Greenwood daily commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1919-1926, 1919-11-19
UNREASONABLE COTTON BOOSTING DAN
GEROUS

GEROUS.
The proposal of President Wanamaker of the
American Cotton Association that 100000 bales
of cotton be retired from the market until such
time as, ga profitable price, for cotton be estab-
lished, will likely meet with little favor outside
the circles of faction among the cotton growers
that appears not to know when enough of any
thing is enough.
With spot cotton at AZ to 43 cents cents per
pound, middling basis the highest record since
the war between the states, and with constantly
rising market resulting from the increasing de-
nand for cotton for Europe, it seems rather hard
to justify programme of deliberately withdraw
ing 100000 bales about one-fifth of the pres
ent remarkably small crop, from the market as an
artificial means of stimulating the market.
The demand for cotton is pressing all over the
world. Just much cotton will be taken as
be bought under the financial conditions pre-
vailing abroad. The demand is pushing cotton
prices steadily upward.
To seek further enhance prices by artifi
cial means would be an injustice to the consum
ing masses at home, as we'll as abroad. It is high
time giving more attention to the con-
sumer of cotton goods.
There is general cry in this country for a re-
duction in the cost of living. Strikers and all
those who are deliberately curtang production
are coming in for widespread condemnation. More
production is the national demand. For cotton
farmers to hold off the market large supplies of
cotton for the deliberate purpose of forcing high
er prices would be of piece with the strike Of
the miners and the threatened strike of the rail-
road men.
There would be no difference in principle, or
in the result, for force would be the weapon in
both instances to boost further the cost instances
TO 41o e 1,,;,,
consumer
The cotton growing interests have already
aenated much sympathy from them by their de-
mands in the past. Most of those demands were
just, in the opinion of the Post, and in most in
stances the growers have been falsely accused,
and they have been Disseminated against fire.
quently. The prejudice of the noncotton growing
sections against the cotton growers has been
founded transformation, and it has been cult
waited chiefly by sectional politicians.
But the cotton growers will be making mis-
take and putting themselves into a very undesr-
able class if they resort to artificial means to
raise cotton prices now, when the country faces a
critical situation because of abnormal prices for
necessities land when cotton is already at record
breaking evels.-Houston Post.
The cotton crop is tremendously short. If the
price of the cotton that will be harvested were
distributed among those also who made flat fail
ure the profit would not be great. In some re-
gons there will not be bale of cotton to 10 acres
In other regions crops after being planted were
Abandoned
But there is of boarding stimulus
to price. Cotton is as high as it should be. Tt
put it higher by artificial means would simply bf
to put toll on the consumer.
Any suggestion of withdrawing cotton from
the market when there is now barely enough tt
go around is so selfish that it would put the mar
doing this in class with profteers, food hoard
ers and others who want to squeeze the people tc
death because of their necessities.-Memphis
Commercial Appeal.