The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1912-07-06
THE COST OF PRODUCING COTTON

The Tradesman.
A somewhat pessimistic article in
tle Macon (Ga.) Daily Telegraph draws
attention to the evidence showing
that cotton has in the immediate past
cost ~ cents per pound to produce.
1t states that the selling season of
this staple is restricted to four months
and with the whole crop thrown on
the market-practically at once-the
price becomes deprecated and there
fore unremunerative. It's proposed
remedy is that by means of concerted
action that cotton should be held and
sold over twelve-month period-at
an advanced price.
At various times efforts have been
made by farmers unions, individuals
and proposed corporations, to make OPP
erative some plan of this kind. Re
Gently the matter has been again re-
vived and the effort is being made to de-
velop a warehousing scheme that, as
others Of its kind, lacks the one neces-
sary lification-honesty of purpose.
Still, it is possible that something in
line with the previously much-discuss-
ed Waco plan" can be put into oper-
alton.
The Macon Telegraph credits "Mr.
George Dole Wadley, president of the
Southern States Cotton Corporation,
with the statement that "the farmers
are raising cotton at a cost to them
of ~ cents pound and last year
were compelled to sell it at an aver
age of less than cents a pound"
If Mr.. Wadley is correctly quoted,
he evidently is not well informed or
else purposely selected respectively
the maximum and minimum figures
for the year for reasons best known
to himself. But is there any reason
why it could cost 10 cents to raise cot
ton in any of the cotton-growing states
under existing conditions?
Immediately after the close of the
civil war the general poverty of the
cotton-producing population produced
a system by which fortunes were
made by merchants. Everything was
bought on credit-to be paid for when
the cotton was sold. AS a rule the
merchant, for his own protection, was
compelled to take the crop. He absol-
utely controlled the situation. II the
crop was failure or prices were I'M
usually low, the planter began an
other year-in debt He usually did
this in any event.
The successive panics in the money
world have largely altered this, by
cutting down the lengthy credits.
That reacted all along the line, and
now the custom only survives in that
good-natured, ill-used, irresponsible
curse Of the Southern soil-the renter.
He improves nothing, takes all he can
from the soil, restores nothing and al
ways leaves the land in worse shape
than when he took it. He lives from
hand to mouth and draws everything
he requires on credit of the land own.
er, on an order"
Without the slightest imputation on
the integrity of either the planter who
issues the order on the merchant who
supplies the goods, the system is moi
conducive to economy.
If plantations were divided into such
tracts as could be worked under the
superintendent of the owner, all long
time crop credits" abolished an doth
er obvious and useless drains on rura
prosperity stopped, such as maintain
ing fences as landmarks, neighbor
hood rather than individual systems
of drainage, etc. the producing cost
of cotton would be diminished, the
land improved, homes would be better
school facilities would multiply and the
land would be richer by the wipine
out of condition Of normal indebted
ness.