The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-27
Superior Railroad Facilities and Cotton and Grain Production Factors in
 Locating Office BENEFITS OF SPOT
 CONTRACTS SHOWN Money Used in Handling Business Here Will Be De- posted in Local Banks. Large Increase in
 Trade Expected

Grain exchange, who have been in the city since last Wednesday night, have about completed arrangements for the l locating of one of their offices in Bir- l mingham. Several conferences have been | held with local bankers, cotton com pressers, grain elevators, operators and merchants dealing in cotton and grain, and so favorably impressed are they with Birmingham and her advantage ous location and excellent railroad fa- cilities that they have about concluded to establish the office here.
 | The officials of the exchange who have been here Investigating the situation are: | J. c. Cooper president; Thomas c. Burke treasurer; Howard Flanagan and c. F. Baker, managers, all of New York. Mir. Cooper, MT. Burke and MT. Baker leave today for Pine Bluff, Ark. to confer with manufacturers and deal CTS of that state, while MT. Flanagan will remain in Birmingham a few days longer for the purpose of making a fur their canvass of the local interests
 COTTON AND GRAIN The American Cotton and Grain ex- change was incorporated under the laws or New York about year and a half ago and last December purchased the building at 71 Wall street, New York where it's headquarters will be.
 It's membership is limited to 10000 and 5000 have already been enrolled. The membership will be made up of cotton and grain merchants, bankers and oper ators of elevators, cotton mills, refn CTS and exporters
 In defining the objects of the exchanre MT. Cooper stated last night that it had been established in response to the de- mand for better facilities and more reas- enable brokerage charges for conduct ing market operations, and that it will be operated along the broadest lines consistent with conservative business usages, giving the manufacturers. eleva- tors, ref1ners, oil mills. exporters cot ton and grain merchants the benefit of spot contracts through the exchange daily, at the prevailing quotations, with out having profits absorbed by excess sive charges.
 CLEARING POINT "All trading will be done through the exchange in New York as a clearing point for the business shipped through the port of New York" Mr Cooper ex- plained "There will be two or three branch offices in each state throughout the cotton grain belts, and concentrat- ing points for receiving and delivering cotton and grain and other products will be designated for the convenience of it's members and their customers This will make uniform price. less or plus the freight rate to New York, thus stopping the manipulation, as supply and demand will control prices on all commodities dealt in on the exchange.
 This is the only exchange in the United States through which cotton can be bought or sold in 25 and 50-bale lots and upward in running grades, for any delivery, and grain and other products in small quantities, with assurance that the buyer will get the grades he buys and that the seller will deliver the grades he sells at the nearest concentrating point in the cotton grain belt, desig- hated by the exchange, through bonded warehouses operating under government rules and regulations. The members will trade in cotton, cotton goods, yarns, wool, silk, linters, sugar, coffee, wheat, corn, oats, rice, provisions cotton oil cocoanut oil, peanut oil, soya oil and other oils and chemicals"
 LOCAL DEPOSITS
 MT Cooper stated that in each city where an office is established the ex- change would keep on deposit at one or more of the banks all the money used in handling it's business in that district, and that none of the money would be sent to New York. Each city will be the center of trading district of radius of about 150 miles, He estimates that the increase in the cotton and grain trade of Birmingham by reason of the branch office being here will be fully 50 per cent.
 It is the intention of the officers to open the exchange not later than Au- gust l.
 In speaking of their stay in Birming- ham, MT. Cooper said that they did not come here with the intention of estab- fishing a branch office in this city, but that after being shown around, and as- celtaining the superior railroad facilities and the cotton and grain production of the surrounding territory, and seeing the spirit of cooperation and aggressiveness of the business people. they concluded that Birmingham offered one of the very best opportunities for such an enterprise of any southern city.
 w. D. Nesbitt has been in conference with them continuously since their ar- rival here and has conducted them about the city and explained to them the ad- vantages and the attractiveness of the location.