The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1911-09-16
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COTTON.

The convention at Montgomery.
Ala, representing cotton growers OF
the south and commercial, banking
and other interests allied with the
cotton industry. after a two DAYS
session of discussion and comparison
of ideas as to the size OF the pres
ent years crop adopted resolution
following a committee report decla
ing that the yield would not exceed
12.500. 900 bales and recommend
ing that the farmer hold for mini
mum price Of Is cents per pound.
Whether or not the naming Of d
5-cent minimum was wise step IS
a matter of opinion Attempts in the
past to arbitrarily fix a minimum
have not been attended with the sue
cess anticipated at the time. Stil.
it may be said. that as a result OF
these efforts the farmers have been
taught the value of cooperation and
in the gradual marketing that has
resulted through such cooperation,
although not general, the price has
at times when conditions were such
as to make it easy by combination tc
depress the market been influenced
favorably to the producer.
The view of those supporting the
wisdom of fixing a minimum for the
season and rightly adhering TO it Is
thus stated by Nj. Barrett national
president OF the Farmers Union:
nut ii up to the farmer calmly and
deliberately-do you want to ahs0-
lutely give away several dollars a
bale? Cooperation. rigid, raithful
answering cooperation will Danish
the last chance OF that possibility.
The southern farmer has his fate IN
his own hands. He can get exactly
what his crop is worth. We should
forever abandon the folly of dispos-
ing of our cotton in a one-sded deal
of letting the buyer name his
price and tamely accepting it. We
deserve nothing better of fate if We
do not stand up for ourselves, if we
don't realize that the staple is worth |
a certain price to the world and that
the world will pay that price if It |
sees that we are determined to get |
it.
The other view was conseryativelE |
stated in the convention by w P. G. /
Harding, president of the First Ma
tional bank of Birmingham, who, IN I
that at best the present /
crop could not be an average one,
advised the farmers against fixing
minimum price, but urged instead /
the slow and gradual marketing oil +
the crop. II doubt he said, the I
expediency of attempting to set /
minimum price at which cotton must !
he sold. | believe that the slogan OF I
this convention should be get all for /
your cotton that it is worth, rather I
than to hold for arbitrary prices, F.
Too often a fraction of one-eighth I
or of one-sixteenth interferes with a
sale. One crop of cotton must be
sold before the next crop comes IN.
as otherwise We would be confronted
with the problem of marketing a
double crop, which would be disas-
/ trous. even were it possible to hold
over an entire crop, which is man
! ifest impossibility'
The fact that this convention was
( representative of many interests mlt-
tualy identified with the success OF
the cotton industry indicates de
gree of cooperation in the future
which is bound to eventuate In some
plan by which the farmer viii be
the better enabled TO market his
crop to the best advantage, thereby
saving to the south many millions
Of dollars that are lost TO it by hur-
ried marketing Houston Post.