Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1910-02-16
EXCHANGES ON THO RUN.
Spectators In Cotton Fiercely At.
tackled Before House Committee.

washington, eUTudFS o.---'W e
have them on the run" said Presi-
dent G. s. Barrett, OF the Farmers
Union, after the hearing before the
House Committee on Agriculture to-
day
I'VE will get report from this
! committee on bill TO prohibit gam
bling In agricultural products, and
lwill force it through the House. There
Is demand for 1t all over the coun-
try, and the influence Of the New
York exchange will not be able to
stop 1t"
Representatives of the exchanges
| present tC day we're plainly on the
defensive. They vigorously contested
every point Of the testimony OF Lewis
w. Parker. but were unable to. dis
turb him in his recital. He was at
every point quick, ready and alert,
and showed he knew his ground thor
| oughly. He made most valuable
witness for the opposition.
Eerery member Of Congress from
the States in which the Farmers I'm
Ion is organized have been receiving
letters urging them to smnnort the
Scott bill. Chairman Scott to-day ey-
hibited two hundred letters received
by him urging the passage Of this
legislation.
New York Exchange ExcOriated.
The New York Cotton Exchange
was eXcoriated as being an evil, a
moral and economic menace, and an
eNcressence on the cotton industry, at
hearing before the House Commit
tee on Agriculture to-day, at which
were present leading representatives
of the Farmers Union and OF the
New York Cotton Exchange.
The errors and shortcomings Of
the exchange were shown up by II. J.
Brooks. Of Atwood, Tenn, represent
ing the Farmers Union, and Lewis
w. Parker, OF Greenville. S. c., a
leading mill man Of that State. Both
| opposed, In the most emphatic way,
the present conduct Of the exchange.
They said they despaired Of seeing
any reform worked from the inside
and expressed their belief that only
the most vigorous legislation in Con-
gress would save the country from
the incubus.
The evil Of permitting low grade
cotton to be tenderable on contracts
and by this means having 10 per
| cent Of a cotton crop used as a sledge
hammer to beat down the price of a
| whole crop, was explained to The com
mittee.
The injustice of the fixed differ
| encc' system, which makes the fu-
| ture market unreSponsive to changes
In the sDot market, were dwelt upon.
IN this connection the report Of Her.
bert Knox Smith, Commissioner OF
Corporations of the Department OF
Commerce and Labor, showing the
| harm that this custom had caused
| and the unjust and uneconomic ad-
vantage It gave to the professional
| exchange trader, was adverted to fire.
! quently.
Attitude OF Cotton Mills.
The statement OF Mr.. Parker, who
appeared before the committee as a
representative Of Southern cotton
mills, showed that the milling inter-
ests, both here and abroad, are Will
Ing to take their chances on a market
which responds automatically to the
law Of supply and demand Spinners,
he said, did not object to paying rea-
sonable and fair prices. What they
did object to, he said, was the sud
den, violent and unreasonable fiuctu-
ations In prices resulting from manip-
ulations Of exchange gamblers.
THE Liverpool spinner stands with
the American spinner on this uues-
tion,' he said. He said he believed
the effect Of future transactions was
to depress prices; that the farmers
rarely received the advantage of SEN
sational upward movements in price
since these advances came in March
and May, instead of October and De-
cemher; that the custom Of permit
ting low grade. rotten and unspinna-
IN h@ 1Nl{
tracts, seriously interfcred with the
hedging function of exchanges, which
was It's only legitimate function.
eff we could do away with the New
York Cotton Exchange, would not all
the business now done there be trans
ferred to the Liverpool Exchange?"
asked Leopold Mendelbaum.
If there were no exchanges in this
country we could very soon, by inter-
national agreement, have the Liver
pool exchange suspend operations"
answered Mr. Parker.
According to the witness the price
or cotton for the farmers Of the South
and the spinners Of the world Is fixed
In the New York exchange. ,Mer-
chants use the New York future quo
tatlonS in buying cotton for their mill
customers and the farmers are guided
by these quotations in selling their
crop.
Parker Made Good Impression.
Mr.. Parker made splendid i'm
preston upon the committee. He
showed he was thoroughly conver-
SAINT with every phase Of this highly
technical and intricate matter, met
ana answered every objection OF ex-
change members who were present,
ana sustained himself with great
credit throughout the hearing. He
explained to the committee the
meaning Of washed sales, "match
ed" orders, fixed differences and