The Green Forest tribune., 1909-04-09
WAR ON GAMBLING.
President Neill Calls for Concerted Action Against the Cotton
 Speculator.

President Neill's address to the peo- pie of Texas will apply to every cotton producing state. He says:
 This appeal is made to the mer- chant the banker, the newspapers, the railroads, the doctors, lawyers and la bor unions, because all are affected by the price of cotton.
 'The merchant is interested because he is very near the farmer; a better price for cotton gives a better busi- ness and more profits. The banker is interested because it gives a greater volume of business and more divi- dends. The railroads are interested because better price for cotton would insure the roads more fares and more tonnage than they now receive. The lawyer, the doctor, the newspaper man. the artisan, the mechanic, the laborer in fact, all classes would be benefited by good prices for cotton. The Farm CTS union has for several years been waging a war against cotton exchanges and the system employed in handling the cotton crop of the south. The union has been very successful in sev- eral of the southern states and the re- suit is very gratifying indeed. States that have passed anti-bucket shop laws show gain of one-quarter to one-half cent per pound more for spot cotton than states that have none
 ''The fight has been carried to con- gress, and now turns upon a bill intro duced by Hon. R. L. Henry of Texas. This bili denies exchanges the right to use the United States mails, ex- press, telephone or telegraphs to transmit fictitious transactions made upon exchanges and will destroy the power of exchanges as did a like law the New Orleans lottery.
 "The history of exchanges is that it's closets are full of skeletons and it's pathway is strewn with commer- cial wrecks. Exchanges have lost to the south more millions than all other causes combined. Cotton exchanges have prostrated the farmers of the south and have made them poor and at the same time destroyed the com mercial greatness of our country.
 "The history of cotton future dealing is that futures are lower than spots; ths being the case, evidently it fixes the price of spot cotton. The effect, of course, is a continual depressing cut upon the market values of spot cotton. One reason is future sales are made upon any of the 32 grades, mon grel cotton, mixed promiscuous lot that nobody wants, which necessarily lowers the value.
 All speculation in cotton is or was done in futures to the utter destruc, tion of speculation in spot cotton The spinner no longer enters the spot market as competitor for spot cotton, but instead buys futures or hedges. If there were no futures or hedges the spinner would enter the south and become competitor for spot cotton, but as long as he car buy futures, which enables him vir. tually to keep down competition and to actually destroy speculation in spot cotton, he certainly will take advan. tage of it. The operators upon ex changes are short sellers What is a short seller? The short seller is an operator that sells cotton he has not got These sales are made ir New York Then cotton agents SC out and buy cotton on New York quotations, thus making the New York exchange market supreme, 2 dictator of prices; prices that are uni form throughout the land, having the effect of destroying competition. The arrangement makes New York the