The patriot. (Glenmora, La.) 1918-1955, 1918-12-06

has been injured times unnumbered by the half
truth. Therefore rather welcomed the In
qury which Mr.. Baruch felt 1t necessary in the
discharge of his responsibility for the conserva-
ton of all war. material, to institute. Develop.
ments since then have confirmed my impression.
After the first fiurry-due mostly to the persistent
suspicious or unwarranted apprehensions of few
overzealous spokesman for the cotton producers
the situation became more stable, more normal
and meanwhile the report of the bureau of crop
estimates exhibits slightly larger supply of cot
ton than reckoned upon the condition of the
plant month earlier. Ny information is that the
commissions representing the allies the legitimate
traders and the more thoughtful farmers recog-
nize the wisdom of the undertaking and have full
confidence that these instrumentalities of gov
eminent exercised under war emergency win do
no injustice. The chief DIRECTORS are few short
sighted spinners who unwilling to take any
chance upon reduction of the handsome profits
they have been making for three years and more.
"No doubt there has been recently, as there has
been always, more or less sharp practice by Ger
tain class of cotton traders have never seen
the time when some men did not take advantage
OF any situation to exaggerate, to distort, and
even to falsify facts for speculative advantage.
For instance, Secretary Houston was represented
as saying that 20 cents pound was fair price
for cotton. It was utterly false. He had never
said anything of the Sort How the story orig
mated have not the slightest idea. 1t was a
piece of market gossip invented for a purpose
like many another concocted and circulated from
time immemorial.
"As to market influences. nothing has been so
hurtful of late as the attitude of few men from
the South who insisted, In spite of Chairman
Baruch's statements Of purpose that the contem-
plation of the war industries board to cause
a price to be fixed, and who assumed that If q
price were fixed 1t would be lower than the mar
ket price. Market gossipers naturally have made
the most of such state of mind. Another hurt
ful influence has been the effort In some quarters
to magnify the cost of producing cotton. In
this connection, there are those who remember
that when the fixing Of wheat price was under
consideration some pr0fessed spokesman of the
producers sought to have the cotton price fixed
at 20 cents, though the market of that time was
considerably below % cents. These men have
created the impression that the South desired
pricehxing upward, but was unwilling to have
the facts as to real value ascertained. As has
often been the case. much harm has been done
by the 0verzealous, the suspicious and the selfish
All such factors must be discounted In truly ap-
praising the situation.
sWhether Intentionally or not, Governor
Corners article In the New York Journal Of Com
merce misrepresents the departments relation 70
this whole problem. The United States depart
ment Of agriculture enforces the provisions OF the
United States cotton, futures act, except those
portions which relate to the collection Of taxes
on contracts. and these portions are enforced By
the treasury department. The department Of az
riculture, however. does not establish difreren-
tails for grades of cotton other than middling as
one might infer from reading Governors Comert
article. The section contract. which is the CON
tract used on the two exchanges, is a basis
middng' contract. Cotton of grades other than
middIing may be delivered, and the differences
on or OF middIing ct which such grades are de-
liversd are determined by the difference prevail
Ing Ia spot markets designated for that purpose
by the secretary Of agriculture under the terms
OF the act.
aThis department has no authority to say what
differences shall be quoted by the spot markets In
fact. the New York and New Orleans exchanges