The Mena weekly star., 1918-06-06
DON'T TRUST THE
 PRICE 0F COTTON
This Conclusion Can Be Drawn From
 Recent Fluctuations in Prices.
By W. c. Lassetter, Director Exten- sion Division. College of
 Agriculture


 sion Division. College of
 Agriculture.
 The high prices of cotton cannot bs depended upon. This conclusion can be drawn from the recent fluctuations in prices or from the history of cot ton marketing.
 During the period of April IA to f6 the price of cotton dropped ss2 per bale. During that time there were wide fluctuations On one day alone the price dropped by l9S points. ap- proximately Pc per pound, approxi- mately s10 per bale.
 Since April 16 the price has con tinued to decline. There have been wide fluctuations, but the result has been an aggregate loss. For example, since April the price of spot cotton on the Little Rock market had, by May 1, dropped from about 34e per pound to about 26c per pound This represents an aggregate loss of about $40 per bale.
 No one can forecast the price of cotton for this fall. Much will de- pend upon factors of Government reg ulations and upon the worlds ship ping conditions. The United States cannot consume the entire cotton crop of the South. Cotton must be sent abroad If the price is to be main tained.
 The shipping conditions are not at all favorable. Recent information on available shipping shows that there are only about eleven million tons of shipping available for service between the United States aAd Europe. Since the beginning of the war there has been an aggregate loss Of over five millions tons of shipping. Shipping Is so limited that the United States and England were forced to take over the Dutch ships which was made possible by the Hague regulations. World ship ping is so short, stores of grain ac- cumulated fin Australia, Argentine and other points in the world cannot be moved to England, France and Italy to supply the extreme need in those countries. There is barely suf- ficient shipping to permit limited supply from the United States to these needy countries.
 The United States now is called upon to furnish millions of men to help stem the tide of the German ad- vance in France and Belgium. All available shipping is being turned to the transportation of soldiers and of the supplies and the food needed 10 support these men Arms and ammu- nitions must be carried across the seas. During this congested condition in connection with shipping, can we ask for room for cotton? If the Ger mans win, will there be any demand for cotton in England, where the great cotton consuming mills are To- cated? So much of the price of cot ton hinges upon war conditions If shipping conditions improve, if tne ] German advance Is stopped. there may ] be a chance to send more cotton to i the mills in England Tn that case we can expect good prices for cot ton. But who knows what will happen? Why not be prepared for | the worst? The United States Gov ernment has felt this situation so keenly that 1t has asked every farmer in the South to safeguard himself against loss by growing the food stuffs and the feeds needed on his place. The United States Govern ment has said that when each farmer has provided Cor his own needs 1t is | then his business as to how much cot ton he plants. Where cotton has been the money crop the Government has recommended that each farmer grow his own supply of food and feeds and then put the remainder of the land into cotton and eRdeave=- to grow just as much as is possible.
 Upon second thought it is seen that this is the same system that the agri- l cultural leaders of tke colleges of az riculture and the U. s. Department of Agriculture have urged upon the far mers of the South for many years. raese men have urged this system | because the best farmers of the 1 South had found that it paid and they recommended 1t, therefore, because it was considered to be good farm man. agement Today world food condi- tions and world shipping conditions | demand, as means of self-protec- ton against an uncertain cotton mar ket, that the farmers of the South grow their own food and feed supply in order that, should the price of cot ton be low or should cotton be largely unmarketable. the farmer and his fam. fly and his stock will not suffer there 1 by. Do not trust the price of cotton. i ~.1 ~..1r ~r ~,.,.<<