The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1914-11-05
THE COTTON MARKET SITUATION
Cheaper to Hold Cotton Than to Grow
!t-Production Must be Reduced.

No material change in the cotton |
market can be reported for the past
week. AS expected, there was some
improvement in demand as buyers
entered the market to fill their Octo-
Der commitments. This resulted in
a check to the declining tendency Of
the market, after the Savannah quo
tation had reached cents for good
middling. A recovery of IA cent
ensued, but the efforts of the trade
in this section of the belt have been
put to naught by the persistent un-
der-selling carried on in Texas. While
the quotation for middling in Savan-
nah was 3-4, the Dallas quotation
was is.
The course of the Texas sellers has
been the subject of good deal of
criticism on the part of the general
trade. 1t is of course not possible for
any one section to maintain the price
as long as another section continues
to offer at progressively lower fig
ures. Texas is the State which al
ways makes the greatest splutter
about standing up for fair price,
and then proceeds to cut the ground
from under the feet of those who are
really trying to make firm stand.
e Gof
proving considerably larger than was
believed possible. Just as soon as
Texas starts this competitive selling
auction. buyers withdraw, for they
must be expected to do the best pos
sible. One buyer cannot afford to
pay higher price than other buyers
are paying. If we intend to make
any decided stand at all, it is clear
that we must stop trying to over
crowd a cautious market.
Exports are picking up little and
Europe is wanting cotton. Consump-
ton has not by any means been en-
tirely checked by the war, but the
rate is disappointing even in Amerl-
ca. Everybody was certain that
Amer lean takings would increase
substan sally, in order to supply the
anticipated extra demand for goods.
but so far this season we have not
used as much as last year. Mills are
extremely pessimistic. Of course, all
the stocks of cotton and goods which
they were carrying when the war
broke out represented the old values.
Manufacturers have had to come to
the lower level of cotton prices and
so these old stocks involve an enor-
nous loss. Naturally mills have
much trouble in meeting their own
obligations under these circum-
stances, and consequently find it very
difficult if not impossible to get
money with which to stock up with
low priced cotton. This explains why
spinners show so much apparent back
wardness in laying in heavy supplies.
The motto of the farmer this year
must be, 1T is cheaper to hold cot
ton at present prices than it is to
to grow it,'-and the sensible farm
er will act along this line. 1t is
statistical conclusion that the world
will not want over 100000 bales
next year at the outside, and may
be able to get on with half that quan-
tity. There is no possible doubt that
the actual production will be very
much larger, so that another year of
burdensome surplus may be regard
ed as inevitable Therefore, every
acre that is put in cotton this year
will be in the face of the certainty
of a dead loss. 1t is far better to
put in something else this coming
spring, even if the expected results
are relatively small.
Then there are some other very
important considerations. 1t is only
by cutting out cotton the coming sea-
son that we can stand any chance Of
getting anything worth while for the
present one. 1t is also the only way
to prevent still worse conditions next
fall. And, finally, there is every rea-
son for expecting a further general
advance in the price Of foodstuffs.
Altogether the position is so plain
that there is no room for hesitation
or indecision.-W. T. Williams, in
Progressive Farmer.