St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1909-09-25
On the night Of Thursday. Sept. 3.

1909, We'll called me up at,about half
past ten o'clock, but ny daughter
told him ! was in bed asleep and she
would not wake me.
At 6 o'clock the next morning, Fri
day, Sept. 10, 1909, Well called me
again over the phone and told me
Gas he wanted to do the night before
that unless we withdrew at once from
the Rayne market he would publish
me. Ny only answer was TO hang up
the receiver.
(The posters he threatened to pub
lish appeared in Lafayette few hours
later.)
Il is a matter Of fact that besides
the gin he runs at Rayne, Well oper-
ates a leased gin al Duson. He also
leased the Ghappius gin atRayne which
however, is not operated. Does any
one suppose a man would deliberately
lease a gin plant when the bon weeviI
positively guaranteed a short crop,
and not even pretend TO operate said
gin, unless the man had the idea and
intention Of killing OF competition?
And does any one suppose if | had
let Mr.. Well bluff me into pulling out
Of the Rayne market when he threat
ened me early on the morning of
Sept. 10, 1909, to publish me if / did
not quit, that seed cotton would have
been selling that day in Rayne at
$4,000 per Thousand pounds, and at
the prices which have since prevailed?
Commercial fights break out ID all
lines at one time or another, and of
ten get TO be not only very bitter,
but very costly to those who particle
pate in them.
Last season, for Nuisance, for rea-
sons that seemed to be good to US,
we started to raise the price of seed
and baled cotton in the town Of
LAFAYETTE and before we got through
we paid farmers here from ten to
twenty dollars per bale more than
they got at the same time III Scott,
Rayne, Carencro or almost anywhere
else in this section. We fought our
own gin at Carencro, and by reason
Of the enormous prices we paid from
Oct. /, 1903, to the end Of the season
we diverted several thousand bales of
cotton from points il st. Landry, st.
Martin, iberia, Acadia and Vermillion
parishes, not to mention all Of La
fayette Parish. This fight is still
doubtless fresh in the minds of those
who were hurt or benefited by il.
Disturbances in the cotton markets
Of this section are ) most common
occurrence. For example, only last
Saturday, Sept. III, 1909, the price Of
seed cotton was jumped in New IBERIA
from $500 to $4,000 per thousand,
notwithstanding the fact that October
contracts ii New Orleans closed at
1915 on that day, against q quota
Of 1855 On Wednesday, Sept. 8. 1909,
the eventful day when we began buy
ing in Rayne.
10 speak a little palmer, the mar
ket was 1-2c q pound lower last Sat
urday when the price advanced $500
per thousand in New Iberia) than it
was on Wednesday, Sept. 8, 1909,
when it advanced $7.00 per thousand
in Rayne as compared with Lafayette.
We claim the right to pay any price
we please at any place for either seed
Or lint cotton, If the owners are will
ing to sell us at that price. 1t is not
unlikely we would not buy seed cotton
in Rayne if we could buy baled cot
ton there at at q fair market figure,
but since that is not practicable, and
the cotton crop of this section this
season Is going to be very short, the
only thing left for Us to do is to buy
seed cotton in fair open competition
with the Rayne ginners and other
buyers, Just as we have done before
in Breaux Bridge, Cade and other
places, and take it to our Lafayette
plant to be ginned.
We have not the least objection TO
Mr.. Well coming right up to our gin
here in Lafayette and paying 5000
or $4,000 per thousand for seed cot
ton, if he wants to do so, and ginning
it either at his Duson or either Of his
msL.~1 A. s~k4