The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1916-09-22
HOLD 1OUN ,GTTON
SAYS MIR. MORRISON
Believes Staple Will Bring 20 Cents
Before the Next Crop Comes in.
Issues Call for Meeting.

Columbia, Sept. 1S-M. 7. Morrison,
president of the South Carolina
Farmers Union, has issued the follow
ing letter addressed to the farmers OF
South Carolina:
To the cotton farmers OF South
Carolina: At a meeting of the State
- presidents of the Farmers Union, held
in New Orleans, La, September 5 and
s. resolution vas passed urging upon
the cotton planters of the South the
Importance of holding meetings in
,uduU&eir respective States for the purpose
of organizing cotton holding move
ment.
while the price was apparently high
on the hlst Of September, the rapid
MginninA ind selling of cotton is al
lady pressing the market, almost
wice as much cotton having been
inned as was last year at this time.
The buyers are naturally taking ad-
vantage of this fact and unless we
can check up the selling the price will
go still lower.
Reports show very short crop, and
probably not more than 11,000, 900
bales, and when we remember that
two years ago, under war conditions,
a 16,OOO,OOO bale crop was consumed
we can appreciate where cotton will
probably go to if slowly marketed.
Harbin's report gives only 5S.7 per
cent of crop for this year, with South
Carolina at 1872 per cent. (about half
of a crop. which,as far as my personal
knowledge goes, is about true.
Somebody is going to sell cotton be-
fore the next crop comes in at 20 cents
and up, and, why not the man who
makes it? With our State warehouses,
Amoney at low rate of interest and
y cheap storage an6 insurance, there
should be no reason for the majority
of the farmers of this State to depress
the market by selling now. In 1914
we made big crop tut got nothing
for it; in 1915 the price was fair but
! the crop was short, The 1915 crop will
probably be the shortest we have had
in ten years and the world may be fac
ing a cotton famine Why not the pro-
ducer reap the harvest? To do this we
must act together; unorganized we
can never bull the market.
You remember that two years ago.
when the Southern farmers asked
Congress to pass an Act opening up
the ports of the warning countries to
cotton, they we're told that Congress
was a slow working and conservative
BODY and that nothing could be done
in time to save the crop even If 1t
bankrupted the entire South. But when
organized labor 100000 strong, threat
ened the country with a general rail
road strike. President Wilson discover
ed that Congress was not as slow and
conservative body as he thought II
was and the eight-hour law was pass
Y ed in less than that many days
whether this was right or wrong, we
are not now discussing, but it proves
very clearly that if the f,rmers wants
anything he has got to go after it and
he organized well enough to demand
it.
To start this cotton holdins move
ment / have been requested TO oil a
meeting in Columbia, THURSDAY, Sep
tember %, at O'Clock p. m. This
will do if farmers are interested
enough to attend such meeting OF
will Join in the holding movement and
viii so indicate by writing me card.
Yours respectfully,
(Signed) M. T. Morrison,
President, South Carolina State Farm
ers' Union.
McClellanville, S. c., tseptembe1 10,