Southern Cotton
Association.
News and Courier.


the cotton crop is being picked the
main commercial interest in the South
centres in the price which the crop
will bring, and curiosity is added to
the interest by the determination OF
the Farmers Union to keep secret
the price for which the members OF
the Union are pledged to hold their
product.
The idea of a secret minimum for
the cotton planters organizations mas
been in mind for several years, but
prior to this year it was not adopted.
It remains to be seen how 1t VIII
work. In the first place it is a pro-
blem how long such secret may be
kept, when it is necessarily known to
so many persons.
Suppose a member Of the Farmers
Union, known to be a member OF the
organization, sells bale Of cotton,
saw at fifteen cents. Will it not then
be known that he has sold at or above
this fixed minimum on the one hand,
OF. that on the other he has violated
his pledge? Then if another member
comes along and sells at the same or
at a lower price, there will be contlr-
nation Of the information gained from
The first sale as to the minimum fixed
by their organization. 1t would SEEM
therefore, that the price cannot long
be kept a secret if any sales at all
are made by members OF the union.
And if no sales at all are made by the
members it will be clear that the
market price has not reached the min
imum.
At this time the spot market is un-
der ten cents, and there is no Ekell-.
hood of the minimum being revealed
by any sales, for it can very well be
taken for granted that the fixed mini
mum is above that figure. At present
the efforts of the organization Of plan
ters seems to be directed to keeping
hid also the information as to the size
Of the crop. and one way to accom-
plish this is to prevent the ginning OF
as much cotton as possible, since the
reports Of the ginners to the govern
ment give away the information on
which ordinarily the price would be
fixed in commercial circles-reveallng
the amount Of the supply. This is
yery natural effort on the part OF the
cotton farmers. in view Of the fact
that the efforts Of the spectators has
been to fix the price of cotton re-
gardless of the law Of supply and de-
mand. The plan Of the farmers IS to
FIGHT the spectators with their own
Atactics, it seems. Meanwhile the cot
ton manufacturer. especially in the
South, IS primarily interested in a
staple price Of cotton regulated by
the supply and demand, so that the
trade will not be subjected to violent
Fluctuations.
That both the Southern Cotton
Association, and later the Farmers
Tnion, have done a good deal to
arouse the farmers Of the South to a
sense Of their own strength there can
be no doubt. Though at one time 1t
appeared that the two organizations
might fight at cross purposes, 1t seems
now that they will cooperate. There
were indications Of this at the re-
cent State meeting Of county presl-
dents Of the Farmers Union, and the
following editorial from this weeks
issue of the Farmers Union Sun,
published in Columbia as the official
organ of the Farmers Union, leaves
the same impression. The Farmers
Union Sun says:
"Have the Same Object
"The Southern Cotton Association
and the Farmers Union have the
same object. Both are working to the
same end. The Association was an
emergency organization. The time
had come when something must be
done and done in hurry. The coun-
try was right up aginst a serious
proposition. To meet the then exist
inc conditions the Southern Cotton
Association was formed. It never was
a close oreenization-it was more
Ike a mass meeting. But it was nee
essary 10 nacve in. a hurry. and the as
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