Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1918-02-26
However, the Senator Strong
Iy Urges Farmers to Plant
Food Crops and Let Cotton
Be Surplus
(special Dispatch to The journal }

Especial Dispatch to The Journal)
WASHINGTON, Feb. 23.-AIthough
Senator Hoke Smith believes the friends
of cotton will succeed in preventing the
enactment of legislation to hx a price on
the 1913 crop, he strongly urges the
farmers of Georgia not to be misled by
present high prices into over-planting,
but to take the safe course and raise
enough food to supply their own needs
at home with something over to spare.
Ii they will do this, as Senator Smith
points out, they will be independent in
any circumstances that may arise.
Should the government fix a maximum
price, in spite of all efforts, they can
hold their cotton; while if the govern
ment does not fix the price, and cotton
continues to sell at high prices, their
cotton crop will represent a money sur
plus.
The senator in discussing the general
situation today gave out the following
statement
I'VE were confronted all through last
year with efforts to strike cotton down
Parties interested to buy = tried to put
cotton in the first embargo list, believ-
ing thereby to stop it's rise and force it
down. l, among others. succeeded in
preventing cotton from being put in the
first embargo list. Later on northeast
ern spinners issued an address to the
war trades board, claiming that cotton
was being shipped in large quantities
to Germany, and being used to make
powder to kill our American soldiers
They demanded that an embargo be put
on cotton shipments to prevent it's reach
ing Germany. They claimed in their
publication that over four million OF
bales had gone to Germany, and the in
ference Of their publication was that
this amount was going yearly.
''In view of the wide publicity of these
claims i did not deem it advisable 10
resist the effort to put an embargo or
cotton when the second embargo list
was announced. l believed that we would
be prejudiced by appearing TO act selfish
ly, and that 1t would be difficult under
such circumstances to meet the claim
that we were furnishing the powder &c
Germany to kill our own boys, although
| knew as a matter of truth that Ger
many was getting none of our cotton
and that Germany had abandoned using
cotton to make powder at least tive
years before that time. So cotton was
put in the second embargo list, and al
once these same interested parties who
wished to depress the price of cotton Il
twelve cents a pound began circulating
a report that an immense market had
been cut off by the embargo, and that
therefore, the supply would exceed the
demand. A number of us exposed Upor
the floor of the senate this false claim
and |, among others, showed that no cot
| ton had been going to Germany since
the winter of 1914-1915, and that the EN-
barge would not reduce the price of cot
| ton. 1 have sent a copy of this speech
| to many of you, and will send copy
| to any one who drops me a postal card.
h. Oit in
the first copy it applied to cotton, but
this was cut out in the house of repre-
| sentatives. When it came to the senate
| a motion was made to add cotton The
I friends of cotton deemed it advisable
| 10 let this motion pass, but then to add
! a provision subjeCting to control the
prices Of the manufactured products OF
cotton; wool, and all manufactured prod
| ucts of wool; iron, Steel copper and
lumber, and all manufactured products
| of the four. Having put all these in the
bill, we rallied the friends Of --II and
struck ALL including cotton.
| Now as to the present status. There
has been for sixty days past an active
| agitation of a movement to fix the price
of cotton. The purpose of those origi-
mating it undoubtedly having been tc
force down the price. This agitation was
more active thirty days ago than it is
| today. At once those of us who were
seeking to protect cotton let it be un'
derstood that if cotton was subjected
to price-fxing, the manufactured prod
ucts of cotton must be subject to price
| fixing also, and that the profits of the
| manufacturer would disappear.
| There was also at that time feal
that cotton might jump to q figure 80
| high that it would be impossible to use
it practically for manufacturing pur'
| poses. 1t was believed by some manu-
facturers that the price of cotton would
rise so high that the mills would all be
| compelled to close down, and this fac'
Influenced some of them thirty days
ago to advocate price-fxing. They now
realize the folly of such a course. From
what 1 can learn, the sentiment of cot
ton manufacturers today is against fix
| ing the price of lint cotton.
II am intensely opposed to any in
| reference with the cotton market by
! the government. No one knows what Il
will cost to raise this years cotton
crop. No one knows what the size OF
the crop will be. The farmer does his
work, cultivates his land, buys his fer
| tilizer, incurs the expense of producing
his crop. The cost this year will Ger
tally be high even though the produc-
ton per acre is good. Now if the pro-
| duction per acre should prove small
| then all this labor would go into the
cost of the crop, and the cost per pound
| of raising cotton might be much higher
| than ever before. If the size of the
| crop is small then the farmer must
have a high price to give a just re-
/ turn for his labor. If the crop is large
! then this fact will prevent very high
price and certainly render unnecessary
even in war, governmental interference
Il think any danger of interfering