Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-03-18
How Cotton Came Up
BY Frederic ]. Haskin.


whole, remarkably prosperous history.
Her harbor is filed with shipping and
she now has slips for no less than rs yes
sells. Her streets are crowded with motor
cars and with dresscd-up, prosperous look
ing people. Her merchants are dong. o
record business. Everybody seems to be
chock full Of money municipal pride, and
confidence in the future.
This condition in Savannah IL typical
of the wonderful recovery which the whole
cotton-producing South has made since
the dire days of 1914, when cotton was
down To six cents pound, and couldn't
be sold at that price. Those were the days
when President Wilson called upon ail
good citizens 10 "buy bale of cotton and
| relieve distress in the South. A good many
did it and sold the bale again, Just az soon
ms they could One man here IN Savannah,
who bought two bales Of that time for
about $50 n bale, forgot about them, and
did not sell them until few days ago. lie
received about 5000 bale for his cotton.
| And so far as w. III. Teasedale, secretary
of the Cotton Exchange here, is aware, he
| Is the only man who bought cotton whcn
ii was down, and held for the present rise.
! After all. nearly all really great speculative
] chances are missed. Any man who had
! had sense enough TO put few thousand
| dollars in cotton in 1914, and 20 hold ~
until this year, could have more than
| tfipled his money. A few may have done It,
but it was not at all generally done.
sAvANNAH's PROSPERITY
Savannah's great prosperity is explain
| ed by the simple fact that, while the cost
| of living has gone up so 10 100 per cent,
| the cost of cotton has gone up about 3OO
per cent in the same length of time.
| Hence everyone having 20 do with cotton
! is far ahead Of the game. Dealers have
made big money, and so have growers.
| The countryrnen are all riding around IN
cars. The ship-building here has also been
a considerable factor IN the improvement
| of conditions
Things here we're perhaps ~ their worst
| in November, 1914, when, according 70
| Mr.. TeasdaIe, ordinary middllng cotton
sold for about six cents and sea islahd
| cotton for about 10 cents n pound, with
market hard to find. BY the first Of the
| following wear, trade was brisk, and IN
| February. l9l5s Savannah shipped more
| cotton than in any other month ~ ner
! histofy. nearly third of q million bales OF
| upland cotton and lintels leaving the
port and over thousand bales Of sea
| island cotton. This cotton was rushed 10
| Europe To get In ahead Of the blockades
which were then becoming tighter and
| tighter. Sweden, Holland, England,
| France and Spain got most Of II. good
part Of that which went 30 Sweden and 70
| Holland, no doubt found it's way ultimate
| ly to Germany. At this time some OF the
last direct shipments To Germany were
made from this port, snd IT u sald that
| they were made at prices far IN advance OF
| the market and brought enormous prohts
| To certain dealers. The market prieez ior
| these large shipments, Just before snip
| ping twas tied up, were from eignt 70 nine
cents for good middlIDg c1tton. Inc fact
| that there wac great rush To sell at stieh
prices shows that none anticipated the
| rise that WAS conf ing.
Nevertheless that rise began Immediate
| ly. as an inevitable result OF war condl-
tions, and continued steadily up TO tins
year At the end OF 1915 mIddlIng cotton
WAS at II cents: year la<er II was around
| 10 cents; in late nineteen 1T was at -
cents. Sales were free and steady at AL
| these prices.
MIR. Teasdale reports that at present,
sales of cotton are abnormally small
There is plenty of tonnage IN the haFbor,
! but a lack OF buyers at the current very
high prices A great many people seem 70
think that cotton prices have reached their
peak and are going TO come down, though
no sudden or disturbing descent l. looked
for. The exchange rate, which makes the
price still higher, for all foreign buyers, Is
also factor in the present dua market:
During a recent week only $50 bales OF
cotton were sold here, which Is, tor eavarf-
nah, practically no cotton at All. Never
theless, everyone here rs confident and
satisfied for il Is clear that the demand viii
keep cotton at "a relatively very high prlce
for a long time TO come. The tendency Is
10 keep the cotton IN the warehouses
rather than sell 81 lower figure Savan-
nah now has warehouse facilities Tor Co.,
600 bales of cotton and there are sand 10
be about 10000 bales in these ware
houses now. On the other hand, II As said
that there are only about 10000 bales OF
cotton In New York, which could be de-
livered on contract
Meantime the South has been enjoying
ideal cotton weather. Last fall was long,
dry, hot one, with no frost until Deoem-
Der, and that is the kind OF weather which
makes the fiber grow long and gladdens
the hearts of the Georgian.
In front of the cotton exchange build
ing here is a little patch OF cotton grow
ing in circular hower-bed, perhaps 20
feet wide, and that little patch Is verl-
table barometer of the fortunes OF the
cOtton-growing South. The brokers and
shippers here look at it every day, noting
eagerly how the weather and other in
fluences affect it. Last fall it flourished
beautifully for tune, and then the boil
weevil made its appearance.
The weeyil seems to be the specter at
Georgia's banquet Of cotton-made pros
perity. II is destroying q share Of every
crop and it is steadily spreading. But by
forcing the farmers to grow corn and ralse
hogs and go In for diversified farming
generally, it is doing the State good
turn. For, as nearly everyone has heard
by this time, the curse of the South has
always been TO rely upon one money-crop
usually cotton or tobacco. The boil
weevil is said already 10 have largely
weaned Georgia farmers away from that
habit to great extent. And the surest
way to get rid of the weevil, they say, Is TO
quit growing cotton entirely for period OF
years. All of the weevils move out or
starve to death, and the growing OF cotton
can then be resumed. This Is SAID TO nave
happened in certain sections Of Texas.
Thus the weevil seems not to be q real
menace to prosperity here Shorter cotton
crops mean higher prices for cotton, and
there are plenty of other crops to take the
place of cotton wherever its growing has
become temporarily Improbable.
One of the most pleasing things about
Savannah's prosperity is the steady and
beautiful growth of the city itself There
is no city in the South which has more OF
the Southern charm and atmosphere, as
MANY have observed before. The squares /
and marks filed with palmettos and live
oaks, the wide streets with rows of trees