The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-06-07
BY ROLAND STONE.

.
 mained at home-and then some. Had this been the market value for several
 vars previous to 1908 there could have
 been no panic here.
 So the leaders of the new movement
 are going to labor in the interest of a
 greater trade balance in favor of the
 United States. Their second object is to
 secure for the south her full share of
 the value of her main staple crop. On a
 10000000 bale average, at b cents per
 pound to the grower the south would re-
 ceive S25 per bale more than on the 10-cent
 basis which has been considered (by the
 eXchange) quite enough for the planter, especially the fellow of few acres-the maker of 10 to 50 bales. The fact that
 $50 a bale does not bring him ordinary
 laborer's wages, interest on his invest
 ment or wear and tear depreciation on
 his outfit cuts no figure with the specu-
 lator. The adding of $25 bale, however,
 means S250,000,O00 year extra wealth to
 the south, and bankers, merchants and farmers alike are deeply interested in this result. This extra capital, received
 for only one year. would finance the en- tire crop any year twice over, the grower
 would be out of debt, his cash purchasing power increased, he would live better, and the banks would carry his deposits,
 consummation devoutly to be wished for.
 It is easy to see in view of these indis-
 putable facts that the cooperation of the
 entire south, financial, commercial and productive, was easy to secure when the facts were placed before the people in
 their true light.
 The third purpose of the organizations is to save to the south from s50000,000 to S1Oo, ,O00,00 a year which she spends
 outside her borders for supplies that
 should be and hereafter will be grown at home. (That is, in excess of what is now
 home grown) In cutting or controlling
 the cotton acreage the southern planter uses a double -bitted axe-he guards against an over-crop of cotton and by planting the surplus acres in forage and supply crops he keeps money at home , that he formerly sent away.
 Is it not simple enough?
 Says the president of the Alabama d. vision Farmers Educational and Cooper
 ative Union of America: "Our critics say , that we have no right to reduce our av-
 craze or curtail our crop; that 1t is an
 injustice we are forcing upon the poor
 consumers of the world; that we are cre-
 ating a trust and using the methods our {, selves that we condemn in others-the
 gamblers. They simply do not know
 what they are talking about and we have the word of honest spinners and weaVers that the consumer ought not and need not pay any more for his goods on To- cent basis for cotton than he has been forced to do when cotton sold for about half the price. Is it fair that the cotton grower should carry the whole burden? They do not rail at the western corn grower for feeding his crop instead Of marketing it in order that the prices for corn meal and horse feed should be re- duced to a minimum, or for keeping as much of his crop as he can afford and
 carrying it forward from year to year or for reducing his acreage. I never nave seen a newspaper kick about farmers burning corn for fuel when it was cheaper than coal or wood The wheat farmer bulls big granaries and carries his crop , from year to year-individually or co-op- eratively-but we do not hear him called
 anarchist Cotton planters who demand their rights are the only ones to be so insulted.
 "Cotton is unique among the world s staples that it may be kept for years
 without depreciation, if properly housed | It is not called a crime for individuals 1 to carry a few bales each over any crop year; why is it considered criminal for 1 organizations on the cooperative prin- 1 ciple to pursue the same plan?'
 The Banking Proposition.
 Although a 10, O0O.0OO bale crop at 15 cents
 would represent S750, GOO, GOO 1t is easily 1 proved that $100,0OO000 of banking capital will finance the marketing thereof. Bank deposits in the cotton growing states az gregate more than a billion of money
 great deal more, Texas alone having nearly half that amount It is a boast Of that great agricultural empire that it's 1 cotton fields bring $2000O0,O00 year into 1 the state. A large proportion of these de- 1 posits belong to the farmers. It Is not
 asking too much that 10 or 20 per cent Of | the bank deposits be reserved for cotton l f1naneing the farming interests certainly ] contributes vastly more than 20 per cent
 to the business of these states. These facts have been brought home to the l banking interests and they will henceforth l render to King Cotton the full protec- l ton of their resources If they were oth-
 erwise disposed-which they are not-a short term of 15 cent cotton crops would furnish enough capital to finance every l bale grown.
 As a cotton crop cannot be picked in 1 day ginned in week or compressed In 1 a month the marketing capital required 1 Is small in comparison with the entire crop value. The picking operation eX- tends from middle August through Oc- 1 tober and sometimes into November and l even later.
 Ginning begins, actively, throughout the
 belt in September and often continues into l February. In some eXlrelne Soulnell
 localities the saws are at work in August. 1 This preparation of the crop for market 1 is distributed over a period Of six months ! or more. Therefore the active turning of ] 200Oe GOO bales a mon,.. Is greater than Is l necessary to meet the wants of the world s 1 spindles. This amount can be financed l on Sf00 100000 or less, so far as bank ad- vane are concerned. Under the new plan If money is demanded on early ma l turing loans the grower can warehouse
 his cotton instead of selling as hereto l fore borrow enough against it to meet 1 his obligations and take new lease of life
 instead of being knocked out in the first
 round The hundred millions can be 1 turned over three or four times and do , the entire work of handling the crop, be-
 cause the cash received from the world s | takings would amount in the earlier | months to an average of a million bales, | minimum-$75, ,0000, 900 or much more. CThe
 average year mill takings amount to
 nearly a million bales a month";
 1 It is confidently asserted that the actual | investment of the planter, aside from the 1 labor of the tenant class and small farm
 CT, does not exceed 80 to s35 a bale, and
 that of this amount fully one-half of such 1 a crop is "out of debt,' has no liens
 agalnst It. In that case the entire mort | gage against crop of this size does not
 exceed $350,000000. With the ability 10
 wash one hand with the other" borrow | on warehouse cotton to meet obligations | due in September October, November and December, and the cash received for l sales each month the remnant of the crop 1 will be out of debt before January l. any,