The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-07-24
SUPPLY AND DEMAND
IN COTTON TRADE.
Charge of Abnormal Imitation
Of Price Denied
MURPHY ON RACE RIOTS
An Alabama Mnn Discusses Puxilistic
Matches Between Men of Different
Races-Thinks They Should
He Prohibited
MURPHY ON RACE RIOTS
BY ROBERT LEE CARTER

New York. July 23.-(Special.)- Ut seems
to be a fixed habit. not alone in England,
but in some parts of our own country as
we'll, that whenever the price of cotton
goes up few dollars and some leading
cotton broker INDUCES himself in some of
the good things Of life, 10 revile him as
though he was a public enemy.
Recently Mr.. c. w. NIAGARA, chairman
of the International Federation of Cot
ton Spinners and Manufacturers, on his
return to England from the sixth inter-
national cotton congress, held at Brus-
sells, Is quoted as saying that the prn-
cipal cause of the depression in the cot
ton industry. ''as all the delegates to
'abnormally high price of the raw ma
terial." Cotton, he said, was sold at
cxtravagantly high rates. with the re-
suit that the greatest consumers of cot
ton goods. the hundreds of millions of
jewellers In India and China, cannot af-
ford to pay the price that is asked" He
is not reported as making any reference
to the shortage of the American crop or
the scanty supply of the material as the
cause of either the high price of cotton
or the depression In the manufacturing
industry. but he is reported as saying
that I'VE" hope to show that 1.-THE per-
nicious practice of artihcially initiating
the price of a raw material, which Is
the greatest factor in clothing the people
through the world, can and must be
stamped out" Is
In commenting on his utterance, the
New York Journal of Commerce very
Justly remarks: 1.-THE tone of these re-
marks Is the more extraordinary because
the Brussels congress gave SO much at
tention to increasing the area of cotton
growing In order to assure larger and
less fiuctuating supply Of the material.
Mr.. NIAGARA himself laid great stress
upon that necessity, and yet implied that
the 'abnormaly high price this year was
artiflcially inflated and that that was
the cause of depression In the industry,
the curtailment Of production Of goods,
and the inability of hundreds Of millions
of dwelers in India and China. to say
nothing of the rest Of the world to af-
ford sufficient clothing. And yet there
is no other fact connected with the pre-
vailing prices of this year so conspicu-
Gus as that the high price of cotton is
due to lack of supply caused by last
years short crop in this country"
This lack of supply In relation to an
effective demand is not the only cause
Of curtailment and depression In the
manufacturing industry. No more Of
the material can be used than is pro-
duced, and with facilities requiring a
much larger quantity, and demand for
goods which 1t is not sufficient to meet,
there must of necessity be a stoppage of
mills or operation on part time. and
lack of the finished goods in the mar
kets of the world. That result Is due
| to a natural cause, as conspicuous as
| anything could well be, and not to any
artificial imitation.
| 1t was inevitable that speculation
would be especially active in distributing
the inadequate supply, and that 1t would
carry the price UP to a level that would
adjust the demand to the supply. The
demand simply had to be curtailed. But
for speculation and its effect such sup
ply as there was would have been pre-
maturely consumed, and the market
made bare. Then, instead Of curtail-
ment in manufacturing there would have
been absolute stoppage of mills, and in
stead Of a scanty supply of goods dis
tributed only where they could be paid
for at an unusual price. there would
have been none at all. 1t Is doubtful II
the price of cotton has been for any
length of time ''abnormally high" con-
sidering the relation of actual supply to
demand. and II 1t has been artihcially
inflated at any time 1t has only been so
temporarily and without perceptible eff
feet upon the manufacturing Industry of
any country.
met John L. Murphy Of Montgom-
lery, Ala, on Broadway the other day.
He had been reading the accounts of the
race riots following the victory of john
son over Jeffries.
"Such fights ought to be prohibited"
| he declared. $50 far as prize fights or
boxing matches between men of the
same race are concerned, I don't care
whether they are prohibited or not, but
| In the interest Of the negro, fights be-
| tween white men and negroes should be
| barred.
..when the negro wins his fellows
throughout the country they became 80
| offensive in their manner that 1t Is nee
| essary to use drastic measures to bring
| them to earth again. Now that the
north has sufficiently large negro pop
ulation to bring their peculiarities home
to the northern people, these latter are
beginning to realize what the south has
been, and unfortunately still is, up
against"
until the last few years people in the
north have looked upon Florida, as
country where only oranges and tropical
fruit could be grown" said David LAu-
Bay hotel Of Tampa, Fla, at the
Raleigh.
They are beginning to realize now
that Florida Is one of the most promis-
ing states in, the Union, and 1t Is really
wonderful what great progress has been
made in the last five years. Florida can
produce more than oranges: 1t can raise
all kinds of fruit and vegetables, and 1t
has all resources that will astonish
snv one not familiar with the state.
Land values are increasing rapidly, but
not 10 rapidly as they should.
.Tampa is one of the best cities in the
south. It has population of $4,000 poo
nie and in 10 years will have double the
nopulation 1t now has. At the last CEN
sus the population did not exceed 12,000
The principal industry, of course, Ii
cigar making, and we produce more
clear Havana cigars than any city In
the world, not excepting Havana. Cuba
The daily output Of Havana cigars ex-
ceeds 100000, and the output liz increas-
ing every month AS q winter resort
suppose there is no other city In the
United States that can compare with
Tampa. Thousands Of persons journey
there every winter from the north and
from European countries. The climate
Is delightful"
vhiIe II is pretty warm weather for
campairning, New York Is about as full
az notifies these days as though a ma
tional campaign were to the fore. Maybe
the nresepce "in our midst" of one The
odore Roosevelt is partly. to blame for
this. but certainly not altogether.
The fact that for the first time in a
good MANY years the Empire State Is