Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1914-10-17
Rushing of Cotton to Market Will Bring Disaster, If
 War Doesn't End.
SELLING RECKLESSLY
Action of Growers in Throwing Cotton Upon Stagnant Market Bring ing Ruin Upon
 Them.

a letter from w. B. Thompson & com pany. cotton firm established in New Orleans in 1859 and which advised cot ton growers through many crises, de- ploring the action of producers in throwing cotton upon stagnant mar ket and pointing the inevitable dis aster to follow.
 "This is very interesting letter" said Mir. Alexander, particularly at this time. Every cotton planter in the county, and those who help them, should read it, and do their best to act accordingly"
 The Thompson Advice.
 The full text of the w. B. Thomp- son & company letter follows: The things most feared has happen. ed. Cotton is being thrown upon stagnant market and sold for whatey- CT it will bring. The slaughter has begun. In spite of the warning of every leader in the South that cot ton must be held off the market if liv- ing prices were to be maintained; in spite of the dictates of the most ele- mental common sense that the pres- ent narrow market must not be glut- ted with supplies; and in spite of the appeal of sheer self-preservation that the crisis must be met with steadfasy- ness and courage, we find certain farmers and spot holders at the first shot of the enemy throwing down their guns, turning tail and running like bleating sheep backwards upon sure destruction.
 Texas to the Fore.
 Tbo uor dor of if ic th at fhic fNfO Q has happened in Texas. The Imperial Commonwealth" with it's boasted re- sources of wide prolific fields, pros porous farmers, aggressive business men, impregnable banking institutions capable of issuing sixty million dol lars of emergency currency for the protection of it's great cotton crop Texas, the self-reliant, the self-suffi- cient Empire state, was the firsy 70 break the ranks and true to it's boast of prezeminence in all the departments of human endeavor, is leading the rout with the incomparable swiftness of one of it's own frightened jackrab- | bits.
 At the very beginning of the sea- son, Texas offered cotton down to 6 3-4 cents. The holding movement inaugurated in another section of the belt caused momentary pause in the surrendering enthusiasm of the erst- while heroes of the Alamo and there was a reaction of more than cent. But at this point the ranks could be held no longer. On September g, middling cotton was quoted in the Dallas market at cents; on the 26th. o% fc. ot 7-GI cents; on October 6, at cents; on the 7th, at 7-S cents; on the Sth at 9-16 cents. and on the 9th, at 6 IA cents. This course is typical of the other markets of the Lone Star state, but the Dallas market easily takes the lead and is primarily re- sponsible for the hoisting of the white flag and the consequent discourage ment of other more stalwart sections. The Dallas market is beating the auc- ton drum which invites the bargain hunters of the world to possess them selves not only of the cotton farmers crop but of his home.
 Actions IncOmprehensible. It is incomprehensible that men should do this thing. If the stam- pede be not arrested, it means wreck and ruin to the Southern people. For the heretofore prosperous citizens it means shrinkage and privation: for the poor it means actual hunger and want. In the light of the movement disclosed by the recent declaration of Sir Charles Macara, president of the Federation of Master Spinners, that advantage should be taken of present conditions for "stablizing" the price of cotton in the future, it means that 1 the spinners of the world will for song acquire and accumulate stock of cotton with which they can "stabil- ize" the price at level to suit them selves, and it means that relief can not come until a cotton famine shall have been brought to pass through the slow starvation of the American farmer
 l It passes understanding that with l this tragic future staring men in the face they should deliberately hurl themselves and countless others into the pit. It will not do to offer the excuse that all this cotton was "dis- tressed" and had, of necessity, to be sold. There is no more prosperous and independent agricultural section in this world than that surrounding the Dallas market; and, if the pro- fessions of bankers and the endorse l ment of these professions by the fed eral reserve bank organization com mittee are to be believed, there is no section with better financial capacity to take care of it's trade than this same Dallas territory. Distress" is not the word which explains the s,am- pede Necessity has not forced this suicidal course It is cowardice or stupidity or more probably a combi- nation of the two.