Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-12-04
COTTON ON THE RISE.
What the High Prices Mean to the
Consumers.

From the Providence Journal.
It is good time for the man who wears
a S1.5O shirt to take an inventory Of these
useful garments and lay in an extra sup
ply in case Of need. For cotton is up sky
high and those in a position to speak with
authority say that tho Providence man
who now pays $3.50 for his shirt may
next spring be obliged to pay $1.75 or
more.
1t is, however, a case Of they have
to-" and not will have to"-more Of a
possibility than a probability. The ad-
vance in the price Of cotton affects no
less than twelve classes of men, and. as
usual. 1t is the ultimate consumer who has
the prospect OF getting the hot end of the
poker, although the mill hand may also
get his fingers burned.
The list includes the cotton planter, the
buyer, the broker of raw cotton, the cot
ton manufacturer. the cotton goods bro
ker, the converter or jobber, the various
concerns or factories that make the In
Vulnerable articles for which cotton is
used, the wholesaler. the retailer, the
consumer and the mill hand. And then
above, under and around all Is the oper-
ator who raises the price.
In an industrial center such as Provi-
dence, where some Of the largest cotton
mills in the country are located, either
In the city or its immediate vicinity. men
connected with the cotton Industry say
that great and long-continued period OF
abnormal prices is likely to produce seri-
Gus results. All but three Of the twelve
classes mentioned are In Providence. the
absentees being the planter. the buyer
and the operator.
To begin with, there is the cotton bro
ker. He is not to be COMPOUNDED with the
cotton goods broker. whose business ie
entirely different. Raw cotton in bales Is
the commodity in which the cotton broker
deals, while the cotton goods broker han
dies the gray goods" or brown goods,
the technical designation Of the cotton as
it is when it leaves the looms woven but
unfinished.
In buying cotton for a Providence mill
the cotton broker in this city never buys
direct. His Arm has representative In
each Of the various cotton districts. II do
ing business on large scale, who Is the
buyer; he Is sometimes called the shipper
or the factor. He buys the cotton from
the planter and ships it direct to the mill.
which pays for it through the brokers,
who receive a commission.
THE price of cotton for this season of
brokerage firm. lis very high. think 1t
is higher for October and November than
at any time since the war. 1t has been a
poor season and a short crop. giving the
operators a good chance to bull the mar
ket, which they have done.
"Of course we always deal in futures.
and if contracts are made for June cotton
to be delivered in December at certain
price the contract has to be kept. no mat
ter what the market price may have
jumped to. At the present time the only
sign indicating some doubt in the mills as
to the outcome is the smaller orders they
are giving. Instead of 500 or LOCO bales
Of cotton on one order we are selling now.
at much higher price. from 200 to 300
bales. Cotton bought on call by the mills
sells at the market price"
Cotton bought by the big operators is
held by the planters from whom it has
been purchased. Most of the cotton is
bought outright and the operators can
make the price precisely what they choose
without the danger of a break such as
that which ruined the cotton king. Sully,
like all cotton brokers. traded in futures
and kept up prices for while. but the
crop was SO large that prices declined
sharply and he lost.
Next in order after the cotton brokers
come the cotton mills. AS yet none of
those in Providence and the vicinity has
been obliged to curtail its output or to
run on part time, and at present it is prob
lematical whether not the mills here
will be affected to any great extent.