Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1915-10-01
THE COTTON MARKET

| Always a subject or great interest 70
everybody, the cotton market has
been more interesting throughout this
section during the past few weeks than
usual, and up to this time that inter-
est shows no signs Of tagging.
TO go into all the things that lend
peculiar interest to the cotton market
would fill a book; but among the
first things to be enumerated are the
tremendous contrast between the
prices prevailing now. compared with
those prevailing last year, and the fact
| that this has been what Is familiarly
known as a rising market"
When the bottom dropped out OF the
market about the first Of August last
year. 1t began to look to the people at
interest that the Jumping orr place
had been reached. Prices went stead
lily and swiftly down to a point where
nobody wanted to buy and nobody
wanted to sell. The New York ex-
change was closed from near the first
lof August to about the last Of No
vember. Some local producers sacri-
feed their holdings for 6 cents or
whatever they could get and others
SlOTeu up WIdl they ndu VII hohe
against better times. The general sit
uation was one Of the bluest on record,
and so profoundly impressed were the
people with the conditions as they saw
and experienced the same that 1t has
been difficult for them to realize that
the return to normal was real.
Since the opening Of the present cot
ton year on September 1, at a price
slightly under 10 cents, there has been
a steady and rapid rise. Sometimes
the market has stood the same two
days in succession, but this has been
the exception rather than n rule.
The advance has been by s~ixteenths,
eighths and quarters, up, up, up, and
with the advance there has been a
steady rise in the hopeful enthusiasm
Of the farmers, tinged only by a feel
ing Of misgiving on the one hand. lest
The top has been reached already n a
fear on the other hand that prices may
continue to mount after they have
parted with their holdings.
Local market conditions have been
peculiarly interesting because Of the
competition and fluctuations in prices,
and 1t Is fair and proper to explain that
these conditions are not generally
understood. In order to bring the mat
ter within the comprehension Of ev-
erybody, 1t Is we'll to realize this
elementary proposition. The market
is fixed almost absolutely by the New
York cotton exchange. All buyers,
everywhere, are governed by the quo
tations from this organization. There
Is no escape from that. The buying
and selling on the exchange keeps the
figures moving up and down, and cot
ton buyers everywhere govern them
selves accordingly. Cotton buyers in
clude several classes Of business peo-
pie. First, regular buyers who fol-
low the business exclusively as a
trade. Second. merchant buyers, and
third, independent spectators. All Of
these are governed to a greater or less
extent by the New York and Liverpool
markets: but then all Of them fiuctu-
ate in their prices according to cir
cumstances. The regular buyer Is
more apt than the others to keep
within even limits Of the New York
market. He allows himself a certain
fixed margin of profit and sticks to
that. The merchant-buyer, more in
terested in the collection Of accounts
than in making a profit on cotton, fire.
quently takes a position a sixteenth
or an eighth in advance Of the regular
market and holds to 1t. to the very
great inconvenience Of the regular buy
er. The Independent Spectator comes
in sometimes and completes with the
merchant-buyer, and occasionally the
regular buyer, in the exercise Of his
discretion, more particularly OIL what
appears to be an advancing market.
takes the responsibility Of keeping up
with the procession. While at times
the merchant-buyer and %speculator get
ahead of the market. they can never
be depended upon to keep the local