Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1912-08-12
CAR WINDOW ESTIMATES
OF CROPS.

To The Herald.
A few weeks ago some n in The
Herald made an estimate of the cot
ton crop of the Valley reasoning like
this: that whereas a certain acreage
last year produced over 10000 bales,
a larger acreage this year would
produce over 10000 bales. When
this statement was published every
observant cotton raiser knew that
the boil weevil had already destroy
ed half the output of the cotton and
sitce then the weevil has destroyed
half the remaining output. The cot
ton fields look beautiful from a car
window, but down in the rows a diff
ferent story is told.
And still SO far as published re-
ports go, the original estimate re-
mains and the world puts us down
for several times as much cotton as
we can send out this year.
This is a grievous wrong to the
farmers, for 1t robs them of the
higher prices which a scant crop
warrants. The newspaper also. by
becoming an unwilling ally Of the
stock spectators and gamblers is
thrown into a false position.
When the farmer has a cotton
crop ready to sell-and this is true
of other farms crops also-almost
everything is against his receiving a
fair price for his product. The en-
tire consuming world wants to buy
the product cheaply and by means
of it's mcnopolistic combinations is
in a position TO enforce that wish
effectively. The farmers on the
other hand compete with one an
| other in selling and thus break down
the natural advance of prices above
the plane set up by the financial
agencies.
The over-supply of middlemen
also must receive interest on their
stock, actual and watered, and
though they try TO raise the price Of
the finished product they find it
easier to make profits by lowering
the natural price of the raw ma
"terial.
Stock speculation in futures soon
puts on paper a large imaginary
crop, which fiction it is usually to
the interest Of the speculator to
maintain as long as possible, and
the natural price is thus kept down
Moreover, the reports of the agri-
cultuarl department are little ore
than manifestOes for the unnatural
depression of prices. Last years
cotton report was a striking illustra-
! ton. Millions of dollars were taken
out of the pockets of farmers by that
: report and still the price of cotton
fabrics remained the same. The
people were impoverished, the mid
dleman fattened. The car window
method of estimate is partly respOn-
sible for this, but the farmers must
take much of the blame themselves.
They are naturally hopeful and esti-
mate their own crops too highly to
the assessor and other governmental
agents.
Also any community-and espec-
tally a new one like this-does not
like to publish too loudly the fact
Of a partial crop failure. But for
every such public suppression Of
fact, a thousand private messages
and hints go forth by word and by
letter, and create an imaginary fail
ure far worse than the fact itself.
The cotton failure this year was
not necessary. Thorough boil weevil
methods of cultivation would have
obviated it as one or two men have
signally proved by example. What
Is needed is dissemination Of facts
and not their suppression, and then
the Valley will begin to grow from
within outwards as God created man
to grow from the beginning.
In this unequal fight for a fair
price for his cotton the only allies
the farmer can look to are his home
newspaper and local merchants, and
if they fail him in this what right
have they to argue community Of in
~terests, when the farmer is ready to
make his own purchases?
Just as | finished writing this,
The Herald Of August 6 came con
tanning another misleading article
on cotton. I wish The Herald
would publish the number Of bales
that have been ginned this year at
the Planters gin on this dale and
the corresponding date Of last year,
and remember that there will be al
most no second or top crop this
year as there was last, because Of