The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-02-19
Bill Will Be Brought Up to Stop
the Present System
TESTIMONY OF BURLtS0N
Texan Continues His Attack Upon
Methods of New York Exchange
and Argues in Favor of End
ing Such Methods
by wATTERsoN sTEALEY


Washington, February 1S.-(Special)-
The committee on agriculture today con-
Guided the hearings on gambling in cotton
futures 4 is generally believed that the
committee will report q bill requiring all
contracts n cotton hereafter to be based
on real cotton, and that the seller OF cot
ton must be capable of delivering. and he
must expect TO deliver the cotton sold.
The buyer must, in good faith, expect to
have a certain grade of cotton such as is
contracted for delivered TO him at GER
tain time. The producers contend that
this will eliminate the gambling feature,
ano chat under the proposed law when
a contract is made it will require cotton
to fiji it, that this will help the producer
bcoa Use he has The cotton to sell and
must be consulted and called on when
that article is dealt in.
Representative Burleson Of Texas, who
is himself u large cotton producer, testi-
fled against the New York cotton ex-
change again today. He scored the So
called cotton contracts of the exchange
ana denounced the rules which permit
that exchange to use 2S different grades.
some of it very inferior cotton and un-
spinnable This, he said, was done to
discourage and prevent the actual deliv-
cry of cotton.
He urged that under this practice II a
man bought 100 bales of strict middling
cotton on the New York exchange and
demanded The cotton they would force him
to take any one of. or some of all, the
2S different grades of cotton. II they de-
sired to, and this was the usual practice,
they could force him to take dogs tail
cotton. low grade inferior stuff, worth
several cents a pound less than he had
already paid for the strict middling which
he contracted for. He said this method
forced mcn to settle their differences in
money, and not ask for the delivery of
cotton.
lie commented at length on fact
brought odt by Representative Hehin
when Mr. Hubbard. ex-president of the
New York cotton exchange, was on the
witness stand that cotton had been
brought back from the Liverpool cotton
exchange to meet gambling emergencies
on the New York cotton exchange. Mr.
Burleson urged that this was DONE not to
aid the law of supply and demand, but to
hinder it; 10 enable the exchange to de-
pres sthe market here by bringing back a
supply of cotton unfit for use at the mills
Mr.. Hefln asked If spot cotton ex-
changes would remedy all the evils that
now afflict and disturb the cotton pro-
ducers. Mr.. Burleson replied in the af-
flrmative and added:
And IL we can do away with this wild
speculation spot cotton exchanges will
spring up all over the south and then
competition in buying cotton under the
law of supply and demand will control
and then the producer of cotton will
exercise his right to count the cost OF
cotton production with a reasonable profit
added and that is all we ask"
Following the suggestion of Senator
Shvely of Indiana the Senate organiza-
tion today agreed to give the democrats
three instead of two members of the Sem
ate committee to investigate high prices
Senator Chamberlain of Oregon was
named for the place. but declined owing
to serious Illness in his family. No dem
ocrat can be found willing to accept the
place, owing to the apparent intention
OF the majority to bring in a report de-
claring the tariff has nothing to do with
higher prices-a conclusion valuable for
republican orators this fall. The commit
tee assignment was also offered Senator
Shively of Indiana and Senator Stone OF
Missouri but they would not have it.
The mere personnel of the committee
shows what may be expected of it. just
10 days ago Senator Lodge. the chairman
came to the defense of the tariff in the
present high cost of living agitation In
an extended speech which absoved the
tariff from all blame. A few days later
Senator McCumber delivered an GRAFTON
calculated to show the same thing. and
then Senator Crawford, another member
of the committee, blamed all the high
prices on the over-production of gold
Senator Smoot of Utah, who helped frame
the Payne-Aldrich act as a member OF
the finance committee, has not been
heard from nor has Senator Galllnger,
but everyone knows where they stand.
In view of the fact that the report
OF the Senate special committee on the
subject is now as good as made before
a single meeting has been held, there
is renewed agitation on the House side
for an investigation and 1t is expected
that the ways and means committee will
shortly report resolution deferring the
scope of an investigation. and will pro-
ceed to hold sessions The democratic
membership on this committee insists,
among others Representative Champ
Clark and Representative Underwood,
both of whom can be depended upon to
get at the root of the evil.
Warren Reese, who is n candidate for
District Attorney Parsons place at Mont
gomery. is here. encouraged to believe
that the victory of the organization in
the Montgomery marshalship may land
him a winner
National Committeeman Tomlinson Is
down for speech at the District dem
ocrats' Jefferson Day dinner.