The courier-index., 1919-03-07

in the market that has been there for months unsold, though there IS a reported market every day but with our crop the shortest we nave aver produced with the largest acre age the south ever had planted, ana the most expensive we ever grew cotton is now selling, if selling at all. around 20 or 22 cents, althougn if sold as high as 3S cents when It was thought we were going to nave 1 900 900 or 100000 bales more l charge that here is manipulation oI the cotton market. l am informed that there is an agreement entered into by certain people in thls country through the cotton exchanges to furn- ish certain foreign countries ana firms manufacturing cotton Tn those countries large amounts of cotton. This cotton was contracted at price such that they could not go into the open market and buy the cotton at that price. So, therefore, we have seen this remarkable thing, that the price of future cotton has fluctuated as much as 200 points Tn a day, or $10 a bale. How much more the fluctuation would have been no one knows, except the exchange adopted a regulation limiting it to this amount There can not under the rule of the exchanges now be greater fluctuation than $10 a bale in any one day.
 Everyone knows that cotton IS worth as much this morning as 1t will be this afternoon. and that this difference of $10 bale is purely speculative, although in the morning on the exchanges it appears to be worth S10 a bale more than ln the afternoon. If cotton was worth what it sold for on the first of October around 35 cents per pound-thls fluctuation caused by gambling in eX- changes represents loss to the peo- ple who grew the cotton of more than $500 ,O0O ,000 This years cotton crop of II 800 900 bales is now worth less by $S67 100000 than it was last October
 Mir. Platt-Will the gentleman yield?
 MT Caraway-4es.
 MT. Platt-Is not practically all the cotton in the hands of the spectators and has it not been since last Octo- Der?
 MT Caraway-Oh, no.
 MT Platt-They bought it from the farmers early, did they not?
 MT. Caraway-The cotton speculat- or never bought a bale of cotton from the farmer in his life.
 MT. Baer-Do they not deal in fic- ticious and imaginary cotton just as they do in wheat?
 Mr Caraway>-Yes.
 MT. Baer--I am thoroughly in sym pathy with the gentleman's resolution and I hope he will include all the other farm products. am willing to vote for that
 Mir. Caraway-I am sure that if you should bring bale of cotton on the floor of the cotton exchange in New York there is not a man there who would know what it was. Yet they deal in more imaginary bales of cotton every month than is repre- sented by any crop that has ever been grown by the people of this country. Now. l know. and everyohs knows. that it is manipulated mark ct which as the supply diminishes and the demand increases, causes fall of the price. That cannot happen by any law of supply and demand.
 Answering the uestion of the gen. tleman from New York (Mr. Platt that the cotton is in the hands Of speculators, I want to say that the speculator never has spot cotton. Cotton is in the hands of one of two parties-the farmer who has grown it or the small merchant who has bought it or has taken it in payment of debt.
 Mir Platt-Isn't he a speculator?