Fort Mill times. [volume] (Fort Mill, S.C.) 1892-current, 1908-08-06
HOLD YOUR COTTON.
President Hsrris Issues Letter
to the Farmers.

W the FARMERS.
Remember Farmers that IL all de,
pends on you to make the spot cot.
ton that is now in your hands brins
the minimum price-fifteen cents ,
KNOW the spectators will try r.
scare you and endeavor to get vo,
70 sell. Now let us see If this is true
l met a farmer to day who told me
that a buyer drove out to see him
ana tried TO get him to sell his cot
'oh' stating to this farmer that I'm
an adjoining county he had bought
4OO bales from the farmers Tbo
buyer told him that he had better
sell as if was going lower; that new
cotton was coming in and that i;
would scon be selling at eight cents
NOW, farmers. do not be "bluffed'' nv
such falsehoods. The trouble with
that buyer is just this-he is buyinp
Tor some broker who has contracts
on which deliveries are due and be
is being called on to fill them
Gentlemen. make him pay your price
Detore he gets your cotton; it is yours
ana you have n right to demand its
Vaiue and your demands are not too
much. Fifteen cents is the price and
II the old crop is held by the farm
.ers, it will come. They might fry
10 scare you with the new crop. but
let us see If it not wisdom to hold
il.
The new cotton crop cannot he
spun by itself until after sixty davs
after 1t is ginned and packed and
there is not enough old cotton for the
mills consumption, so the mills have
to mix two bales of the old cotton
with one bale of the new cotton, be-
fore they can spin it to advantage.
Why did this drop in price occur
in the last fifteen days? Has the
price of the manufactured goods fall
len of and are trade conditions in
a worse shape? No; some weak
kneed farmers got scared, and when
the price went up to IL cents, they
just turned loose enough to feed she
spinners for twenty days, and the
spectators said, I'VE will drop it
down and scare them with the new
crop" Now don't be frightened
Remember last year there was a pre-
MUM paid for old cotton in Septem-
ber. Why was this? Because the
consumers had to have 1t to mix with
the new crop before IL could be spun.
Now as to the condition of the
growing crop. Our national presi-
dent. Hon. c. S. Barrett, called a
meeting of the state presidents to
meet him and the national executive
committee in Memphis, Tenn, on the
10th inst, and all of the cotton grow
ing states were represented there,
with two exceptions North Carolina
and Florida. We got a true and cor
rect report of the conditions existing
in all of the states. The complaint
was that there had been too much
rain and the cotton crop had not
been well worked and was very un-
even. The plant was growing too
much to weed and was not fruiting
we'll. The above is a true statement
of the facts concerning the growing
crop. The next forty days is the
weather will have to be perfect for
the balance of the season if we dupli-
cate our 1907 crop.
l saw a statement in today's paper
that Texas had sold all of her old
crop, that was being held. This is
only another bluff to scare you. Just
remember that futures" cannot be
spun into goods and our last years
crop was 100000 bales short, so
take a frmer grip on your spots and
victory is yours.
b. Harris,
President, South Carolina State
Union.