The Green Forest tribune., 1909-04-23

The same situation prevailing in every southern state, it follows that the bulk of the crop, instead of fol- lowing natural business laws and be. ing marketed over the legitimate period of barter and sale and con sumption, is dumped upon the market ir big lots.
 "The inevitable result is that the market price sags, congestion ensues and the individual who cannot afford to hold off his creditors sells his cot ton at a loss.
 UnhusinessIike and Unnecessary.
 This procedure is unbusinesslike, unnecessary and ruinously expensive to southern industry. The cotton crop, like every other crop, should be mar keted only as it is needed. No manu' facturer would think of selling his out, put in a short two or three months.
 The farmer should be on an equal business plane with the manufacturer and every other producer. Until he is, he will lose himself and lose to the south, hundreds of millions of dollars unnecessarily each year.
 Now go back to the individual farmer we were using for purposes of illustration. He deposits his bale in a warehouse that is bonded and abso, lutely as responsible to the com mercial world as is a surety company or an insurance corporation.
 He accepts for this bale a certifi- cate certifying to his ownership of the cotton.
 The backing of a reserve of mil lions of dollars, and of all the stock holders, is back of that certificate.
 Tt will be as full protected as United States currency.
 Tt represents the highest possible class of collateral for loans.
 With the security thus outlined supporting it, he will have no trouble whatever in borrowing enough from his banker to meet his pressing in debtedness, holding his cotton in the warehouse until such time as it can be marketed at a price commensurate with it's ultimate value to the business world.
 Farmer Owns the Equity.
 Tn borrowing this money, he does not surrender the equity in his cotton. It is his, to sell whenever he pleases, urif1 1oip hot the certificate he may have used as collateral for the loan is a prior lien upon the bale which must be satisfied when that continuation is reached.
 Thus the banker, or loaner, is safe guarded equally with the farmer. know of many banks and lenders of money putting out large sums to-day upon less reliable security.
 The amount the farmer can borrow on his certificate will, of course, vary with localities. It will be determined automatically by the amount of cotton his certificate represents and ruling market conditions.
 Certificates underwritten in the iron-clad manner I have described would eagerly be accepted by the if nanciers both in this country and in Europe, and by mill operators both in this country and in Europe. They could be subjected to rediscounting without affecting their value to or pro- lection of the original holder
 Warehouses Must Be Erected.
 'EIt will be essential, of course, to provide sufficient warehouses for the housing of this tremendous quantity of cotton. Already the south owns almost enough of them. It will be compara- lively inexpensive to erect enough to complete the quota. The surplus remain ing will go into the guarantee fund, making absolutely secure these cer- tificates.
 'The transformation would work benefit to the southern warehouses al ready in operation. It would throw more business their way at the same rates, and create absolutely new busi- ness.
 "Crudely estimated, the cotton crop, as marketed in the present haphaz- ard fashion, brings into the south be- tween S55G,O00,0OO and $6O0,O0O 900 a year
 ''Is it worth while to the south to increase this sum by s150,00O 900 to 50,O0O,OO0?
 That is what the plan contem- plates. and it is simply question of arithmetic, as you can see with a pa per and pencil in one minute.
 "The price such additional wealth would cost would be but a nominal fraction of the gain. The profit of the project for good and all. It is only one year, would several times finance amazing that the thing, considering it's purely business aspects, has not been done long ago.
 Turning loose this tremendous sum into the south annually would not only give new meaning and development to agriculture in the south; it would also be reflected in every channel of trade and commerce, from the crossroads merchant to the corporations in the cities, manufacturing plants of every description, bankers and every charac- ter of commercial and industrial en- terprise."