The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-06-07

union and other warehouses in time, mean while the warehoused cotton will not be for sale at less than the agreed mini
 mum price, and an enormous aggregate l he held off the market, influencing the
 price of that which finds its way to the l front in the hands of outsiders" The
 number of these will diminish as the plan l develops and the leaders claim that, even i for the coming crop the organization is
 so complete, will be so far perfected Sep l tember 1, that no rush to market will cc- l cur at any tims on the 1908 crop.
 1 The problem of the specuator Is, there fore, not how many acres are planted, 1 how many bales are ginned but how l many VII come to market in time to cover his short sales. Heretofore the farmer has done all the guessing now he will turn the tables and 1t Is the spinner, l weaver and speculator who must act on the defensive" say the leaders in this revolution or rebellion"
 A prominent spot cotton operator, who
 is a friend of the staple, said to me last
 week in Memphis: Operations for the 1 decline have, in my opinion, reached a l climax The demand for spot cotton has 1 become active and cannot longer be de- i layed. Heavy contracts for future de- ] livery have been made by the mills and l they need the cotton. The feeling in l
 as shown by advancing prices in the wool
 market and a better feeling In the iron | and steel market. Last week the spin
 ners took 240,0e0 bales (Hesters report, 1 May 15), which is S30O0 bales more than 1 they bought in the same week of 1907, when the depression was a thing un- 1 dreampt of There is not in the world to- l day enough to furnish supply for 15
 weeks at this rate (3522, GOO, worlds vis- l ible) whereas, last year we carried over
 100000 bales. The situation is all that
 the most ardent bull could ask for Spot 1 cotton is tightly held in every port and
 interior market of prominence"
 The Warehouse Is the Reliance. So satisfactory has the warehouse sys- ] tenn, employed by the Farmers union in 1 all the cotton states, proved itself in the i past two years that the number will be 1 greatly increased this year-and In the 1 years to come. Large planters identified 1 with the Cotton association are building 1 private warehouses on their own planta- l tions at convenient points and will l provide accommodation for their tenant crop and those of neighboring planters 1 Harvie Jordan is one of those to set the i pattern in this course. He is still carry l ing 100 bales the product of his planta- l tion in 1907, but will have no storage to pay on his next crop. As the spinners l carry the crop for them, they have kind | ly arranged to do so. only the buyer will
 not be able to get 1t without the mini mum equivalent"
 These warehouses are of concrete, 1 brick or 'ironsides," and will preserve 1 the staple in much better shape than has 1 been the rule heretofore The number of
 such warehouses already exceeds 1000 in 1 the cotton states, many of them having l capacity of from 1000 to 2000 bales. Be- 1 fore five years have passed there will be l thousands more in all parts of the belt, 1 enabling the storage and withholding ! from the market of from one-third to one-half the crop. The dealers disdain any intention of working corner or ele- vating the price above what the world demand strictly justifes, but only wish | to control the handling of what belongs | tO them, to properly protect their baled l cotton, and be able to borrow money against their holdings when necessity re- l quires. Home storage will be fashionable | this season for the excess that cannot | be accommodated in the warehouses, and l the bales will be more carefully handled 1 than ever, as a courtesy due to a $75 | bale The subject of baling material Is l being widely discussed and there Is no 1 doubt that a considerable portion of the | 1908 crop will be covered with cotton bal ! ing made from low-grade cotton, which
 
 1 opened, in place of jute as formerly used l almost exclusively. A portion of their 1 next surplus funds will be devoted to 1 tarpaulins. canvas duck and heavy sheet l ings for the protection of vehicles im- 1 plements and even the baled cotton 1 stored at home. These uses will create a 1 demand for certain of the lower grades l that is sure to be felt in the general | market.
 l In short, the soilgrubber is being devel- 1 oped into a business farmer by very 1 rapid stages, wholly beyond the compre- l nension of the spinner, broker and spec l ulator whose residence is not fin the 1 felds" These worthies will do well to 1 get acquainted with the cotton grower of l 1908, for he is of a different brand from l the class who have remained apathetic | during decades past, and which uncom- l plainingly took what was given them,
 or at most complained and went on in l the same old rlt
 1 Five years more of progress under our l educational system." said the State pres 1 ident of the Mississippi division of the union, "and the status of the southern I cotton planter-the tenant class and
 small land holder-will be advanced in l a wholly unbelievable degree-in fact the 1 results accomplished within the past three years are little short of marvellous, 1 and but for the panic would have been
 
 | scoffer'
 The remnant of the 1907 crop Is now l held with gratifying firmness to those 1 who inaugurated the movement. The selling and shipping to market is chiefly 1 for account of the country merchant or l factor who is obliged to sell because he 1 has too much of his capital locked up,
 must buy fresh stocks of goods and has | obligations to meet. The farmers are not l the sellers. For the most part they have | stopped bothering their heads about quo- 1 tations. They are busy with farm work, | especially in corn, oats, hay and the fruit
 and vegetable crops and waiting for the 1 ground to dry out enough so they can
 get at the weeds that are fast hiding l the cotton plants from sight.
 New Crop Conditions.
 l At the various state headquarters of 1 the Farmers union and the Cotton asso- 1 citation reports daily received con- | corning the effect of food and storm l damage, the late frosts, cold winds. the | bright spell and the excessive moisture 1 of recent days in many sections of the 1 belt That the damage has been materi- | al Is certain, and that 1t may cut consid- ] erable of swath In new crop calcula- l tons very probable. Trosts weakened | when they did not kill; the succeeding cold | winds did not help matters and when the | hot sun finally became active the young and tender plant showed greatly the ef- | fects of the former chilling It Is not cuch fields that produce a big crop Re- It,ta tipr t9o ar