The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1911-11-01
THE COTTON SITUATION.

partment's ginning report of Wednes-
900 bales of cotton had already been
ginned to October 18th, should act as
call to arms for all cotton growers.
Even the most optimistic bulls of the
market must now concede that the
crop is going to be huge one and
that unless something is done now, the
southern farmer will suffer untold
harm. Concerted action is absolutely
necessary and the action must COM
mence at once IL the situation Is to
be relieved
We do not believe that the price of
cotton can be made to go higher unless
concerted action 10 begun at once
to reduce the crop of net wear. The
cotton growers Of the South, who have
a natural prejudice against the spec
ulators, cannot hope to put up any
kind of fight for better prices unless
they use some sensible methods OF
warfare. AS much as we might say
that the fluctuation of the markets in
past years have been due in part to
the methods of Wall Street specula-
tors, the fact stares us in the face
that a 15,000,000 bale crop is upon
us now and nothing in all the world
can be done to raise the price of it
except to show that the supply of the
year following will not meet the de-
10 q
the Wall Street speculator who buys
the surplus crop and thereby reduc-
es the supply. What we will have to
do is to cut down out acreage and al
so reduce TIE supply
Even granting that the cotton mills
of the world can use a 100000 bale
crop, the experience Of the past years
has shown that they cannot use that
much and at the same time pay l3
cents for it. Though they should man
ufacture that much cotton into fabric
they cannot sell that much at profita-
bic prices. Therefore, if the mills
cannot manufacture 100000 bales of
cotton into fabric and at the same time
pay living price to the men who
grow the raw material, the only thing
FOR the growers to do Is to reduce the
crop to such a size that the manufac-
turers will be able to pay living
price to supply the trade that demands
cotton goods even at advanced prices.
The world might be able to use 5,00O,-
600 bales of cotton, but the world will
not use 15,000,000 bales as suickly at
10 cents as it will at cents. If we
want l3 cents for cotton we must re-
duce the crop to size where cotton
goods will not be a burden on the
market
OF the 100000 bales of cotton,
suppose that 100000 bales of it were
placed in the warehouses, and this we
hope will be the case. 100000 bales
would be left for the spinners to run
on for nine months. Suppose that by
April the spinners saw that another
big crop was going to be made and
the 100000 bales were still in the
warehouses. What will happen? The
spinners will let the 100000 bales
stay where they are until they are
needed rather than pay an advanced
price for it, If they can see ahead
where enough cotton will be produced
next year to supply their needs with
out having to offer inducements to the
growers to sell, they will sit steady in
the boat and let the poor farmers
again sell out at starvation prices
But, suppose action is taken now
to reduce the supply of next year. Sup
pose we begin our organization at
once so that by the time of planting
time the situation were we'll in hand
and only enough acreage plant
ed to guarantee an 100000 bale
crop what then would happen? A rush
would Immediately begin for that sur
plus 100000 bales in the warehouses
and the price of that part of this years
crop would surely increase and better
prices would prevail on the 1912 crop.
We frankly admit that our estimate
of the size of the present crop now
seems to have been off. But, though
the crop is large and the demand
not so great and the hope of rise
seems little more distant, it appears
to us that if 1t were the right thing
before to place our cotton in the ware
houses, it is absolutely imperitive now
If we are to hope for better price
within the next two years. The de-
mands are insistent that action be TAX
en- now and gwe hone +bo+ ~, ,oodi,,,.