The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1909-10-21

President Barrett, Of Farmers Tn
ion Says Farmers Can Demand q
Better Price by Holding Cotton
Mills Can't Afford to Close.


Better Price by Holding Cotton
Mills Can't Afford to Close.
President Charles Barrett. Of the
Farmers Union. Says the manufae-
say they will curtail their output.
He claims that they can't afford to
let their machinery lie Idle so long
as the demands for cotton cloth and
weaves is as steady and as difficult
to supply as 1t Is to-day. Here Ia
President Barrett's statement:
ITO the Members of the Farmers
Union: n:-The South Is producing this
year probably the shortest crop. in
proportion to the demand. since this
section began to raise cotton. As we
advance in the season, all interests
are more thoroughly convinced of
this fact. At the final accounting
the crop may be shown to be much
shorter than even the present esti-
mates Of the extreme pessimists.
You have sold sufficient cotton,
in the majority of instances, to meet
your passing debts. / call upon you
now. in behalf of your own interests
and the interests of the South at
large, to hold the remainder of your
cotton until the present price range
higher.
Your ability to hold is stronger
because you have been raising your
foodstuffs at home. You no longer
have to buy of the necessities of life
as heavily as in former years. Next
year | look to see this advantage ma
terially furthered. To that end I
call on you to put yet more in prac-
tice the doctrines of diversification
and raising Of home supplies.
''The laws Of supply and demands,
SO glibly quoted to US in the past, are
such that cotton is worth more than
it is now bringing. The world needs
our product. The mills in the Unit
ed States and in Europe need 1t.
They are able to pay "a higher price
than is now being offered. They will
pay it if we exhibit the ordinary bus
mess sagacity to hold our staple un-
til they become convinced of our in
tention to secure fair price.
do not be alarmed by the humor-
Gus bluff to the effect that mills in
this country and Europe are threat
ening to curtail production because
of present prices. They cannot afford
TO do So About the most expensive
piece of machinery to lie idle is
modern cotton mill. And the ones
in America and Europe are not going
to lie idle. so long as the demands
for cotton cloth and weaves Is as
steady and as difficult to satisfy as
it is to-day.
"In past years the mills have made
enormous and swollen dividends on
low-priced cotton. They may make
less on cotton this year, but they
can buy all the cotton needed for
their purposes at Is cents pound
and still declare reasonable profits. I
confidently assert that the cloth mar
ket will follow the cotton market
with sufficient fidelity to bear out
these statements.
"YOur cotton is worth higher
price than 1t Is now bringing. The
welfare of yourselves, your wives and
your children, the commercial inter-
ests generally of the South, dictate
that you resist any impulse to put
more cotton on market. In SO do
ing, you are simply playing into the
hands of the speculative element, the
professional price depressors, against
whom we have been at war for many
years.
by exercising business foresight
at this time, you simply reap addi-
tional money to yourselves, addition
al millions to the South. Your duty
is clear, your duty as well as your
self-interest."