Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1908-03-17

that he is the father of the movement
that resulted in the first cotton asso-
citation. later in the Southern Cotton
Growers association and still later in
the Farmers Union.
1t WAS while he was engaged in the
brokerage and commission business In
New York that Mr.. Roddey first be-
came interested in the subject He
worked out plans of organization,
wrote for the newspapers and made
speeches. all urging organization for
the purpose of holding cotton off the
market and as the result of his activ-
| ity enough people became interested to
iput the first organization Of which
Harvie Jordan became the head, un-
derway.
Though not as enthusiastic now,
probably. as he was then, Mr.. Roddey
is no less firm in his conviction that
the south has been and Is being impos-
| ed upon and that the only defense
against this imposition is thorough and
effective organization. He still be-
lieves that this is practicable: but ad-
mits that there is lot Of good educa-
tional work to be done before the re-
suit can be entirely satisfactory.
But we have made progress, lots
of progress" Mr.. Roddey said in con-
versation with the writer last Satur-
day. II tell you we've got them scared,
and if we just keep on at them we will
lick them yet"
What has made all this financial
squeeze?" he continued. Not a thing
except when the cotton association and
the Farmers Union decided to put the
price of cotton at Is cents, those fell
something, and do it quick, else the
south was in danger Of getting on top
and once on top II would stay there.
| | don't think there was anything else
to it. That Is explanation Of the tight
ness in the money market and that Is
! the explanation of the curtailment Of
production. Now, don't understand me
| to suggest that our mills are In anyway
responsible 1t was the northern peo-
pie who tried to knock the bottom out
Of the situation, and our own mills
have to be governed by a condition
that they cannot control.
There are those who say that the
cotton organizations made a mistake
| by putting the price too high. that If
they had made it II cents they would
have gotten It, Nothing Of the kind.
Look at the situation and while you
will not find that fifteen cents has yet
been realized, you will find that up to
this time the current crop has brought
the highest average price that has ever
been realized and this has been because
of the high mark that was set-l5
cents. On the other hand it would be
absurd to say that you could market
the balance Of the crop even at II cents
| If you would offer it all at the same
time Just let the port receipts for a
day for instance, go a few bales over
the receipts of the same day last year,
and down goes the contract market so
many points in proportion.
That's the one great weapon they
have to fight us with. That murderous
old New York Cotton Exchange. We
must wipe it out. l have been there, l
have seen how it works from the inside
and the outside and l know what / am
talking about. People tell you that the
bucket shop is wrong. but there is
nothing the matter with the legitimate
exchange Bah, Bucket shops don't
make prices. They gamble on the
prices made by the legitimate ex-
change; that is all Why the gamb-
ling on the exchange is not as credita-
BILE as gambling in the poker game.
When two men play poker whether
they win or lose affects nobody but
themselves; but those gamblers on the
exchange are making play of that hon.
est Woodworking fellow out there
plowing a mule. They sell his crop a
thousand times over six months before
he plants a seed, and fix the price
against him even though he is not a
party to the game. 1t is the fellow
who produces the cotton who is hurt.
If it was nobody but the gamblers, 1
would not consider that it is any Of my
business; but it's the north's way of
keeping that fellow out in the field in
slavery and through him the whole
south.
NO, don't know what cotton's going
| = do Jvh
farmers do. The mills are buying only
from hand to mouth; but they are
managing to get enough to do them.
If the farmers wouldn't sell, of course,
the mills would have to stop, that's all.
If the farmers go panicky-something
they have not done yet-the bottom will
drop out and our good friends Of the
north will get all they have been fight
Il iOp