The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-01-04
BY cHARLEs RArrRAY.

HH CHAktE8 E&AIXNAIs
 I have carefully resd the letter or The Advertiser the 18th ut. There are several conclusions to De drawn from MT. McLendon's letter. every one or which endorse. s
 First--The leaders, or wouid-be lead CTS. of the Cotton Growers lack gem eralship.
 second--rhat those leaders have drawn together mass of good men undisciplined, who surrender to the enemy.
 ThirdA-rhs necessity tor campaign
 routh--That the cotton raiser must become self-sustainihg.
 wts . delegate to the Cotton Crow. CTS at New Orleans when Harvie Jor- dan was first elected President. There were some 3.000 delegates assembled from the different cotton States and territories. That convection cost the delegates. taking the cost Of the four 900. aside from the expenses Incurred by the city Of New Orleans. In his speech of accept tance, Mir. Jordan made two declarations. First: ssThis is the most monhentops election ever held since 1ssi:" and. second, "The law Of supply and demand is as irrevocable as the law of God.o The latter was endorsed by a number of speakers who followed MT. Jordan. The prin- cfpal work done in that convention, aside from speech -making. was the appointment of oflcers and committees, one to draft cosstitution and by laws. the members to meet in Atlanta.
 The cotton crop of 1908 was a 10,- oo0.00e-bals crop. Cotton went to 1s and 1e cents per pound: the people went wild and the crop of 1904 was . record breaker. amounting to some tAloo9.ooo of bales. There was danger of slump and disaster. The object of the call Tor a convention at New orleans fwas to reduce acreage and guano. There never was in the history Of the south more propitious time for organizing the cotton. growers into a solid phalanx fer self -preservation agafnst their common enemy than at. that eonyen-- tion; and yet no ofganization except oflicers. The constitution and by laws formulated in Atlanta under the eye and supexvision of Mir. Jordan provided that 25 cents initiation fee should be charged for admission into the associationi that every white man. regardless of business occupation. was eligible to membership, providing he could raise 25 cents. Every bale os cotton was to be taxed 10 cents. MT. Jordan said there were million cot- ton raisers. On 1o,000.000-bale crop the tax would be million dollars; million cotton growers paying 25 cents each would be &25o.00o. One may search the records of corporations and business organizations for an hundrer years and I challenge dispute when I say none can bo found clothing a president with such despctio power as was conferred upon Mir. Jordan. When read. it became . stench h the nostrils of the cotton raisers. and Is a dead letter today.
 Actions of Beats.
 On my return from New Orleans. as president ef rny beat called a meet ing of the citizens supposing the ob- ject Of Mir. Jordan as president was organization of the cotton raisers with view to rAdpction, This was understood in my county. I took the name of every man present asking yoA Save in cotten last year9 How mad y acres will you reduce this year? every man responded and every mah ] promised reduction not only as to acres but as to guano. I then appoint ed a committee to see those not pres- ent. Every man was seen and their names listed and the amounts of acres reduced given. I went to the county site to meet other delegates and re- port to the county rrestdsnt. The constitution and byiaws we're discuss. ed, and the people refused to sign them--the president and many of the members pronouncing 1t . schene to enrich Q few ofEicers That eonstitu- tion provided for statistical depart rnents in each of the cotton States and Territories with hesdouartsrs at the capitols. And. might add. everything to draw blood from the cotton raiser and make him a slave or sycophant Upon my return from the meeting st the county site wrote Mr. Jordan and asked him the question, What ere you going to do with the cotton tax. and initiation fees? stated to him the objections urged against the con- stitution and bylaws, that they made him a financial dictator to the cotton growers of the South. conferring more authority upon him than the consti- tution of the United states gave the President. stated. further to MT. Jor-