The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-08-17
SOUTHERN COTTON
 MEN ARE |NSULTED
Object to Proposed Clearing
 House Plan
REPUTATION AT STAKE
New Orleans Cotton Exchange Strongly Disfavors Liverpool Plan for New York Clearing
 House for Bills of Lading

l New Orleans August 1e.-Branding the
 proposed plan of the Liverpool cotton bills 1 of lading committee to institute in New York a clearing house for the validation of cotton bills of lading as a direct re- | fiection and insult upon those engaged in
 the exporting of cotton" and placing it. self upon record as opposing the plan in change this afternoon. through it's board of directors, passed resolutions to this
 effect and approved the report of it's spe- cial committee appointed to investigate the proposition.
 The directors also adopted resolutions authorizing its president to issue invita- tions in the name of the exchange to all southern excha nges, boards of trades, tankers and exporters and others inter- ested in the handling of cotton to meet here in joint conference, probably during
 the annual convention of the American Bankers association, about November 20 rext, for the purpose of adopting meas
 u'es for the protection of their respec- tive and mutual interests. | The local exchange expressed itself as being willing, in the future, as in the rast, to cooperate in any feasible and just plan for the protection of the legit- innate cotton trade and the elimination Of practices contrary to commercial morality; and feasible plan that will not take further tribute from the southern planters. All cotton exchanges in the limited States were urged to oppose the proposed plan.
 In the report of the special committee,
 made public today, 1t was tated that Charles s Haight. representing the Liver pool interests at conference last Sat urday explained the entire plan to the local committee. but as no change from the original plan was noted he was in formed that an adverse report would be
 made and the proposition opposed.
 Committee Reports
 ITO the surprise of your committee"
 says the report, MT. Haight thereupon
 informed the committee that this matter
 had been practically concluded by the
 Liverpool committee and the New York
 sub-bills of lading committee, disregard
 ing the agreement to leave matters in
 abeyance until further conference with
 the southern interests and that letter
 was being printed in r different languages
 to be issued to cotton importers and for
 egn banking interests all over the world,
 requesting said cotton buyers to ask their
 American sellers of cotton to comply
 with the plan and to request American
 exchange buyers to- have all their docu-
 ments approved as to their genuiness
 through the central office in New York
 Your committee stated that 1t con-
 sidered the action of the Liverpool and
 New York committees as being high
 handed and unwarranted in endeavoring
 to put this proposition into operation on
 such short notice and without consulta-
 tion with southern exporters and southern
 exchange buyers who are mainly inter- ested in the proposition and whose in-
 's and regulations are entirely at stake"
 committee, in giving reasons for opposing the plan, reported that the losses drought Knight, Yancey & Co. and Steele, Miller & Co., were nothing and fv the complex and cumbersome method of handling cotton" as proposed. that t,,e ,p1se,i plan is an insult upon all ~. nf Hhei-handling of cot
 ton; that 1t gives, to New York de- 1 <. ..ea Aa,aa.,c m the purchase of doc- | rnae1saiy bills.- while other cities will be under the necessity of paying for their bnls before, verifcaton can be obtained. Tn other words. says the report. the riaa is drawn entirely in the interest of the foreign cotton buyers and bankers and the New. York exchange buyer, with l out regard for the large section os che country in which cotton is produced and which temporarily bears the burden of ! financing the crop. s,L ig...
 | Attention is directed particularly to the | fact that the cotton. alone Is selected | ont of the enormous quantity of commod- | ities exported for the vadation, of bills of adings. nor is any such plan in vogue in any other commercial country; there