The Pulaskian., 1918-08-30
NORTH TRIES TO
FIX COTTON PRICE
PROPOSITION PENDING ARRl.
TRARiLY FIXES THE PRICE OF
THE 1919 CROP AT FIF-
TEEN CENTS.

John H. Page, Commissioner of Ag
riculture, is in receipt of letter
from .. A. Calvin, Washington repre-
sentative of the Cotton States Off
cial Advisory Marketing Board, en-
closing copy of H. r. 1871, which
is a bill by Congressman Cox of In
diana to fix the price on cotton. This
bill is amendatory and largely follows
the terms of the wheat bill and con-
tains almost the same provisions as
the bill for fixing the price of wheat.
1t authorizes the President to fix the
price on this years cotton crop, but
arbitrarily fixes tn price of the 1919
cotton crop at Is cents a pound The
price fixing feature of the bill is in
genious in that it provides for the fix
| ing OF minimum price, but those
who have followed the course of
events in price fixing by the Govern
ment throughout the war period will
readily understand that in every in
stance where the minimum price has
been fixed it also became the maxi
mum price. This was true in the case
OF wheat, which is quite as important
as the cotton crop. At the time a
minimum price of $500 per bushel was
guaranteed on wheat, wheat was sell
ing for $2.75 to $3.50 per bushel and
| Immediately after the minimum price.
of $3.50 was guaranteed to the farm
ers the commercial price dropped to
that figure and the price of wheat
has ever since been confined to the
price guaranteed by the Government
It is passing strange that all bills
originating in Congress for fixing,
controlling or guaranteeing a price
on cotton have been introduced by
Northern congressman, and to those
who are familiar with the rend of al
fairs it is easy to see that these va
rious bills have been stimulated by
selfish interests in the East, and no
doubt most of them have been writ
ten by members of the New York
Cotton Exchange or representatives
of the cotton spinning industry. If
the Southern people ever relax their
opposition to the fixing of a price on
cotton, in any form, it will, inmy opin-
ion, be disastrous day for the
South. The Government in Washing
ton represents all of the people. This
is true in Congress and in every other
department of the Government, but it
must be remembered that practically
all of the cotton is produced in nine
States Of the Union and that the in
habitants of the other thirty-nine
States are consumers of cotton and
more interested in having low price
than they are in protecting the pro
ducers. An opinion prevails in the
North and East and to some extent
in the West, that the South and the
Southern farmers are growing ricn
in the production of cotton. They
have not taken into consideration the
increase in the cost of production nor
the fabulous increase in the cost of
farm labor incident to the scarcity Of
that product and to the competition
set up by the Government and indus
trial works, both of which are coon
the farm ond go to the industrial
plants at wages so high as to be pro
hibitive on the farm That the farm
ers of the South do not get a proper
tionately high price for their cotton,
they will either produce the cotton
at loss or be unable to produce 1t
at all if the price is lowered to
point that will be satisfactory to the
consuming population of the North
and East.
Strange to say, there is for some
cause movement among the cotton
mills and omong the members of the
New York Cotton Exchange to fix
price on cotton This movement be-
gan almost year ago and has been
agitated in various ways intermit-
tently ever since. The farmers of the
South have never asked to have the
price fixed on cotton, and there has
been no shortage Of cotton to make
it necessary to stimulate the produc-
ton of it, consequently the interest of
the manufacturers and the New York
Cotton Exchange cannot be interpret
ed as either philanthropic or patriotic,
and it behooves the people of the
South to look after their interest in
the most active way in a critical PEE
riod like this.
Congressman Cox, the outhor of the
bill, manifests much interest in the
producers of cotton getting a reason
able profit, but it is also his fixed
opinion that 10 cents pound would
yield not only a reasonable but fab
ulous profit