The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-05-03
PUbLIC-OWNED WAREHOUSE FOR
 COTTON GROWER Solution Offered for South s Defective Cotton Hand
 ling System ANSWERS DEMAND OF BUYER AND SELLER President Thompson of New OrIears Cotton Exchange Indorses the
 Plan to Correct Bill of
 Ladipg Evils

Baton Rogue, La. May 2-"The ware house operated by a sovereign state. through one of It's boards of admins tration, will be known wherever cot ton is known. and it's receipts will be current throughout the financial worlu.S
 In these words President " B. Thompson of the New Orleans cotton exch hange, In an address before the Louisiana State Bankers association here today. indorsed the public-owned warehouse as the solution of the pres- ent defective system of handling the south's great cotton crop.
 "1f we can store cotton in such d warehouse at a comparatively insignif- cant expense to the wner." said Mr Thompson, and can furnish him with receipt of unques"ion and widely ap- proved character; and If we can supply the shipper from sucn warehouse with lading document of unquestionabla authenticity and sterling value; our market will combine the availing vir- tues of economy and probity, and will answer the demands of the exporter, the banker and the producer at once. These things can be done by proper effort, supported by determined pur- pose and when accomplished will es- tablfsh conditions which will automati- cally bring supplies. buyers and money to our market, increase the value of cotton to the producer thereof. add to our own importance and prosperity, and finally, will liberate economic forces which will make New Orleans and not Liverpool. the .centrating and dis ms ,< at of ha
 Overthrow Liverpool
 Mir. Thompson said the presence of a great free stock of cotton at an An1eri- can port would invite competition in ocean carriage, cause a reduction in ! rate, and by the same means over | throw the injurious monopoly of the great Liverpool business.
 | Mir. Thompson referred to the fact f4at 1 Louisiana recently adopted a eenstitu- tional amendment. authorizing th4 New Orleans dock board to build and operate public cotton warehouses. Through these warehouses, which are exempt from taxa ton, with no stockholders to receive profits and the general retrenchment made possible through public ownership, he predicted that the charges hitherto inn posed upon cotton in the course of mar keting would be reduced by more than one-half.
 Continuing, MT. Thompson said:
 ''If we desire to establish great holding and distributing centers at the ports of the southern states in the places of those established In foreign ports if, by the concentration of demand and the regu- lation of the volume of supply. we would raise the level of prices at which the farmer would sell his entire crop: If we wish to transform these hoped-for south- ern distributing market from financial de- pendencies into independent money cen ters, we must direct our attention and ef- fort toward some constructive movement, by means of which conditions will be created at such ports, which will enable the owner of cotton to carry 1t at the minimum of expense and to secure there on such documents of ownership as will invite loans at the minimum rate of in- terest Such consummation would in turn bring large shipments of cotton to such market. and attract buyers thither for supplies; would bring money and business to the banks, and would hasten the great day when the south would havo direct exchange connections with Europe and not be dependent upon the tyranny or the exigences of intermediates"