Durant weekly news. (Durant, Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 190?-1944, 1914-01-02
PRODUCERS INTEREST NOT
CONSIDERED IN HANDLING
and MARKETING COTTON

|
advantage which may result from
larger yield per acre, its higher per-
centsge of lint, or some strictly cul-
tural characteristic.
Relation OF Prices Of MlddIing In
Local Markets and Galveston.
To bring out the general relation
between the prices of miid'.ng cotton
in local markets in Oklahoma as COM
pared with the Galveston closing price
of the preceding day. four middllng
bales we're selected in fifteen towns,
their range OF local price noted, and
the difference from the Galveston pri-
ce determined.
II was found that the range of price
paid in The local market for different
bales OF mlddling cotton varied from
$0.75 in Duncan to $500 bale in
Erick whece on the same day $1,000
and $500 were paid for bale OF this
same grade
The difference between local aver
age middling prices ana the Galveston
price varied from $3.50 In Ryan to
$500 in Marietta. There seems to be
no regularity in variations between
local prices and Galveston prices. In
Norman at different times the differ
ence from the Galveston price was
.05 to $2.19 and sS.10. All figures
are based on random sampline but
bales sold in round lots Are excluded.
The figures do not represent the ex-
tneme ranges on the days samples
we're taken, as the collectors usually
secured samples before learning the
price for which the bales wers sold.
g That the price OF middling is often
more varible than any other is brought
out by the figures for Cordell onNo-
vember 8. A total of thirteen bales
were sampled. OF these, 3 were mid
price among them was $500; 3 bales
we're strict middIing, and the extreme
variation in price among them was So
70; 8 bales graded strict low middling
and. the extreme range in price was
$3.50; bale of good middling brought
$50, the highest price among these Is
bales, but low middling spotted, the
poorest bale brought exactly the same
price.
Irregularities In Prices Paid in the
Same Markets on the Same Dates
For Identical Cotton.
\ The investigation showed that in
the case of strict middling cotton in
the same local market the difference
in price for bales of this grade would
vary from $500 to $7.25.
In the case OF low middling cotton
in seven markets. the price variation
on the same day was from S2.SO to
$3.50 a bale. In the case of strict
low middling cotton the variation ran
form $3.50 to $500 per bale.
Summing up this feature of the in
vestigation it may be stated that the
fluctuations in prices paid for any
grade OF cotton from day to day, or
during any one day. exceed greatly
those justified by any change in the
buyers limits or in spot transactions
In the great cotton markets.
Application OF Different Sheet to
the Farmers Cotton
According to the Investigators. the
whole question of the application of
, the difference sheet in Oklahoma ap-
pears to be in chaotic condition. In
general the premiums offered by OKLA
homa firms for grades above middiins
are about one half as great as those
of the New York Cotton EXchansf.
/. For the grades below middnns the
/ penalties are in general way, al
most twice as great. The result OF
the investigation shows concluslYeiy
that the difference sheet receives lit
tie attention in fixing the prices Of
} fered the grower.
On november Is 1912, bales ranging
from strict middling down to strict
good ordinary spotted were bought
in one small town at 11.05 cents pei
} pound Five days later the extreme
range was $500 per bale, but the In
vestigators found single bales OF
strict middling, strict low middlins'
and good ordinary each of which sold
at. l1.O5 per pound. In the neighbor-
} ing town, with only two grades be-
tween the highest and lowest bales
the difference in prices actually paid
: was $7.25 per bale.
Z A Specific Application Of the
Difference Sheet.
, An analvais of tha uricas and pre-