The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1915-06-18


talked of five cent cotton. The spinner
said If this cotton is going down to five
cents Or four and a half | will sit down
and let it 60. The cotton exchanges
had all been closed, Congress had to
send three or four million in gold to
Europe to cash the travellers checks.
Then people began selling and shipping
their cotton. The ships charged to
take it from Galveston to Bremen, in.
stead Of 81. 10, SIT a bale. You remem-
Der the purchase Of the Dacia. 1t was
said il was bought for the purpose of
turning it back to Germany, The pri-
vate owners made the cost of the ship
ON the first load of cotton. The ships
now carrying freight and charging this
100 per cent Increase in rates are
owned by the people we would have to
secure this thirty or forty million from.
These people were reaping the benefit.
Morgan said everyone else was getting
rich out of the war, why not the ship
owners. This is just as much piracy
as the actions of the pirates of old.
Then they tried to fix the price Of
cotton and say the federal government
should lend the farmer II or 10 or Ia
cents. This was impossible.
THE federal government said we
have the forty million dollars. We will
take 81 per cent of the stock of a cor
poration, and if nobody else will buy
| the 49, we will take that, and will ship
cotton at reasonable rates. They said
you can't do that, it is not Democratic
in principle. The president said ! will
not let a few pirates rob u people
when under the constitution We have
the power to prevent it. They said you
will lose money at it, thirty or forty
million dollars is only a starter or an
opener-if you know what that means.
They said it will cost two hundred mil.
lions. The insurance companies were
charging rs per cent. When this de-
partment of war risk was organized
the companies reduced the rate to 3
per cent.
1.-The premiums on this insurance
have been ST.. 800, 900, with $500, 600
paid out, leaving 81, 900, 600 profit. We
did not believe this was a mere opener.
They say the great shipping inter
ests are losing money. This does not
show it. The Dickson Company of
London declared in 1918 a SO per cent
dividend, the White Star 80 per cent,
Hamburg. American line so per cent, etc.
1--WE bought the Panama railroad and
ships and the freight rate from New
York to Panama was reduced from s.
to $3.50. The passenger rate was cut
in half. At the end of ten years,
charging up all overhead expenses,
charging up 1866, 900 for depreciation,
the books showed that three years we
had lost money, but the other seven
had made more each year, 80 that We
showed a handsome profit for the ten
years, after reducing rates more than
half.
"We were urged not to purchase
ships because it was contrary to the
Democratic platform. (This war is
contrary to the Democratic PLATFORM.
War was not contemplated in the plat
form.
"The government departments re-
ported that three hundred and eleven
million would be paid out in twelve
months in excess rates. This should be
worth thirty or forty millions to the
American people.
in 1918 there was talk of a money
panic. Mr.. McAdoo said: 4 will let
the farmers have $50, 900, 900 to move
the crops, and if necessary will let you
have five hundred million for deposit in
the banks of the South. The men in
New York said If it is money you want
we will let you have it, and this was
not therefore necessary.
'In 1910 they let a contract In the
Jones Levee District in Florida at 22
cents, they wanted to build q bridge,
the next year the work was contracted
for at IL cents, the next ats cents; the
ship purchase bill would come out this
way, would force the corporations In
this business to treat us fair