Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1909-04-02
COTTON SPECULATION

Editor Journal: / read a letter cotton
speculation from a South Carolina party In
your paper today with considerable interest.
1t struck especially as l had been discuss
ing this and other questions last evening with
Billy BOootn, who was formerly a classmate at
Mercer and who has been in recent years an
American continent trotter." Billy is about
much at home in Ell Paso or Salt Lake
is Georgia product II / could give you his
exact language II would probably make more
Of an impression, but / won't guarantee to be
exact although I'll DO the best l can. Mike,
Old Man. the elimination OF the middle man
is a mistake: it's dead wrong in practice re-
gardless Of what II might be in principle.
The spS5ulator occupies the same relation to
the armies OF commerce does the picket to
real army. The producer and the manufac-
turer Numerically opposed when il comes
to pricing raw product The speeulator
all poppy cock about his being against the
farmer. Just look at the situation in wheat
now. Oh. ! know people win contend that
the farmer has no wheat hand and ism [
benefited, but that's untrue and they would
only have to VISIT the Granger States to find
out. No. our picket-the speculator-watehes
both sides. and puts up hoIler when a seem
ingly interesting move is made by either as
the case may be, by providence, in favor of
either side. Take the tobacco situation. I
messed in that for ten years. as you know.
Well. back yonder four five years the Big
Tent Poles OF the Trust took up an idea that
the speenlator-the middle man-was a bar
nAcle, nuisance, a regular wart the to-
bacco industry and therefore had no right to
exist. They decided to eradicate. eliminate and
remove him far from the tobacco industry, as
Old Doc used - ask in his prayers about our
sins. I heard conversation then between
two of the most prominent tobacco men liv-
ing. One was opposed TO the trust going to
the planter direct. He said, Destroy the
middle Elan and you win remove the most
powerful bulwark OF safety between the pro-
Queer and the manufacturer, and raise more
hell In Kentucky than she has ever econ.
When we 20 to squeeze them they will know
who did II and hit back. and when they 60
TO squeeze US we will not have the middle
man to and will hit back It will keen
up that way till the whole thing is in a
mess and II will take army to umpire it.
The middle man is like the bumpers on the
train takes up slack. Let the market start
up and there VIII be unpleasant Jars taking
up slack without our bumpers-the middle
man; and the same rule holds good when she
starts down. . . Well, Mike that hell has
been and is being raised and that army is up
there now. Both sides want the middle man
back and when they get him peace will come
and not before. He is like the governor on an
engine-keeps the Ndarn thing running fairly
smooth. A big bull move will ruin half the
spectators and so will crash, but they get
another stake and get back on the picket line
Now. 1 don't say the New York cotton ex-
change is oil to the GOOD. Far from it. It's
ers' Union is all to the bad. Nay nav Paul-
inc. It's nearly all TO the good. as far as it
has gone. But those two institutions ought
TO be brought into harmony. That Old Long
Horn I'm Washington has started one OF The
best moves ever made That matter of stand.
ard cotton grades so every one win know
where they are at. Now. II the Union would
90 on and establish bonded warehouses at the
ports and important interior markets and Issue
standard grade warehouse receipts, and the
New York cotton exchange would arrange 10
trade i'm these warehouse receipts instead of n
little bundle OF low grade cotton in New York
we would have made the great step forward
OF course | am not going into detail II
would be necessary to arrange a lot Of these
But with those receipts floa ting and recog-
nized by a well conducted exchange located
in New York, the one real financial center OF
America. The spectators alone would absorb
any two or three crops surpluc {"
| feel that this matter should be agitated
There is a lot in that line OF talk that's worth
farmers and legislators thought.
Yours truly NJ. j. HORTON.
Atlanta, Ga.