The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1918-11-16
HY GEORGE WILLIAMSON.

Things happened in the cotton mar
ket during the past week, many of
them without precedent. To a large
extent they had their basis in the sud
den ending Of the war through the &C
ceptanCe of the armistice terms by
Germany, which naturally acCentuated
the feeling of uncertainty because Of
the developments likely to follow. Ad-
vantage Of this and the fact that the
South was having TO carry an increaS-
ing burden OF the actual cotton was
taken by the speculative crowd and
they hammered the contract market
without mercy. Added 10 this was
continued Withholding Of buying by
the spinners, the combination being Il
strong one and its ostensible purpose
10 shake values downward on the eve
Ola time when consumers must neces-
tsarily buy a large part of their raw
material supplies. So patent did this
appear that strength was given to the
theory that the decline Of the past few
weeks was largely the result Of a oh
certed effort to do through propaganda
n manipulation what had failed to be
done by the use Of tactics more legiti-
mate from the supply and demand
standpoint.
Nothing much happened on the open
ing day of the period, and Monday was
given over entirely to the celebration of
the. victory, Liverpool announcing that
business in that market wOuld not be
resumed until Thursday. The effect
of the bearish theory that peace would
mean lower cotton was shown by the
rapidity of the decline in futures on
Tuesday, buyers apparently being in
disposed to offer resistance. The mar
ket dipped with ease the amount al
lowed for one day, $40 a bale, and
many orders were uneXeCuted. 1t was
thought the next day would see a SINH
lar break, but over night the commit
Inn an AnNt1n IfatvtI,,Ftan - tIn ,Dnr
purchasing board at Washington took
a step whose object was to give sta
bility to values and trim the sails Of
the rampant bears, lest it bring de-
moraliZation to the spot holders in he
South. Speculative short sales were
forbidden, the only selling allowed be-
ing by people who held the actual, but
there was no ban on buying or of
closing out long commitments. This
helped some, but prices dipped more
during the day, as there were many
hedgers,
Reasons for Holding.
After the days close the chairman
of the committee made a statement, in
which he detailed reasons why the
holders should not become panicky and
sacrifice their cotton, citing the world
scarcity and the probability that with
shipping conditions soon to get better
there would be need for every bale. He
also intimated that steps would be
taken to facilitate export movement.
1t was quickly seen that the action
was far reaching, and it was generally
regarded as a wise move, for it took
at once one of the main props from
the pear side, and left the market to be
governed by the attitude of the pro-
Queer and holder Of the unsold supply,
1t was considered a sound step, for
spots had not shown disposition to
weaken much and the discount at which
/, contracts were being quoted was alb
normal and likely to have serious re-
suits, The reinsurance from official
sources-the action being taken with
out request from the South-was fol-
lowed by a hurried recovery and a stiff
ening among holders, some of whom
were beginning to think they were in
for a prolonged fight to get at least
what their crop had cost. 1t was also
notice to the spectators and the spin
ners that help was to be given to the
producer, and ak of being able to fill
vacant warehouses at much lower
prices than have been ruling subsidized.
On the closing day of the week the
upturn extended to the limit allowed
for one day for nearly all positions.