The Little River news., 1919-10-18
DIRECT SALES TO THE
 BRITISH SINNERS
Plan Proposed at Cotton Conference to Benefit the Southern Planters.
 Eliminates the Middieman.

New Orlenas, Oct: 15.-British cot ton spinners were urged today by the growers to send representatives to the field of the south, to buy cotton from the farmer direct, to bale the staple as they see fit. eliminating all middle men and thereby reducing the cost of the raw material to the spinner and increasing the price paid the producer
 This proposal, along the lines of the system used by British tobacco manu- featuring interests in Kentucky. was made at a meeting late today of the special committee of World Cotton Conference delegates, composed of 10 foreign spinners, 10 American spin ner and 20 American cotton growers.
 It was the first time in 50 years that American cotton producers and British spinners had met in special conference.
 The farmer who raises 10 bales of cotton talked over his problems with the British spinner who buys a thou sand times his yearly output. The British spinner also told of his prob lens, delayed machinery shipments strikes, fluctuating market and la bor scarcity.
 Speakers agreed that no arbitrary price could be fixed for any given period owing mainly to the tremendous fluctuations in the amounts of cotton picked in rela tion to the amount in re- lation to the amount planted in differ ents years Conditions of weather and of insect depredations made it inn possible to set an advance price on the staple as the growing costs cannot be estimated until the crop has been gathered and ginned
 Middlemen's Profits.
 However, speakers agreed that prof it's are being made by middlemen who have no direct interest in the growing, spinning or manufacturing branches of the industry and that the consumer has to pay higher prices for the finish ed article than would be necessary un- der strict regulation of the industry.
 G. F. Shakelford who said he has 14,000 acres of cotton under cultiva- tion in Georgia, declared he believed it was time for spinners and growers to get together and to share in the profits of cotton as we'll as the losses.
 Waste on the farm. at the gin, in storing and in shipping can and must be eliminated" he said. "Much money that is now being needlessly spent in handling and rehandling can be saved There now is loss of $11.50 per bale between gin and loom, and there is not an industry in the world where such wastefulness would be permitted. We must trade directly with the spin- ners, eliminate the middleman."
 Spinners to Buy Direct.
 J. A. Davis, banker, cotton buyer and planter of Waycross, Ga. said:
 ''The spinners should send represen- tatives to the growers to buy cotton direct just as do the big foreign tobac- co manufacturers. Half the reason for the high cost of everything these days is because of the partial control which spectators have secured on necessities of life"
 Closer utilization of grower and spinner was urged by Governor Brick ett of North Carolina, big cotton planted. He said the planter is oper- ,ting on a narrow margin of profit, wen at very high prices.
 William Polk, Louisiana planter, de- dared the spinner interests were ca ,a ble of fixing the price of the manu- actured cotton article.
 "If no basis of assured prices can ,e arrived at whereby the American | cotton grower can get more money | or his raw cotton. then the govern nent should set price for the spinner o pay or else put the tariff on foreign | cotton which would assure the grow 1T a sufficient price by American spin lers," he said. His views however, net with objections from many of the harmony with the spinners was the ,nly spirit which would make for better conditions and higher prices.