Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1918-02-22

TO the Editor of The Semi-Weekly Journal:
have received many letters from my friends
throughout the state, nquiring about the effort to
fix maximum price cotton asking my opinion
to whether any such legislation would pass and
what would be its effect that l wish to answer
through your columns
have always believed that the price at which
cotton sold largely determined the prosperity OF all
classes OF people in Georgia, and ! have studied
the problems involving the marketing of cotton
and the influences helping or hndering a good
price, with view of being prepared to render such
service to my fellow citizens this knowledge
might make possible.
You are aware that one of the great influences
which for long time depressed the price OF cotton
the New York cotton exchange.
The price lists of the New York cotton eX-
change, running almost the entire year, are
published all the world where cotton is bought
and sold. and these price lists have largely been
accepted as the correct estimate of what would De
the market value of lint cotton They nave mad
tremendous effect for many upon the price at
which the farmer sold his cotton.
| found that the system of selling cotton on the
New York exchange allowed the seller to deliver
very inferior character of cotton, although he had
sold upon the exchange middling cotton, and with
this inferior cotton the seller allowed to pay
difference way below the actual market dlner-
ence, thus enabling him to force down the price
upon the exchange without any fear of being called
upon for a genuine delivery.
AS / came to the senate l began an
effort TO force the New York cotton exchange TO
do a legitimate business. We succeeded in passing
bill which since the spring or 1919 mas
sellers of cotton upon exchanges to make a contract
bywhich they are forced to deliver cotton practical
ly equal to mddling cotton, and to pay the actual
market difference between what they did deliver and
middling cotton. This has removed one OF the
most injurious influences by which the price OF cot
ton in former years has been depressed, and is
worth one hundred million dollars annually to our
southern cotton growers.
THEN CAME THE WAR
When the came upon us in 1914 we were
just ready market the biggest crop we have ever
raised. We we're selling sixty per cent OF our
cotton across the water. These markets were cut
off by the lack of American ships, by German RAID
ers attacking English ships, and by other influences
which nerfered with the transportation OF the COT
ton to places where it needed
| began on October 22d, and from that time on
have sought to open up and keep open all foreign
markets, that the demand for cotton might be
brought to bear and it to bring the hlghest
price which demand applied to supply would cause
In the fall of 1914 urged the passage of a Dill,
not to validate the price of cotton, but to permit
the government to buy five million of bales up to
ten cents a pound, and hold it until such time as
it could be sold for than ten cents, together
with the cost to the government of buying and SELL
ing it. was unable to pass this bill, receiving the
support of only three men outside of the cotton
growing states. If this bill had passed you would
have received over ten cents pound for cotton IN
1914 and our government would have made mil
lions of dollars on what it bought
Finally, however, in the spring of 1919, we got
the markets of the world pretty we'll opened, ana
by further agitation of the subject during 1919