The French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1896-1912, 1911-11-09
THE COTTON CROP, AND TIL
PRICE OF 1T.

, Q0Sb NV & 49,
cotton is agitating the mind Of the
South at large, there is a large crop
OF schemes for raising the said price,
which show a remarkable similarity,
in that none of them SO far far, has
succeeded in accomplishing the pur-
pose for which it was offered. The
warehouse plan, hailed ~so-l0udly a
few years abo as the specific alleyia-
tor of the condition, has not been able
to accomplish very much for the grow
er The burning plan, Matched by in
cendaries and followed by simpletons
has gone the way it sohuld have gone.
The resoluting idea, where each grow
err resolves not to sell, and is then
orced to. do so, is enc o the late ones,
and like others, will, perhaps, passsin
a short time. Holding companies, in
which the better-fxed farmers are to
subscribe money to a fund to be loan
ed tc their poorer brothers on the cot
ton that they are bound to have the
money for is one of the late ones. This
Of course, for the purpose of keeping
has gone the way it should have gone.
OH the market, increasing the supply
the poor brothers cotton from going
and, it fellows, causing the demand to
be decreased by just SO much.
Now, the powers that buy and use
the cotton know all about this and
know that the interest on the money
loaned on the cotton security will
soon make up the difference between
the amount of money loaned and the
market price of cotton When this
occurs the holders of the cotton, who
are the save persons as the lenders
Of the money, to save their hides, are
obliged to sell the cotton held. The
selling of this cotton supplies all that
is actually needed for consumption,
and the farmer who doesn't have to
sell his cotton car keep it, Sc far as
the buyers are concerned. A good
many of the mills are shut down now,
and have been for some time. A good
many of the remaining mills are rum
ming at less than capacity. Even if
this were net so, there is, in the hands
OF spinners. it is believed, enough cot
ton, already bought and paid for, to
supply world needs for a year. With
this lead, and estimating that ten per
cent of the cotton grown is net thrown
on the market, if there was no more
than actual consumption grown, the
buyers could disregard those growers
who are able, and who do, hold their
cotton, for ten years. without incon-
~venience. At no time, however, with
III recent years, has the actual con-
sumption of cotton equaled the pro-
ductiCT. So it a be, seen that this
plan, after all, offers no relief. 1t has
been asserted, and we believe the as
sertion will be verified, that the crop
this rear has been greatly overestima-
settled the bulk of the crop will have
been sold. an dthe growers will have
lost, by the circulation of the mislead-
ing report, between thirty and forty
per cent. of the price prevailing at
the opening of the season. Still, the
crop will be! sufficient to meet the
years consumption, with a margin:
What are the farmers going to do
about it? Having furnished the rope
+. wherewith tc tie their hands, they
beg to be let loose in order to furnish
more rope and better rope, for the
same purpose.
The farmers Of the Southern States
have an absolute monopoly of the cot
ton market of the world. They are
not only completely in charge of. the
cotton crop they raise, but without
the better part of their crops the
worlds needs could not be supplied
Therefore, their products is not only
necessary to the world at large hui
their product is the best in the world
Cotton is not like coal, or some 9th
er commodities that already exist, In
that it costs money not to put it on
the market as well as it costs money
to put in on. 1t need not be held. Tc
sreate a demand that would put tht
price around fifteen cents would no
cost the producers one cent, and We
doubt not that it could be shown thai
the demand could be increased ami
actual money made, at the same time
For instance, a farmer grows a bale