The Alaska daily empire., 1915-05-01
RISE IN COTTON
 HELPS SOUTH

Not least among the factors making
 for an economic era of good feeling in the United States is the recovery in
 the price of cotton. The war-iniictel loss in that staple has been made good
 to a degree and with speed that the
 most optimistic dared not prophecy
 six months ago.
 Meanwhile we are still getting a.
 most as much for our war-enhonced
 cereals as few months back. The
 significant factor is that wheat prices
 are on only about per cent from the crest of their sensation advance; while
 cotton has recovered over 30 per
 cent from the low mark Touched whom resumed trading first gave reliable
 price index in mid-November. and about 30 per cent. from the extreme low prices earlier quoted on distress
 sales of cotton in the South.
 It is almost comical retrospect now to the elaborate and at times very controversial political banking and legal opinions that were so freely expressed during November last con. corning the occasion and propriety of loan assistance to the needy cotton planters. The happy anti-climaX to the whole agitation was the outcome of only S2SOOO lent out of Sl35,0O0. 900 provided.-although the mere pro. vision in itself was 8 psychological element of value Now with the South having meanwhile disclosed more financial capacity and endur- ance than 1t had itself thought and with the problem having proved so much less formidable than was fear ed the whole episode is hardly mc- mory The cotton loan pool was af ter all. the least needed of our war emergency expedients.
 The extent of price recovery was what mainly frightened the burden. At the opening of July last cotton op- tions three months distant were sell ing around i25s cents pound War chopped on at least nickei.-m dis tress" sales as much as siX cents Corresponding options at the Exchange resumption were quoted al 7ia cents the middle of Che present month a woel; later they were around l0ii cents. Similarly the average price of spot cotton for last July was 1S17 cents; for December 1t was only L53; for January it rose to S.2S; now it isI 1915 cents.
 At first it seemed a harsh irony that the sudden price collapse should COG incide with the greatest crop ever grown.-close to 170Oo0O0 bales The South beheld $25 8 bale or Si25.00O GOO in all subtracted from its paper value, and faced also the problem of carrying over at least 100000 bales Today 1t sees S15a bale of that paper loss erased, appreciation of about S240OOO.O0O from the low point leaving the theoretical aggre- gate loss to date only about S1S5,000.- O0O
 The situation has also been mater ially helped in two ways,-by unex- pected liberal domestic consumption. placed at 6.1OO,O0O bales for the year to Aug next and by the surprisingly large exports in recent months, with the result that export takings to date are only about 100000 bales under last years rate-where in December they were 3.OOO,OOO behind The ce- lerity of this market movement means that the "holdlng" problem may turn out only one-half to three-luarters are difficult as first anticipated.
 Then there is the silver edge lent to the near future by the prospect of reduced cotton acreage. It is per haps probable that the recent price in cotton may dull the in- centive to turn to cereals; yet there is little doubt that such turning from cotton to grain will involve at least a quarter. if not the one-third earlier expected, of the S6000.000 acres last year planted to the white staple. (Boston News Bureau)
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