Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1909-11-26
New York Press.

New York Press.
This is Georgia's golden year. The
cotton crop of the state this year, if the
proceeds were divided equally among the
two and a half million population, would
give every one of them, black and white.
young and old, between $50 and $50.
1t has been customary for New York
ers to indulge i'm attempts at humor at
the expense of Georgia every time a
man from Macon, Atlanta or Augusta
happens TO be visiting this part Of the
country He is referred to as Georgia
cracker" This, of course, implies that
he is what they call down there zone
gallus mana man whose trousers are
sustained by a single suspender. This
year, however, the Georgians have jump
ed into the automobile class. The larger
farmers are planning trips to Europe
and even the "one-horse farmer"-the
man who raises only ten bales of cotton
is assured of a Christmas such as ne
and his family have not known before.
Georgia has raised big crop OF cot
ton. The state has done that same thing
before but then the price of cotton was
comparatively low. Now it is high-tre-
mendously Highland it is high right at
the time of the marketing of the crop.
Last year the crop in Georgia was 2,llS'-
600 bales. But cotton at this time last
year was only 1-2 cents pound. The
total commercial crop of America last
year was 13,S25,OOO bales. This year.
while Georgia will raise as much cotton
as it did last and possibly more, the
rest of the>country is not faring so We'll
The Texas crop last year was 3Sl9,OO0
bales, This year 1t is likely to be fully
a million bales less Other states, such
as Arkansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma
have short crops, and, in fact, so has
Mississippi Last year, for instance,
Mississippi produced 1,67300O bales. The
present estimates are that this year she
will raise only 100000 bales. The total
crop of America this year will be about
II, 900 bales.
Georgia probably will raise this year
more than 200, 900 bales. Cotton has
been selling at prices ranging from IL IL
cents to Is 1-2 cents a pound. The aver
age price since the crop began TO move
has been IA cents That means $40 bale.
That is the highest price for cotton, our
ing the marketing season, in more than
thirty years. In the Sully year prices
reached II u cents, but that was AFTER
farmers had sold most of their cotton.
The price was around 10 cents in OCTOBER
and II cents in November of that year
To show by comparison What Iie pres
emf crop means to Georgia it might be
well to bring up the contrast with last
wear. Twelve months ago cotton ranged
between $40 and S45 a bale at the farms
II is as high as SIS a bale there now, and
the average price is no less than $40. At
the latter figure the Georgia crop of p
900 600 bales is worth about 900. 1t
is safe to add to the Georgia crop 1000
OOO tons of cotton seed. The price now be-
ing pair for seed ranges between $50 and
$50 a ton Therefore. the total value OF
the raw material produced by the Geor-
gia cotton farmer this year is SlS5,O00,000.
lust ten years ago the value of the COM
merciaI cotton crop of the whole United
States wah estimated at S}6300O,000 or a
little less than twice as much as the crop
of Georgia alone this year.
From its cotton and cotton seed the
south will get this year nearly $1000,000,
GEO. No such vast sum of money as this
can be brought into territory or region,
especially when the wealth is derived
from the soil and is the product of many
who are working for themselves without
making "a tremendous difference in the
Industrial economy and the ethical side of
tine life Of the people. This is more money
than the south in all it's history ever has
received for its crop of this staple be-