The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1910-04-22

GreenVllle and Vlclnlty was nelo Inls
afternoon for the purpose Of discuss
! ing the action Of Attorney General
Wickersham concerning the proceed
ings he has Instituted against the al
legged Hayne-Brown cotton pool.
While no official statement is given
out from the meeting, it may be stat
ed that the intervention Of federal
authorities in the market just at this
time is deemed unwarranted, and is
taken as showing possible bias in
favor of the markets depression. In
dividual statements concerning the
situation, have been obtained from a
number of mill men and these out
line plainly the position of the manu-
facturers.
Lewis ". Parker, president Of the
Olympia and CRANKY mills Of Colum-
bia and Victor and Appalach mills Of
Greer, said, after the conference: "If
the action Of the grand jury in New
York looks towards the investigation
Of the purpose Of certain Southern
mills to take up cotton in New York,
I can only say that I have purchased
contracts on, the New York cotton ex-
change and have arranged to accept
the cotton due on these contracts.
The New York cotton ,xchange has
always claimed that its contracts rep
resented actual cotton and that there
would be delivered actual cotton
when contracts were purchased. The
Southern mills have simply found it
to their interest to buy these con-
tracts and expect cotton, and the
New York exchange owes it to it.
self to see to it that the cotton is
delivered.
"There has been long in my mind
a view that the effect Of extreme spe-
culative selling of cotton contracts
was to depress the price Of spot cot
ton and have felt that the only way
to teach those who sold what they
didn't have a lesson was for the spin
ners who need cotton to buy contracts
on the exchange. This year condi-
tions were such that the mills who
needed cotton, inasmuch as cotton
was selling considerably cheaper on
the New York cotton exchange than
it sold in the South, we're justified in
buying on the exchange. Besides
that, it has been to the interests Of
the spinners to maintain a steady
price for cotton and to prevent the
extreme fluctuations which have ap-
peared from time to time.''
Why They Bought.
Capt. E. A. Smyth, president Of
the Pelzer mills, said: that he under
stood that the representatives Of the
Ndw Yorl1 cotton exchange, when
they testified before the congressional
committee to investigate the New
York cotton exchange, said that all
sales on the New York exchange were
expected to be for delivery Of actual
cotton aid that the exchange stood
to see that all cotton sold by men,
bers Of he exchange was delivered.
Some weeks ago the New York cotton
exchange depressed the price Of con-
tracts in New York far below a par
ity with the value of spot cotton in
the South, and the mills needing cot
ton 'fel; they could secure cotton
cheaper in New York by buying those
contracts than they could buy the
actual spot cotton in the South at the
time. .. .:~;;>rm,
''They did so, I understand, hay
ing Two objects in view," he said.
''One to buy cotton cheaper than they
could bu! it at home, and believing
that the cotton would be delivered to
them without question, according to
the testimony above referred to, and
the second reason was that the New
York contracts, being depressed, were
having an injurious effect on the
value Of cotton goods, and by buying
the cotton in New York they believ-
ed they could maintain the full rela-
tive value Of the New York contracts
on a parity with spot cotton, and in
this way stimulate the dry goods
business. So far their expectations
have been realized and cotton quota
tions in New York, on which values
are based as a general rule, have been
maintained nearer the value Of spot
cotton and the law Of supply and de-
mand has been followed; but it
would appear now that some cotton
dealers in New York have sold COT
ton for relief in some way to avoid