Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1914-11-10
Fictitious Value Placed on
 Cotton Can Only Work Harm

l The American Artisan and Hard ware Record, published at Chicago, prints the following:
 w. L. Sanford, formerly president of the Southern Hardware Jobbers association and vice president Rob- erts, Sanford & Taylor company, sherman, Texas, one of the most pre- gressive wholesale hardware houses i in the South, recently mailed a cir cular to the company's customers and other hardware dealers in it's territory in which he called atten- tion to the fact that an article 5 worth only what it will bring when 1 offered fer sale, and that the at temps to create an artificial value 1 by holding ootton-as the farmers are now doing--is not fair to any one consumers, retailers, wholesalers or manufacturers. This circular IS 1 published below under the title I Holding Cot on.'
 | Tn another circular supplementary to tho one addressed to the retail trade MT. Sanford suggests that ;he
 United States government will not be doing the cotton raisers any real good by trying to finance their crop, ealing to mind the experience with ! the, Indians when they became walds
 of the government: They lost their manhood. MT. Sanford says that the efforts that are being made by
 "philanthropists' to help the cotton ! planters by paying price which, ! everything considered places ficti- tious value on cotton, are bound to bring discontent and trouble in iae i future. The supplementary circular i is published herewith, and the cir cular 10 tho retail trade follows:
 Gods Chosen People. To American Artisan:
 Yesterday we mailed your company a circular, a copy of which 1 en- 1 close herewith.
 1 might have said great deal mere on the subject, but l am not inclined to array the farmers against the merchants, or vice verSa
 cniy stated few facts that are be-
 ycnd argument. I think we have
 reached the point in American his | tory when the farmers have sup 1 planted the Jews as Gods chosen people.
 A\c ldW CdH pC Uy lilS lS5lo- lature of '.his. or any other state de- trimentaT to the interest of the farm CT. The politicians and office-seek- CTS see to that The farmers pay very small proportion of taxes. Cor
 porations, by laws, are required to pay taxes on the full amount of their capital stock. Banks invariably do
 this. Other corporations generally
 pay on about 75 per cent of their ,.stock, while city property is render j cd at about the same valuation, but thes farmer renders land worth S100 per acre at about $15 per acre, and
 his rate Of taxation is about one- fourth of what the urban citizens pay He contributes nothing towards pay ing the taxes of the city whose multi piled benefits and conveniences he enjoys. A county is taxed to build
 good roads. Tine property holders in the cities and towns pay most of the tax and the farmers get most of the benefits. Letters and parcels are delivered. at the farmers door but the business concerns in the towns and cities pay the cost of ihis luxury Two farmers can agree to make a merchant pay an unreasonable price tor commodity and go scot free; 1 but if two merchants agree to ad- vance the price of nails, which they | have been selling at cost, one-fourtn cent per pound they can be heavily 1 fined or sent to the penitentiary, or 1 both.
 l in the small towns and cities rest rooms have been provided for the convenience, comfort and pleasure of farmers and their families during their visits. Two years ago all over
 TeNas business houses closed in the afternoon and bankers, merchants, doctors, preachers and veterinary surgeons went out into the fields and free of charge, picked cotton for the l farmers.
 As a class they have been pamper- ed and humored and petted by politi- clans, office-seekers, retail merch- ants and banks until they have come to think that all of these things are theirs by divine right.
 In connection with my circular would say that cotton is worth today about z 1-2 cents psr pound. which 1 is about the average price that ob tained for probably ten years in this country, during which time the farm CTS prospered abundantly, though they paid at least one-third more for what they bought and sold every thing else but cotton at about one fcurth of what they get today. Their cost of living has not increased he-