The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1919-07-05
rHR wAToaMAE AND sUtrHRoN JULY s, 1919

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+ ing the previous year or two in the
/ price Of cotton He was wise enough
to rejoice that these higher prices
which Mr.. Macara was fighting,
ulators or by short crop, had
brought increasing prosperity to the
Southern growers. He admitted that
his views might be contrary to those
Of some of his fellow manufacturers
| Nevertheless, he desired to emphasize
the fact that he regarded these high
er prices as a great blessing to the
/, South and one which the cotton manu-
facturers should welcome On this
point he said:
When the price of the staple be-
gan TO rise last fall, however much
the cause might have been due to
other things everybody knew that all
those causes were based upon the fact
that according to all human wisdom
the supply was going to fall short of
the demand. But instead of accept
ing, at least tentatively this fact and
beginning to try 'correspondingly to
bull the manufactured article, we all
took the opposite course and became
voluntarily raw-cotton bears, and
consequently manufactured-c cotton
bears. And since the market resit-
ed the combined assaults of the man
| ufacturers Of the world and the
strongest spectators of the world,
climbing upward in spite Of all to
height which seems dizzy to shorts,
we have as manufacturers our losses
from yet irresponsive market for
our pains. AS manufacturers we
| should have accepted the situation of
a rising market. Instead of that, we
persistently, continuously and en-
phatically advertised to the world
that it was Our opinion that the in
creasing price was purely nranipula-
ton and far beyond intrinsic value
Under such circumstances it
seems to me that our customers would
have been fools to take more Of our
goods than absolute necessity drove
/! them TO. This thing of bearing the
market on the raw material, as you
have done, is, therefore, a weapon Of
doubtful efficiency in the hands Of the
manufacturer.
''No body of men have cried out as
| fercely, and often as unreasonably,
against the American cotton gamblers
as have the spinners Of Lancashire,
and yet short time ago the president
of their association, looking back at
the history Of the cotton market last
season, said in an address to the as
sociation: Last season cotton corneree
itself
When the price of cotton began tc
rise last fall, due partially to ma
nipulation, many of us began to cast
vile calumnies at the bull leaders, and
charged them with being gamblers,
and even blacklegs, but one is impell-
ed to ask the question:
who were the greatest gamblers,
they who bought what they. wanted
or you, who sold for delivery that
which you did not have?
"One prominent member. of the
New York Cotton Exchange was heard
to say not long since: Cotton is stand
ing alone without friend, it would
seem. Against it is the English gov
ernment, the combined mill interests
Of the world, the market manipula
| ton of Liverpool and New York and
bankers of Wall Street, and every pos
! siLle influence that can be brought to
bear, and still prices hold high.
Another said: I have been a mem
Der of the New York Cotton Exchange
for great many years and I have
never heard word said against
man who tried to bear cotton, but the
man who endeavored to bull cotton
has always beenea target
:: Cotton has never been so low that
persistent attempts have not been
made to depress the price. An ad-
vance to cents in 1897 was fought
just as hard as the 16-cent level this
year.
Al the same meeting Mr.. Arthur H.
Lowe of Massachusetts, one of the
leading cotton manufacturers of the
country, with the broad patriotism
and good sense with which many
New England manufacturers view
this situation, said:
81 believe most manufacturers,
North and South, congratulate and
'ejoice with the cotton planters that
hey have received higher prices foi
their cotton. This was a great help
to a section Of our country. If the
conditions TO which I have referred
are to prevail, the price of cotton will
continue to be higher than formerly
and cotton growing will be very prof.
table, and in time cotton manufactur-
ers will be able to adjust themselves
to higher basis"
And yet at the very tire that
President Heath of the American Cot
ION Manufacturers Association and
Mr. Lowe. voicing what should be the
sentiment of all cotton manufactur-
ers, were congratulat the South
| upon the high prices Of cotton which
had been brought about, whether b!
speculation or whether by shortage III
supply, Mr.. Macara was suggesting
that "an international combination to