The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1916-11-21
"HOLD COTTON,s
SAYS SENATOR MLAJRlN
If Farmers viii Hold Their Cotton
They Can Make Their Own
: Price After January.

there is more cotton in the hands OF
the farmers in South Carolina than III
any other state" said State Ware
house Commissioner John l.. McLaurM
this morning, in the course Of state
ment which he gave The Charleston
American in response to a request for
an expressian upon the cotton situa-
tion in South Carolina at this time, in
view of the fact that cotton has reach
ed the highest point since the War Be
tween the States. eff they will just
simply continue to hold this cotton
they can make their own price after
January, when all Of the distress cot
ton has either passed into strong hands
or entered into consumption he said.
The state warehouse commissioner
refused to predict what cotton will do.
but said he believes cotton is intrin-
sically worth % cents a pound, and
that he is holding his own crop.
His statement follows:
Cotton Highest Ever.
Cotton reached the highest level
yesterday that it has gone to since
the days Immediately succeeding the
close of the Mar Between the States.
It would be too long story to trace
the causes that have produced this re-
suit. There is one thing that / have
observed about cotton-that when som
observed about cotton-that when
some unfavorable event happens, cot
ton goes much lower than it should
from natural causes, and that the re-
verse is true when something fay-
orable occurs. The pendulum swings
wider on cotton than any other pro-
duct, because of it's international char
acter, it being used to such large
extent as a substitute for gold IN
settling trade balances. In 1914 cotton
went down in the interior towns as
low as 5 cents a pound, and in fact
there was practically no market at
all for cotton. This was due to con-
dition of panic, and there was really
no reason for it. l have some Of the
cotton On hand yet that l offered on
the streets of Bennettsville and on
which at that time l could not get
a bid of more than 1-2 cents. Inc
difficulties of transportation are much
greater now than they were then; the
cotton will not spin any more goooS
now than it would then, and the dan
ger of the United States being drawn
into the war is much greater now than
it was then. The chief reasons why
cotton has advaced so much IN price
are:
First. The demand exceeds the
supply.
Second The ease with which cot
ton can now be financed, on account
of its character as a collateral having
been established by the State ware.
house system through the federal re-
serve banks.
Third. The imitation III our cur
rencv which is always the result OF a
war
"Aore than one-third of the avail
able gold supply Of the world is IN the
limited States. and this fact alone
would be sufficient TO account tor
large rise in the price of everything
that is for sale. For instance molso
is ten times as much as it was al
the beginning Of the war; los-"oou'
coming in from Haiti and Jamaica l.
worth three times as much; the chi
nese and japanese silk growers are
getting three times what tney were
before the war, and 50 on through
long range of products.
70 fnp
reserve bank has furnished a con-
stantly expanding vo!rme OF oomes-
tic currency. and tie lar9e 'oans maze
by lAmerican fnanciers to :orelsr
governments, by the extension o'
credits for the purchase of supplles
here. has doomed the price of cotton
and everything else. Cotton is really
not as high at twenty cents a pouno
as a. great many other products.
"How high do you think. cotton IS
going?" Senator McLaurin was askeG'
After thinking moment, Mr.. NC
Laurin replied,
Peace VIII Not Affect Price.
well. a man who would undertake
to predict how high cotton or any
thing else will go during this war
neriod would be very foolish. There
is one thing that can be said ABOUT
cotton-that it is the only article thai
the return Of peace in Europe ana
on the seas will not reduce in price,
because of the fact that the continent
of Europe is bare of both the raw ana
manufactured article, and there lsI
nrobably nothing that the need so pad
" now as cotton. If the war was end
ed tomorrow, then the proposl1lon
would be something like this: If the
present crop is 11,500,Oo bales. ana
the demand for cotton is 15,OOo'ooo
bales. then the price Of the gooos
would have to go so high that II
would check the consumption OF "a"
cotton and reduce the demand from
IS to II million bales. l can put II
another va This osthae z nm
another way: This is the first time