The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-10-31
CAN THE BRAZIL
SCHEME BE APPLIED III
COTTON.

cotton growers of the South and that
indirectly concerns all the people OF
the South. Indeed ii is a matter tnat
concerns the whole country Tor cot
ton plays a larger part in maintain
ing. 1.-The balance of trade in favor or
America than all of our other crops.
This Cotton Convention has been
called by the Governors of all the
cotton growing States and to 1t is IN
vited all who do business in the cot
ton states.
Many plans will be presented Tor
consideration. Mr.. Theodore Price
has given notice that he will urge the
! adoption of what is called the Bra
lillian Valorization of Coffee" by the
Cotton Convention. What is that
plan? 1t is thus described by the
Baltimore Sun:
THE worlds output of coffee for
the year 1905-06 was 1873 .oOe SACKS
produced 11,251,00, or,
three-quarters of the total. Con-
sumption was figured at 1O,O00,OoU
| sacks, having doubled within the last
! 80 years, and the price during h
two previous decades had been get
| ting steadily lower. The next year,
19Os-07, produced a bumper crop
which left the Brazilian planters
under the necessity Of either market
ing some 5000, 600 more bags than
the world would consume at current
prices, or else suffering the effects of
/ a ruinous collapse in prices. To
meet this situation the two leading
coffee States of Brazil-Soa Paolo n
Minas Geraes, the lated subsequently
backed out-undertook to buy up the
surplus and keep it stored and in
sured until it could be ~profitably
marketed. Loans were raised upon
the security of the coffee Of about
$50, 600, 600 and an export tax OF 50
cents imposed in order to defray the
expenses of carrying it. These sums,
| however, were found to be insufficient.
An arrangement was finally concluded
whereby $75,000,000 was borrowed,
the 5 per cent interest being guaran-
teed by the central Brazilian Govern
ment, planting of new trees was for
hidden by means Of a prOhibitory tax,
the export tax vas raised to 81 n
every sack in excess of 100000 for
hat year, plus 500, 600 more for each
succeeding year., was to pay a 20 per
cent ad valorem tax. Further. the
State of Sac PaOla bound itself not
to buy any more coffee or to con-
tract any further loans prejudicial to
this one.
HC t1Id
there would probably be a bad crop
the next year after the bumper, ow-
ing to exhaustion of the trees, and
that it would take six years for n
new trees planted to bear fruit. So
if, in the meantime, they could re-
try and raise the price by means of
a tax on their own newly planted
trees and an export tax upon all coffee
within 10000 600 sacks of the total
worlds consumption, they would be
able to ave themselves.
In February, 1911, the Secretary
Of State Of Sac PaOlo reported that
the supply in storage had been reduced
to $500, 600 sacks. Some Of this had
been sold at s cents a pound. Since
then more has been marketed, some
Of it at ven better prices. In Au-
gust, 1907. coffee grade No. Z was
quoted at 6.39 cents pound. In Au-
gust, 1911, the same grade was quot
ed at 1920 cents-50 per cent in
crease-and l IL cents higher than
what it had been in 1905. The av-
erage price for all grades imported
lis cents. Production has not SO
far increased outside of Brazil.
1T would seem, therefore, that the
valorizatiOn scheme. which so many
persons, including Brazilians. consid-
cred unsound, is successful. But
lIlci tHG SCIleIIlt Is ill eIlllIciy lSI1l-
porary arrangement, adopted to meet
a particular situation. 1t is obvious
that if prices were continually raised
by artificial means, Sac Paolo coffee
would meet competition by the in
creased planting both in other States
of Brazil and elsewhere
The idea of this plan is not very
dissimilar to that Of the Sub Treasury
plan urged by MIR. Macune upon the
organization of the Farmers Ali
ance. 1t is being widely discussed by
the press. 1t would be favored only
upon some such idea as that sug-
gested by the Fayetteville Observer OF
fighting the devil with fire. Discuss
ing the Brazil valoriZation plan as il
might be applied to our handling cot
ton, the Observer