Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1919-05-06
ESTABLISHED 1865
COTTON and ITS Price
Relation Of Great Crop to World
Civilization
WEALTH FOR ALL BUT PRODUCER


Interesting and Instructive Presenta-
tion of a Most Familiar Subject by q
Writer Who Understands and Knows
< How to Make Himself Understood.
It is a pity that men processing or
binary intelligence should undertake to
discuss matters pertaining to the
south, or for that matter to any Sec
ton, of which they are as ignorant as
Germany is. of honor and morality.
The disposition of some people to talk
learnedly about things of which their
ignorance is so dense that 1t is almost
impcnetrable is illustrated in aweek-
ly circular Of w. ]. Woolman & Co..
members of the New York stock ex-
change, who undertake. to tell the
south what it should do in regard to
cotton from the question OF how to
grow cotton to how to handle 1t. One
statement, which Is typical Of most OF
this amazing financial review, is the
following:
"Tbe amount that the south wastes
annually in the handling OF the cot
ton crop is greater than, the total OF
dividends paid out on all the railroads
of the United States, and these in 1916
amount to $342,000,000. Density or
compression at the gins would save
hundreds of millions every year that
now go for re-handling, extra haulage,
needless space taken up on railroads
and steamships, loss in transit claims
for damages, end other items. Yet the
south has set it's face stubbornly
against these modern improvements
and chung to ancient methods.
1t will be news to the cotton ginners
of the south and to the income tax
forces of the country that the cost Of
cotton ginning runs far into the hum
dreds of millions every year. In
deed this remarkable statement says
that Hundreds of millions" could be
saved annually by greater density of
compression. 1t is scarcely conceivable
that an Office boy, able to write his
name, could have been guilty OF put
ting forth such asinine statements.
Density of compression at the gins
is important Better baling and bet
ter handling are of great importance,
but the utmost amount that anyone
has yet claimed which could be saved
by this improved system is from $780,
100000 to $6O,OO0,00o a year. That is
a very big item, but it is far and
away behind the $342,00o,oo0 which
this bankers circular mentions. Since,
according to Woolman & Co., density
of compression would annually save
hundreds of millions" we are wonder
ing just how many hundreds OF NIL
lions these bankers have been figuring
ON as possible to be sayed-certainly
far more than the s342,090,000 which
they have mentioned as below the saw
ing that could be effected each year.
Possibly these bankers, whose density
of ignorance about cotton is far great
er than the density of the most dem
sely compressed cotton bales. are not
aware of the fact that leaders in the
south have for years sought to bring
about better compression of cotton
but that the railroads Of this section
owned and dominated almost entirely
in New York and either owning or
dominating many Of the congresses
in the south, have in many cases ag-
gressively sought to prevent the pet
terment of cotton baling. They have
refused in times past to give bet
ter rate for properly compressed cot
ton than for badly baled cotton, though
they would carry far more of the better
compressed bales to a car than they
could of the present badly baled cot
ton. Many years ago, when the rouro
bale was being introduced. the entire
cotton-handling system of the south
could have been changed If the rail-
roads had not agsressively fought
against giving any advantage what
ever to the improved bale as COM
pared with the old bale. Steamship
companies doing the worlds trade were
willing to give better freight rates. put
the railroads in the south, owned ano
controlled in New York, were not as
ready to help better baling OF cotton
in the south as were the steamship
comnanies which were owned in Eng
land. Moreover, this banking house
is probably ignorant of the fact that
large proportion of the big cotton
compresses in the south were owned
or controlled, directly or indirectly by
New York cotton firms who had sucf
a power in the cotton trade that they
ioined in the campaign against better
baling. and through their financia
strength were able to break nearly
every effort made for improving the
cetton- handling system of the south.
In spite of these facts, this firm crlti-
cises the south as having stuooorn3
set it's face against modern improve
ments in cotton handling. l should
have known that every effort to really
mcdernize cotton landing has almos'
died a-borning because of the power OF
the vested interests in railroads ano
cotton congresses dominated in the
city of New York.
The same circular says:
"All true friends Of the south' anT ,S1
we claim a place among them, VII
question the wisdom of the movement
TO bring about reduction in acreage
for the purpose Of causing or mann
tanning high prices for cotton.
We take it for granted that the mil
lions of people in the south who were
born in this section, of parents who
were born here, and who have been
the backbone of southern life during
all the past, would ordinarily be count
ed as true friends of the south But
according to this oracle, none OF THESE
people are true friends of the south
if they seek to bring about reduc'
ton in cotton acreage for the purpose
of maintaining higher prices for cot
ton. Referring to this work, the CIR
cular-letter says:
1T is Short sighted policy, ana l
, continued will threaten the suprenac.
of this country as the great source o.