The Washington herald., 1910-12-04
BY JAMES b. MORROW.

achievement of greed or daring in specu-
lation.
But you started one seven years ago
last spring" I said.
Not corner" Mr. sully replied in
correction. Il undertook a bull campaign
that developed ultimately into squeeze.
No commodity that is generally produced
can be eornered. A squeeze is only a
destination that never can be reached
because it is nonexistant"
How did your campaign begin?' in
CURED
In snowstorm. followed by a freeze"
You are picturesque" I ventured. but
indefinite"
''As a broker In cotton. Mr.. Sully OBJ
served. jerking out nis words with nerv-
Gus energy, II had gone into the South
twice each season. The crop OF 1885 broke
all the records. In February Of the next
year I was at Memphis. The winter had
been unusually severe and caused delay
in the picking OF cotton. A storm came
on--snow and cold wave following
Leaving Memphis. on the way 10
Mississippi I saw cotton hanging on the
stalks covered with fee Returning home
1
seed in the fields and fence corners.
also thought OF the boil weevf apd its
slow and destructive march from Mexico
north and eastward.
Origin of a Theory.
a theory came TO me on the cars The
frozen seed on the outside OF each pile
would he planted. Farmers, IN the warm
sun OF spring. would SOW it unthinkingly.
Seed deterioration, continuing for year.
or two, together with the boil wNm.
would make cotton scarce according 10
my lights and mathematics
Reaching Providence, where | lived,
I elaborated my theory to my father-in-
law, who was superintendent OF the larg-
est cotton mandatory In the United
States. / gathered information for three
years, watching all regions OF the South.
In the meantime. very closely. Ny the
DRY was working out, just as If II had
been problem In algebra. Then. on
principles that were as sound as the law
OF gravitation. began tho bull campaign
Of May. 1903
IL was planned as a squeeze. not as a
corner. / accepted every bale OF cotton
that was delivered 70 me or offered No
more than ! had could be obtained IN
this country. Throughout the last three
days or my campaign l held so many
contracts for cotton impossible OF deliv-
cry that I could have compelled a settle
ment at any price I fixed. But / didn't
want TO break anybody. Ny libeTality,
however was repaid with abuse"
What was the price OF cotton at the
time?' ] asked
Seven cents a pound. The movement
carried il 10 II 17-9O cents finally Cotton
has never been down 10 cents from
that time 10 this. My campaign put $780,
o0000o into the pockets Of the cotton grow
ers or the United States. Previous to the
year 1895 they were serfs. Mortgages
were on their farms. They were IN deb:
10 merchants for clothing. groceries and
machinery. The campaign made them
free men.
Il rest my statement on the answer
any cotton farmer OF the South would
make TO the question; What do YOU
think Of Dan Sully? Nor can the British
spinners any longer fix the price of raw
cotton. The law OF supply and demand.
for the first time in our history. governs
the market"
The Campaign Collapsed.
IF the inquiry is not tnmannerly." I
said, let me ask about the collapse of
your second campaign. in March, 1902
I made considerable money In the
spring of 1903.' Mr. Sully replied. In
the summer / went TO Europe People
said l was resting from my labors on
the contrary, I went abroad 10 study
conditions. / found that the manufac-
turers Of England had sold the products
OF their factories for two years ahead
and had bought ZO04,000 bales Of American
cotton with which TO meet their con-
tracts.
ION coming home. I explained the stu
alton 10 our own spinners. My second
bull campaign was put In motion during
October, 1903 1 went into the ring my
self. 10 the floor of the cotton exchange.
and purchased or directed the sale OF
100000 bales in future contracts. The
cotton / thus sold or bought had a value
of $70e000,000. Four hundred men took
the floor against me. Forty clerks i'm my
offices worked day and night I.stood in
the ring from 10 o'clock In the morning
until 3 o'clock In the afternoon. battling
with all the strength I had. only to
answer kilograms and letters and to plan
the next days fight until long past mid
night
'On Saturday, the S0th OF January,
1904. I put cotton up 20 points between
safes. a point Is l-luu OF n cent. seventy
points meant $3.50 bale / had increased
the value of the cotton to be sold by our
farmers. therefore. by the sum of $685.
000,Oo0 II was done I'm few minutes
The price had gone to i6% cents a pound.
I meant TO put II up 10 % cents. The
market was in my hands. I had fought
down my enemies and on Sunday. the
last day OF January. I felt pretty fine.
But something happened A telephone
message came 10 my home In Fifty
eighth street New York. Two great cot
ton merchants asked me to meet them at
a certain hotel at O'Clock. / was not
informed why the conference was de-
sired. I walked down Fifth avenue in
the cold air and brilliant sunlight. King
of cotton the newspapers that morning
had called me. / had honestly made
millions OF dollars.
At the Brink of Ruin.
. Face 10 face with the two merchants,
they bluntly told me that the advance
of cotton another cent pound would
destroy them financially. If they went
down. scores of other merchants would
be driven into nkruptcy-merchants
who had bought actual cotton for sale
TO splnners and as a protection against
personal loss had sold futures on the
exchange In New York. Such purchases
and sales. ! was assured, would aggre-
gate 100000 bales. Merchants all over
the world were at the very brink OF ruin
THE men fighting me had already put
up SSO,oo0,0O0 in margins, they said. Each
increase OF cent pound in the price of
cotton would require $l5.000.O00 additional
IN money. With credit strained TO the
point of breaking, no more cash could be
obtained The two merchants prOphesied
a worldwide panic-hundreds Of business