Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1919-03-14

as Soon dS European Souoit'ohS ~
Readiusted, and Somebody, Either
the Producer or the Middleman
Stands to Make Money Out of the
Present Crop.
The following letter from Hon. John
L. McLaurin to Mr.. ]. 8. Wannamak-
er, president Of the South Carolina
Cotton association, will be read with
peculiar interest at this time:
Dear Sir:
have yours of the 7th, requesting
me to prepare for publication an arti-
Gle on the cotton situation. You are
doing a splendid work and consider
it an honor and a privilege to contrib
ute to its success.
Cotton could take care Of itself II
given a fair chance, but it has been
unable to Withstand the juggling OF
New York gamblers, and the carefully
concocted propaganda Of pessimism
with which they have flooded the
south. They have forced contracts on
the exchange five cents pound under
spots in order to discourage weak
holders.
When congress specifically forbade
the dishonest fulfillment Of these con-
tracts by the delivery Of unmerchanta-
BILE cotton they seem about to nullify
the enactment Of congress by the rul-
ing of a bureau chief in Washington.
I quote from the New York CONNER
cial of the Sth, as follows:
THE fortunate position Of the mar
ket proves the salvation OF the shorts
as it was considered doubtful II they
would have been allowed to cover ex-
cept at sensational losses"
In other words market manipulators
are protected through the bureau In
Washington in their paper profits at
the expense Of the holders Of actual
cotton. Mr.. Wannamaker, If you can
get Senator Smith in behind this rot
ten proposition, the price Of cotton Will
advance Immediately, we won't have to
wait for acreage reduction.
If the shorts are permitted to escape,
the buying power will be gone from
the market, and nothing but the abso-
lutte certainty Of a holding movement
coupled with acreage reduction can
help weak holders. Unfortunately our
banking machinery is not adapted to
holding the surplus Of this crop and
finance the new crop. These things
the gamblers know as we'll as we do
and expect to buy the low grades ana
hold for a long profit so as to make
lust such another situation as In 1914.
What About Cotton Seed.
Does the government mean that we
ara to hole. the bag on every PROPOSE
ton? Our share of the bonus to the
western farmers will be about one
hundred and thirty million dollars.
What is going to become OF our cot
ton seed? We complied patriotically
with the request of the food admins
tration not to rush our seed on the
market and now there is no market.
In the beginning Washington fixed
wagon and car price. The mills
were to take wagon seed at $50 per
ton and car seed at sS2 per ton.
What happened? 1t was not long
before the mills set up howl and the
price was cut 81 per ton. This failed
to satisfy the mills, although they had
been allowed spread sufficient to COW
er the car price and the freight. They
soon refused to handle car seed, claim
ing they had plenty Of seed from their
own ginneries. They saved 50 per ton
by forcing farmers to haul by the
wagon some times twenty miles to the
oil mill. They saved an average OF ~
per ton in freight and 81 in labor get
ting the seed for Sc less per ton than
the price fixed by the food administra-
tor. They have 1t now 30 arranged
that if there is loss 1t will fall upon
the farmer. The government has al
ready agreed to take the linters at war
prices on all except the seed in the
hands Of the farmers. The stabilized
price for meal and oil are to be held
until it can be disposed Of and when
this is done, the restrictions will be re-
moved leaving the seed in the hands
of the farmer to bear the entire loss.
It looks to me as If the farmers of the
south have had few friends in Wash
ington with the ability and willingness
to secure a square deal from the vari-
Gus price fixing boards. The dollar-a-
day patriots in Washington have GER
tainly given it to US where the chicken
got the axe.
The next sixty days Is critical time,
if a man can carry his cotton it will
increase in value. If he is squeezed
out, then the middle man reaps the
profits.
An Error of Prosperity.
1t is impossible for the price of pro-
ducts to be permanently lowered Tor
Years to come 1t is vain to attempt
the restoration Of pre-war prices.
Aside from the scarcity of products
aud the demands Of labor, the finar-
cial situation has forced and will con-
til. uc to maintain inflated prices.
Ey reason Of the position of Ameri-
ca the surplus gold of the world Is
here. 1t will remain here for many
years. The nations must come to US
for raw material and their gold will
flow in until they have products to sell
in excess Of what they buy Prices
cannot fall until Europe has a surplus
manufactured with cheap labor to un-
dersell us in our own market. defy
any man to demonstrate how this can
happen in the near future.
In addition to this in the first two
years of the war we bought back in
high priced products four billion dol
lars of American securities held
abroad. The gold that in 1913 went
abroad to pay dividends on these Sc
curities must therefore remain here.