The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1920-03-23

come comparatively simple matter,
and there should be no further diff
ficulty upon the part of the South to
care adequately, in a financial way.
for its great money crop.
The Bonded Warehouse.
Eut this can not be done unless
the Intending borrower upon cotton
makes himself eligible to enjoy the
privileges extended to him under the
reserve act. He must dress himself
in the proper clothing; he must have
the necessary password before he
may expect the door to open through
which he must go to receive financial
aid. That proper dress and that
necessary password consist of ware
house receipt which assures title to
the cotton. If, therefore, the cotton
producer has, for all these years, Ia
bored under the handicap of a lack OF
credit or capital, and if warehouse
receipt will furnish both of these es-
sentials to his prosperity and to the
orderly distribution Of his chief pro-
duct. then it would seem to follow
necessarily that the most important
thing to the future of the South yet
to be done is the ablishment Of
adequate warehouse facilities, under
governmental regulation and inspec-
ton, state or national, or jointly, is
suing uniform receipts.
Not only will such system of
warehouses furnish ample credit to
the cotton farmer, but it will enable
him to sell his crop over a period of
eight or nine months instead of being
forced, as now, to sell 70 per cent. OF
it during the months of September
October. November and December,
with the result that, according to
the most reliable statistics covering a
period of 25 years, there IS always
found a depression in the price OF
cotton during these months when 1t
is moving out of the hands of the
farmers who produce it into the
hands of those who manufacture and
consume it. To put it another way,
during these four months on the
basis of 100000 bale crop
there go upon the market S,40O, 600
bales, whereas, if the crop should
be marketed over period OF II
months, and there is no sound eco
nomic reason why this should not be
the case, there would come upon the
market during these months. only
100000 bales. The mere state
ment of the fact is all that is neces-
sary to give proof Of the correctness
of the figures of the statistician who
finds that prices are depressed dur
ing these months. The loss in this
respect can notobe figured. We can
only surmise, but it stands to rea-
son that it must be enormously large,
and the man who produces is the per-
son who suffers.
Saving $75,0o0,o0o to Cotton
Farmers.
A system of warehousing will not
only open the doors to credit and
bring about system Of distributing
the crop over the IL month period,
but it is estimated that such sys-
tenn would save from S50,000,000 to
s75,0O0,oO0 annually to the cotton
producer, which is now lost to him
through weather waste. Cotton piled
in a lot or under trees with sew
boards thrown over it, practically un-
protected from wind and rain, pre-
sents picture of almost criminal
negligence. Seventy-five million dol
lars distributed through the South
among the farmers would buy much
in the way of better education for
farm boys and girls, better homes for
them and their parents to live in, bet
ter sanitary arrangements about the
home; it would buy much in the way
of running swater for the home, and
lights, and rugs upon the floor and
pictures upon the wall; it would buy
much in the way of better school
houses, better paid country school
teachers; better churches, better paid
country preachers; it would mean
much in the way of better breeding
stock, more and better farm n1achin-
cry, better fences, better silos, more
drainage.
Honesty and Competence.
But a system of warehouses will
do even more than this. 1t will les
sen the insurance upon cotton where
III - cbo,,lI y