Americus times-recorder., 1919-05-18
BULLS CLING TO
WHIP; COTTON
HITS new HIGHS
Ey Victor Barron.
Market Correspondent of The


territory for the movement this Week.
with May option passing 20 cents and
spot cotton above 80 cents, or the
highest prices recorded since early in
January.
Briefly stated it was bull market
throughout, with bears Offering little
resistance owing to the complete alb
sence of news to warrant an attack on
the market. Practically every item of
Importance bore extremely bullish
color and bullish enthusiasm was at
high pitch Friday, with shorts display
ing considerable nervousness and de-
mand of an aggressive character from
strong sources.
Final prices Friday showed futures
at New York 118 to 15z points above
the previous weeks close, while the
list at New Orleans exhibited a gain
of 143 to 10 points.
On the crest of the rise active
options at New York stood 100 to
935 points $3.50 to $46.75 a bale
higher than the low levels of January
23, when May sold down to 20 cents,
July 1915 and October 1902
At the top May (New York; stood
at 1885, July 2S.O5, October 1852, De-
cember 1906 and January 25.77.
Excessive Rains Reported.
Complaints of excessive rain in the
belt, together with prospects for fur
ther rains, which will greatly delay
the new crop and cover fields with
grass as well as increasing weevil ac-
tivity, which already has appeared in
southwest Georgia, furnished the
chief factor back of the rise In addi-
ton to this practically all sections of
the belt reported decidedly better de-
mand for the actual, with exporters
the leading buyers. Mills also are
said to have abandoned-to a marked
degree-their policy of hand-to- mouth
buying, and now are buying rather
freely, apparently realizing that they
have played a losing game and now
must enter the market for supplies, or
else allow foreigners to gobble up all
desirable staple. There is also a
better demand for low grades and the
belief is expressed by leading spot
men that just as soon as Germany and
her allies are permitted to buy cotton,
they will purchase heavily of off
grades. Lack of bottoms is the only
thing that prevents much heavier ex-
ports and the shipping board has
promised more tonnage for cotton. 1t
is the belief of well informed cotton
men that exports during June will
total, if not exceed, at least $4,000
bales daily.
Goods Trade ReYiyes,
The great revival in the goods trade,
together with utmost confidence prev
alent in practically all sections with
regard to future business, also favor
ed the advance Mills are operating
to capacity and many of them have
sold their output clear through the
winter months. Mills have used their
reserve supply of cotton in hopes that
they might break the Southern spot
holders grip. But their fight has
been lost and they today have just a
little more than two months supply on
hand And when they enter the mar
ket On a large scale and compete with
exporters they are going to find that
they made the mistake of their lives
Nv h,,xvipu aOtfpY, OF pripne
cents below the present level.
Liverpool's daily spot sales average
about 5000 bales, illustrating which
way the wind is blowing over there
England knows the world is bare Oh
cotton and that another small crop is
on the way. And for this reason the
British are grasping every opportun-
~ity to buy cotton in that they may
win back some of their foreign busi-
ness.
England is Americas greatest cot
ton customer and Germany, before the
war, ranked second, and no doubt Ger
many, after peace has been declared
will exert herself to the limit to re-
gain some of her trade balance. Ger
many has a colossal war debt to pay
which makes it more reasonable that
she will be in the market for an enor-
nous quantity of cotton after the en-
barge is lifted.
Europe Without Clothing.
For years more than half of Europe
has gone without clothes, wearing pa
per tissues, etc, for clothing. This
does not take in. millions of soldiers
who must be re-clothed from head tc
toe With this a fact and this coun-
try building the greatest merchant
feet in the world, together with the
growing of the Orient's cotton indus
try, it is absurd to think other thar
that the future consumption of Ameri-
can cotton for years to come will be
the greatest in history.
Spot holders who sweltered under
the collar by holding their cotton now
are beginning to be rewarded fol
their courage and patience. I assert
ed more often than probably any one
in the South that cotton would never