The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1919-04-23
COTTON PRICES
NOT EQUITABLE
Manufactured Articles Are Sell
ing Entirely Too High in Pro-
portion to Raw Cotton
SHOULD BE FAIR
DIVISION OF PROFITS
Mr.. Guion Discusses The Mat
ter of Supply and Demand in
Relation to Acreage.


To the Editor of The Daily Item:
The State of April 18th has let
ter from Mr.. Furman l. Cooper, or
acreage reduction which all men
should read and analyze carefully
Mr.. Cooper is evidently another one
OF the many men in our midst who
only partially understands the cotton
situation. His letter is another evi-
:dence that Southern people are alive
to the existence of a condition thai
should be solved with equity, and o1
which all thoughtful men are en-
deavoring to reach a solution. II
fairness to Mr.. Cooper, let me say, his
letter is open minded and free from
harsh, unjust criticism.
His query. els the cotton farmer
the only one interested in cotton pro-
duction?' This is a reasonable
question worthy Of an intelligent an
swer IF one was forced to answer
this great question "Yes" or NO, II
should be answered yes because
the conditions under which the cotton
is grown, first affects the producer
and if conditions made slave OF the
producer, the fact that he clothed
hundreds would not justify the en-
Shaving Of this man. Your correspond
: ent says .'Where one man grows cot
ton in the fields, ten wear cotton
clothes on their backs" Now as
matter of fact, the ratio is nearer
twenty times this great. Hundreds
wear cotton clothes to every produc-
er of cotton It is due TO this fact
that is that, we producers Of cotton
are in such small proportion to the
consumers thereof, that no matter
how heavily we are put to-" no cry
to Macedonia to come over and help
us, ever reaches beyond the bounds
OF the cotton fields. And it is be-
cause Of this, that the deepest think
ers of the South, have in their ex-
tremity been driven to organize the
cotton farmer, and advise him to re,
duce his cotton acreage, basing thei1
action on the past history Of cotton
which shows that small crops invari-
ably sell for more money than big
crops.
Now. let us return to those shoe
strings at 10 cents per pair, 1t Is
presumed they were just plain shoe
strings, such as farmer would puy;
about 4 pair to the ounce, Ga pair te
the pound. .ssS.40 per pound for cot
ton shoe strings that are nearly all
made Of cheap cotton. Based upon
3 the schedule of prices paid for dlr-
ferent Grades of cotton as quoted IN
The State of 18th inst. by Mr. J. NJ
Holman Of Creston, the cotton &c
make these shoe strings would cost
IS cents a pound low nlddllng or
19 cents a. pound middling strings,
either of which is ample for the aver
age tan or black string braided out O.,
No. Z to No. 20 cotton yarn. Can
Mr.. Cooper figure out who got his ex,
ira 9 3-4 cents and give the farmer {
clean bill Of health?
Within past ten days the write:
bought coil of 3-S inch rope at o.
cents per pound; the quality OF 1h@
rope clearly indicated that it wa
made Of low grade cotton, not above
low riddling, more likely strict gooc
ordinary, now selling according te
schedule of Mr.. Holman (and he is
about right at Ia cents per pound
When cotton was II cents per pouno
this class of rope sold at below 20
cents per pound. :. Why the differ
enee? The manufacturer tells yor
{ his wages and supply bill make the
difference. If the laborer necessary
to make this rope is worthy OF his
hire, is not the producer of raw cot
5 t,So nj
Arriving at the moral Of Mr.
Cooper's tale: lst: That limited
supply means higher prices" we ad.
nit this. it is our just aim to make
cotton scarce enough, to command
our part Of the 10 cents shoe strins
and 81 cents cotton rope. End: That
more people would suffer from &
scarcity of cotton products than would
benefit from higher prices Of cotton
products we do not admit that prices
would have to be higher for finished
cotton products, to enable the pro-
ducer to get a fair price for his cot.
ton. Nor do we admit that If price:
of cotton products were raised high
enough to justify remunerative price:
to the producer. that it would caus;
others to suffer out of proportion tt
the suffering Of the producer by cot
ton prices ranging at figures beloy
the cost of production; because the
cotton farmer gets his cash almost en-
tirely from cotton. He certainly Cup
on the average) is dependent npo1
the price of cotton for the conds
ton Of his prosperity while the
consumer of cotton goods spend:
only very small part Of his income
upon the purchase Of cotton pro
ducts.
To put it differently. if one mar
produces any commodity and t"'
hundred consume it is it not bu
right and fair that the producer o
that article receive as much for his "a
Dor as the consumer gets. Shoiit
not the producer be entitled TO thf
same living condition as those who
consume the product OF his labor
3rd: ITO endeavo,' to regulate the
law of supply and demand, etc. Tho
cotton producer cannot effect the de-
mand but he can regulate the sup