Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1919-07-04
PREDICTS COTTON famine
]. SkOttOWe Wannamakef Says Sup
ply is Short.
RAW MATERIAL Is FAR TOO Low

Short to an Extent that is Calculat.
ed to Force Prices to Higher Level:
Than Would Have Been Reached
Otherwise.
Before leaving for New Orleans las
Monday to attend a meeting of th'
board of directors Of the American
Cotton association to be held July l
IL, 3, and 4, j. Skottowe Wannamaker
president Of the association, issued the
following statement:
I'VE are facing cotton famine, tht
most serious that has ever existed since
cotton was first cultivated in America
Cotton today is the cheapest commod.
lity in the world. A pound Of middline
cotton, selling for 33 cents today, rur
through an automatic loom can be solo
at wholesale to converters for $1.Os
On this basis the raw material would
be worth 6S cents. Cotton will be un-
obtainable at any price and we will
have an enormous untitled demand be-
fore any cotton from the 1920 crop car
be secured. Prices have only started
to advance. Hold your cotton and reap
golden harvest.
Sold Cotton Short.
THE mill and the speculator who
have sold cotton short failed to realize
the situation. On account OF existing
conditions today for the first time in
the history Of the exchange, when a
mill sells cotton on the exchange as a
hedge, instead Of this resulting in de.
pressing the market, 1t will have the
result for the first time, Of eventually
raising the price Of raw cotton. The
contract today forces delivery Of 7-s
inch staple white cotton. Low grades
and unspinnable cotton cannot be de-
livered as heretofore. AS result spot
cotton will be demanded by the pur-
chasers Of all contracts The mill and
the speculator may close their contract
out to someone else at much higher
price than it was sold for and shoulder
the monetary loss, but the purchaser
Of the contract will not cancel out
same.
"a matter of tremendous import is
the fact that as a result Of a system
attic agitation on our part last spring
planters in various sections Of the belt
bought the amount of cotton for Octo-
Der delivery in the early spring, when
| October was selling at 19 1-2 to 22
cents that they could have reasonably
expected to have made. This price was
far below the cost Of production. Cot
ton will be demanded on these con-
tracts, this resulting in double reduc-
ton in acreage. The American Cotton
association, for the purpose of verify
ing the same, has made a painstaking
investigation, and as result find that
the following figures are conservatives:
Supply and Demand.
Bales.
Worlds expected demand for next
season. beginning August l. lsls..2O.60o.o 900
Europe will need 0OO,O 600
Other parts of the world will need...20 soc, 900
2o,5O3, 900
Estimated American crop 1919 ......."l0, 90 900
| Estimated carry-over in excess of
consumption .".-....-. 4'ooo'ooo
| $4,000, 900
This will show a shortage in supply
Of 100000 bales.
I'm this estimate we have shown Eu-
rope far below her requirements. Eu-
rope shows a shortage of cotton
bought in the last four years as COM
pared with previous four years Of 49,
934,437 bales. In the above estimate,
which we made as the result Of care
full investigation, we only show her
pressing needs.
Both the American Cotton associa-
ton and the American Cotton Export
Finance corporation have received a
| great number of letters from every
section Of Europe urging that orders
for cotton be filled. One order is for
a thousand bales Of cotton per week
for the next six months. These letters
are coming from all Of the manufac-
turing centers of Europe, from corpor-
ations, firms and individuals, all stat
ing that they are in urgent need Of raw
cotton. One Of the large firms states:
LAS to the amount of cotton to be
used in Europe it will only be limited
to the financial arrangements that can
be made by Europe for buying cotton
in America and the transportation IA
cilitie3. The trade fails to understand
the situation. AS result of the war
England, France, Belgium, Germany
and Austria are short from 1915 tc
I191S, inclusive, at least 100000
bales of American cotton. They are
short as compared with the four pre-
vious years 15,935,437 bales. There
were over a million bales Of raw cottor
and manufactured cotton goods de.
stroyed during the war in Europe
which added to this amount, brings il
Iup to 100000 bales of cotton. Sc
that it will be readily seen that there
is an unheard Of, almost unthinkable
demand for raw cotton and cotton
goods in Europe. Our governments
are encouraging intense activities or
the part of manufacturers and lending
them every assistance possible to pur'
chase raw cotton. They fully realize
that this is absolutely necessary so as
to stop the great unrest and furnish
the people with means of earning g
living, and also Of furnishing revenues
for the payment Of our enormous wal
debts
England Bare.
!, England has never been barer OF
7 manufactured cotton goods in the last
60 years. Do not have the impression
that the American mills have supplied
the need for the manufactured product
in England. Such is not the case. The
war created an abnormal demand fol
raw cotton. This and the destruction
Of cotton during the war has been en-
tirely overlooked and the Eureopear