The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1915-08-20
L. c. Hutsop, Manager Of Indiaho.
ma Gins, Declares Last Years
Enormous Surplus Has
Already Been Used
TWO MILLION BALES
SHORT THIS YEAR
Acreage Reduction and Unfavorahe
Condaiors Held Responsible;
Staple Should Bring From
Nine to Ten Cents

The size OF Oklahoma's cotton croI
will depend entirely upon weather con
ditions from now on, but whatever the
yield. the acreage is so small through
out the United States that the staple
should bring not less than nine cents
more likely ten, thinks l.. C. Hutson
manager of the lndiahoma Cotton gins
Mr.. Hutson has just completed an In
yeatlgatinn covering Oklahoma franz
the Rock Island west. In which he
found that the acreage In this third
of the state was just 81 per cent OF
what it is last year.
There are so many things entering
into the cotton problem that it is diff
ficult to predict much about prices,
Mr.. Hutson said this morning. Eve
must consider first the supply. Well
we don't know very much about how
much will be raised In the United
States yet. The other thing to con-
slider OF course Is the demand. 1t Is
pretty difficult to tell just what the
demand will be. We found last year
that war does not reduce the demand
materially. bat ii is safe TO predict that
peace would increase the demand
greatly from what It VIII be II war
continues
AS for the marketing of cotton un-
der peace conditions, we hardly expect
that II peace we're declared. we could
expec, immediate orders from Ger
many for a million bales. That coun-
try has been taking from two to three
million bales OF American cotton a
year"
But MIR. Hutson is figuring on tho
wars continuing. and is basing his es
innate Of the price OF cotton thi. f,d'
on that snpposition. Last yes1's crop
was is,O00.00o bales. 0rd'pcrily the
crop is only about ii,0oO,O0o bales, he
says. and OF this amount, so,ie 3,00o.-
600 bales are held over each year.
But the chief things that makes cot
ton men optimistic OF the price is the
immediate consumption Of last years
100000 bales. With 2.000,O00 extra
bales and with war going on. the
amount on hand now is only about
100000 bales. Mr.. Hutson says. just
about the same amount that is carried
each each year
Add to that the fact that this years
crop will be some 100000 bales short
OF even the ordinary crop, and you
have the reasons for the cotton mans
prediction that the staple this year
will sell for not less than nine cents
In case peace should come. which
the cotton man does not expect, the
relation of supply from America and
demand In Europe should run the
price up to twelve or thirteen cents
Mr.. Hutson says But it is certain.
he added, that England will not pei
nit the Germans to import cotton unit
peace is absolutely settled, We can
possibly expect peace in time for tbs
marketing OF this years crop"
Present indications are that Okla
homa will produce about 100000 bales
Mr.. Hutson says. This will be- littl'
more than half Of last years enor
nous crop. million and third 500
pound bales. II was by well organ
lied method OF investigation that th'
gin man arrived at the acreage in th'
staple in western Oklahoma. He wrot
letters to bankers in every part of tn
territory, asking them TO select tel
representative farmers in their sec
tion and have them give the acreag
they had last year. the acreage thi
year and other statistics about coma
tions. etc. His replies indicated tina
the reduction west of the Rock Isian
railroad had been some 4s per cen
from the acreage of last year
"Of course" Mr. Hutson said, "eas
ern Oklahoma is more of cotto
country. The reduction there has bee
probably thirty per cent, possibly les
would estimate the acreage over tn
whole Of the state to be from so to
per cent Of what Il was last year. OIL