The Lancaster news. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1905-current, 1914-08-04
CALL COTTON CONGRESS
TOMEET IN WASHINGTON
Ask Federal Government For
Relief.
PIAN TO HOLD CROP.
President Wilson and Cabinet TO
Confer With Farmers and
Business Men.

Business Men.
We take the following from Mon
days issue of The State:
A call was issued yesterday bv e
j. watson, president of the Southern
Cotton Congress, for the reassem-
bling of the representatives of this
organization in Washington August
1874.
1t was understood when the 1911
session of the congress adjourned.
that it should be reasscmbled in At
lanta when there was threatened
disaster to the price Of cotton Presi-
dent Watson has asked that it as
semble in Washington, where the
personal contact of an alert Demo
cratic administration may be had
and to which the direct appeal for
relief from the national government
may be made.
President Wilson, all members of
his cabinet and the members of both
houses of Congress are invited.
From the cotton states. the gov
ernors, the commissioners of agri-
culture and the presidents and on-
GERS of the state Farmers Unions are
urged TO attend, along with farmers.
the members of bankers. textile
manufacturers and cottonseeG
crushers associations, merchants
and business men.
Earlier in the day an open letter
had been sent out by the State
Farmers Union to the farmers. mer-
chants and bankers, urging concert
ed action. 1t was suggested at the
same time that r. ]. Watson, as
president of the Southern Cotton
Congress, issue a call at once for the
reassembling of this body
WATSON'S STATEMENT.
The call by Colonel Watson and
the letter from the South Carolina
State Farmers Union follows:
ITO the People of the Cotton Belt:
I'm 1911, in the fact of an i'm
pending disaster to cotton, with q
100000 bale crop almost certain
to drive the price to cents or low
er, entailing incalculable loss to the
producer, at the suggestion of the
farmers union, the cotton growers.
the merchants, the business men and
the bankers of the South met i'm
Montgomery, Ala, and formed the
Southern Cotton Congress. inaugu-
rating the great fight for the main
tenance of a fair price for cotton. re-
sulting by December of that year i'm
complete victory over the manipu-
lators and saving millions of dollars
to the producers and to the nation.
means being employed that it is
needless to discuss.
when the congress was adjourn
ing, as the president OF the body. the
undersigned undertook to push the
light for justice to cotton in the mar
kets and to be the Watchdog on the
tower sounding the call for action
only when cotton was again threat
ened with disaster. The body ad-
journed subject to the call OF the
president, and with the understand
ing that such next meeting would be
held in Atlanta, Ga.
Since 1911 there has been no ne
cessity for the congress to meet. ard
hence | have issued no call. for no
great disaster has been imminent at
any time
Though the iniQuitous methods
of marketing that have been permit
ted to prevail have not yet been cur
ed by national governmental action
and this has become a vital matter
to cotton growers, almost necessi-
tating the calling of the congress TO
wrestle with the problem, we have
preferred to await the action of the
United States Congress in that re.
gard.
BALANCE OF TRADE.
Cotton is not alone the Soutb.s
chief asset; it is the chief asset of
the nation, preserving the world bal
ance Of trade in favor OF the United
States and bringing to America her
golden stream.
In the past few days the great
European cotton consuming coua-
tries have been plunged into a war.
which, 1t now appears. brings the
grower and handler of cotton face 10
face with disaster. In two days the