The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1911-11-11
THE cOTTON PROBLEM.


in discussion of cotton prices. There
are just two real elements in this
problem-the producer or seller ane
the buyer. The chiefest of these is
the producer. He can absolutely con
troll the price If he chooses to do SO
To control the price he must, how
ever, be financially Independent. He
cannot live like gambler on wha
he bets he is going to make ane
be financially independent.
Living on advances is the mos
vicious, unecenomical and utterly in
excusable habit or custom ever intro
duced amongst people that ough1
to be free. A community living OF
this system cheats itself if it ima.g
ines that it is free. The truth i
such a community is in bondage. Its
chains are as perfect as any shack
les ever riveted on human ankles
Such a community must sell WheI
the master says sell.
Who is the master? That question
is hard to answer, but the whittier oil
the chain can be followed SO that
it's general trend can be quite salts
factorily determined.
No man who makes advances does
so out of his own money. Sooner or
later he goes back to the bank as
inevitably as the sun rises and sets.
The little bank goes back to the big
ger one, and it is purely question
of the number of steps through diff
ferent banks before the matter gets
back to one Of the big banks in New
York city. Here the financial policy
is settled eventually.
These big banks really represent
the "buyer" for a number of reasons,
not the least of which is a common
interest by reason of common invest
ments in mills and other properties,
as we'll as personal contracts of all
sorts. When they agree that the
price of cotton shall be SO and so,
they have the power to make it sc
in the long run. That they will not
exercise that power when it is profit
able is too much to expect of human
nature.
Proclamations of this, that and
the other bodies or meetings, whether
Of temporary or permanent organi,
zation, are a darling of straWE
against the wind. Condemnation OF
SPECTATORS is childishly absurd anG
an idle waste of time The specula
,ors made the price last year sim
ply because a small body of then
were successful in raising tens OF
millions Of dollars in Philadelphia
unknown to the New York financiers.
The financiers had them indicted fol
heir temerity, SO that source o.
:unds is cut off and speculative buy
ng of sufficient volume and stability
% sway the market is now impossible
because no bank will furnish the
funds to carry the deal.
That this has long been understood
S shown by the fact that in July,
when October contracts were at
-3@14 cents, Marshall Field & Co.
began selling standard weaves at a
,rice that was only possible with
'aW cotton at 10 cents or less.
The situation is one that no
mount of talk will change or help
Until the producer does something.
10 man can be Independent while
lie lives on somebody e1se's money. |
let the producer raise all he eats
ind buy as little as possible till he
IAN afford to hold his crop for a
price. Then, and then on
y, will he be truly independent
Prices for October and November
delivery are nearly always good in
Nay and June Let the producer sell |
lalf his crop in May and June for |
October or November delivery and |
hen hold the balance till the price |
s satisfactory. If he will eat only |
What he produces instead of buying |
t at exorbitant prices he can do
his and make good money.
CHANGE OF. SECOND PRIMARY |
DATE LEG4L.
Attorney General Guion has REM
Lered On official opinion that the
state committee had the
egal right to change the date of the i
econd primary election from Feb
uary 20, Mardi Gras, to February ~.
According to this opinion, the COM
llttee could not change the date of
ne fret primary, because it was
lxed at the meeting which the law
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