Middletown transcript. [volume] (Middletown, Del.) 1868-current, 1918-12-07
INTERCHANGEABLE MaeM@H1M5 0o4DMz A6'zWIE

has been injured times unnumbered by the half
truth. Therefore, I rather welcomed the in
Quiry which Mr.. Baruch felt it 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 furry-due mostly to the persistent
suspicious or unwarranted apprehensions Of a 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 was 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-
nze the wisdom Of the undertaking and have full
confidence that these instrumentalities of gov.
eminent exercised under war emergency will do
no injustice. The chief DIRECTORS are few short
sighted spinners who unwilling to take any
chance upon a reduction of the handsome profits
they have been making for three years and more.
mo 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 fasifv facts for speculative advantage.
For instance Secretary Houston was represented
as saying that 25 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. It was a
piece Of market gossip invented for a purpose
like many another cOncOcted and circulated from
time mmemorial.
"As to market influences, nothing has been so
hurtful of late the attitude Of few men from
the South who insisted in spite Of Chairman
Baruch's statements Of purpose that the contem-
plat1On OF the war industries board was to cause
price to be fixed, and who assumed that If
price were fixed it would be lower than the mar
Ket price. Market gOssipers naturally have made
the most Of such state of mind Another hurt
full influence has been the effort in some quarters
to magnify the cost Of producing cotton. In
this connection, there those who remember
that when the fixing of wheat price was under
consideration some professed spokesman Of the
producers sought to have the cotton price fixed
at 70 cents, though the market at that time was
considerably below % cents. These men have
created the impression that the South desired
price-tixng 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 overzealous the suspicious and the selfish.
All such factors must be discounted in truly APP
prasing the situation.
whether Intentionally or not Governor
Corners article in the New York Journal of Com
merce misrepresents the departments relation to
THIS whole problem. The United States depart
merit & 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
ue treasury department. The department Of az
riculture, however, does not establish differen-
tails for grades Of cotton other than middling, as
one might infer from reading Governors Corners
article. The section contract, which is the con-
tract used on the two exchanges is a basis
middIing' contract Cotton of grades other than
middng may be delivered and the differences
on or of middling at which such grades are de-
Hvered are determined by the difference prevail
Ing IN spot markets designated for that purpose
by the secretary of agriculture under the terms
Of the act.
This department has no authority to say what
dlnerences shall be quoted by the spot markets. In
fact, the New York and New Orleans exchanges
get their quotations direct from the spot mar