The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-01-24

can produce The cotton situation com menced to be acute in Great Britain Tn the spring of 1915, because a great deal of cotton that had been eoins to feed her spindles had been used in making gunpowdeI and high explosive shells. So she began to seize Ameri- can cotton shipped to Holland, Sweden and Denmark. These were neutral na- tions and of course Great Britain had no right to seize this cotton.
 MT Speaker, Austria, Germany and Great Britain have all ignored our rights and viola ted our neutrality; and Great Britain has injured our com merce and violated the principles of international law, and I take the posi- tion that none of these countries shall be permitted to insult our national sovereignty and destroy our commerce upon the high seas. (Applause)
 Great Britain seized this cotton which we had shipped to Holland, Sweden and Denmark. She gave as her req son for doing that she was afraid that that cotton would go through the neu- tral countries to Germany. That prin- ciples cannot hold. It was the busi- ness of Great Britain to keep it from going from the neutral nation to Ger many if she sN desired, but not to in- terfere with the commerce between two neutral nations. The position that Great Britain has taken in this matter is not sound, and this country will never stand for that doctrine. (Ap- plause)
 But Great Britain took that cot ton and used it to make gunpowder and to supply her spindles. Some in this country said, "Well, it is all right. Let her have it, She proposes to pay the contract price, Oh yes; they thought that very fair and generous to offer to pay the contract price.
 OUTRAGEOUS CONDUCT
 Whatever the motive, Great Britain did four things when she interfered with our commerce With neutral na- tions, she obtained cotton at 3 cents a pound cheaper than she could then buy it, kept other spinning industries from obtaining supply of cotton, fur niShed a much needed supply to her own spindles, and depressed the price of cotton in the United States. And I confess as the friend of the cotton producers of our country that I could not enthuse over this outrageous con duct of a foreign country. (Applause.)
 I do not want the cotton producers of the United States to be forced to bear any of the expense of the foreign war. They have suffered enough from the general evil effects of that war (Applause)
 But, MT. Speaker, those who would rob the cotton producers of the United States do not all live in Great Brit ain. There are those in our own coun- try who pillage and plunder him in ev- cry cotton selling season, and I de- sire to discuss just now the cotton situation here. I am of the opinion that there Is conspiracy between cer- tain spectators and spinners operat- ing on the New York cotton exchange to bear the cotton market and prevent prices from reaching the point fusti- fled by the law of supply and demand I am not alone in this opinion. There are many people in New York and in the south who believe that this con- spiraoy exists. The getleman from Mis- sissippi {Mr. Candler) and the gentle man from Arkansas (Mr. Jacoway)) ) two as good friends as the cotton pro- ducer ever had on this floor, joined me in calling this matter to the at tenton of the Attorney General, and he is now having an investigation made. These men operating on the New York cotton exchange know the cotton sit uation, and they know that cotton is going to be scarce and high, and they are trying to hold the price down un- til they can get the cotton away from the farmer into their own hands, and then they expect to make a profit of 3 or cents a pound.
 Why do we think that there is a conspiracy?
 Why. MT. Speaker. we made the smallest crop last year that we have made in many years. There Were 16,- 0000 900 bales produced in 1914 and not more than 11,000,000 bales, if that much, in 1915-5,000,000 bales short of the 1914 crop. More cotton has been consumed in the last IS months than in any like period in the worlds his- tory. Heretofore when the ginners' re- port was announced indicating a big crop prices have broken a few points on the exchange and when the govern ment's estimate as to the size of the crop was published indicating a big crop the price has always broken a follows that when the government gin ners' report shows little crop and the crop estimate is small the price would go up at least few points, and heretofore the price has gone up. But this time the bears on the New York exchange have organized, and when the ginners' report is ready to be published, knowing conditions in the south. and looking for a bullish report, they start to sell the market the day before and on the day the re- port is announced. They give the com mand, Get ready: the government re- port is coming out tomorrow. We must sell and bear the market This is done regardless of whether the report is large or small. They have done that and they have broken the market in