The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-10-08
FOR FARMER
MISTAKE IN DATING OBLIGATION
 MATURITIEs OCTOBER 1.
Seemingly Gives spinners Opportuni- ty to start Bearfsh Propngan-
 da Among Them No De-
 mand for Their Goods

Prevalent distressing cotton condt- tions. say a number of men interested in the business, are owing to lack of business forethought on the part or most farmers.
 In almost every instance farmers who do not have capital enough from season to season to keep going, and in many cases, to start going. make their notes and bills so they will fall due October 1. They do this because from time immemoyial in the cotton business up to several years ago. oc- tober was a good month to sell cot ton. and inspite of the fact that lately early October has invariably seen the price go down, they arrange their paper to become due at that time be- lieving they can best sell then.
 The result has been that the spin ners and their representatives have taken advantage of this time honored custom to slack their orders and so lower the price at the time 1t means most to the farmers who have to sell to meet their obligations and much cotton is available.
 This year, although many will lose money. a most valuable lesson has been learned by the planters who have to have credit to start business. It IS said they can easily obtain credit, those who can get 1t at all. for at least two months longer than the l. future they will be willing to pay the almost trival additional interest on their notes to get the extension Of time and so be in position to de- liver to the market when best suits them.
 One reason why October has been a good month for selling is the usual enhaiicement of fall business in all commerce beginning then and earlier. and the spinners are as anxious as any one else to get going well then to be ready for the goods to be put out next spring and summer. it be- ing of material advantage to them to have a sufficient supply of raw ma terial on hand to keep up a steady run during the manufacturing sea- son. It Is believed by many that the standardization of this fact is worth the present finaneial loss to the plan ters for the lesson can be filed for fu- ture reference
 The condition of the market today. inspite of the most unusual year. bears out the truth of he prevalent belief, for in spite of the talk of no orders and full storehouses and no de- mand from jobbers for manufactur- ed stuff to send on to the retail trade, orders are coming in, more and more queries are being made and fairly sizabIe orders are being filled
 There is demand for cotton, not anything Ike what it should be. or like it has been, but enough to show that cotton is wanted, wanted now. and in many cases wanted badly. To say that the demand is one third Of normal would about classify the situation Where last year. and ev- craze years, the warehousemen were shipping an average Of six hundred bales a day, today they are shipping but two hundred. But two hundred is a long way better than a market at a dead standstill
 It is expected that the settlement of the strike in Manchester. England, will do much to increase the demand. not through that local market alone, but the general toning-up effect the passing of the cloud will have on the whole situation.
 It is authoritatively stated that most of the crop has been picked, much is in the fields still, but four-fifths of it is in bales, and most of the forced sales are over, all that amount to any, thing. It Is a question now of endu- rance, the brunt of the test falling on the banks. If the banks are willing to extend notes, and they have said they were, the farmers are safe for they can hold their cotton just so long as the banks do not demand a settlement. -.
 The banks. on the other hand. are dependent. in this part of. the world to a great degree on cotton condi- tions. Cotton is the backbone, at present, of southern commerce and bad cotton conditions play havoc with other industrial lines, and the banks may yet be forced, in self-preserva- ton, to come down and say 1t has gone far enough but if they can hold and , all indications show they can for several more months. the cotton sup ply. so much talked of, that is in the hands of the spinners, will be ex- hausted.
 Then cotton must be had. When the phrase must be had" becomes fix