The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1920-09-21
HOLD YOUR COTTON
IS ADVICE TO FARMER
SAYS WHEN SHIPS COME TO
CARRY 1T TO EUROPE THE
PRICE WILL ADVANCE.

SAVANNAH, Ga.-Jacob S. Col
Inns, of the Oglethorpe Savings &
Trust company, gave to the Savan
nah Press today statement relative
to the cotton situation that is full
of interesting information. Mr.. Col
Inns said:
'Tn looking at the cotton quota
tions, which in my opinion are large
" due to manipulations, and takine
into consideration the amount of cot
ton needed to supply the world, a!
we'll as the cost of producing it, the
hand of the manipulation appears tc
have been played very high.
Cost of Production.
Taking figures furnished to me
by intelligent and reputable farm
ers, it is claimed cotton at 80 cents
per pound will show a net loss of So
per bale to the farmer.
II am reading, with considerable
interest, the various opinions given
by first one and then another bank
er and the concensus of opinion APP
pears to be that the farmer should
sell his cotton. The action of the re-
gional reserve banking system has
greatly depressed the cotton market.
as has the advice of the governor of
that institution to the committee
which called on him seeking finan-
cial relief in the handling of cot
ton that they should go home and
help themselves and sell their best
grades and stop begging This is
rather out of line with the claims
which were made for the regional
banking system when it was enacted
into a law. Those favoring the act
creating the system were loud in
their expressions as to the great ben
efits which would flow to the farm
er in the handling of his product. All
of this seems to have been forgotten
or the system has found more prof
table fields in which to operate.
Steamers Chartered.
at is a well known fact that a
great number of steamers have been
chartered to come to the southern
ports to be loaded with cotton and
it is well known to the man9ulators
that with a rush of cotton to the
market. with the inability of the
banks to properly finance it, they
can hammer it down to suit them
selves. The answer to all of this is
that the farmer who is able to do so
should hold his cotton. In 1914 a
meeting of the bankers was held in
Savannah and, though good middling
was selling at seven cents per pound,
it was the opinion of one of the
larger bankers that cotton would go
lower. l took the position that we
would see high prices for cotton, and
this position was verified and, all
along up to this season, | have been
correct in my opinion Of the cotton
market.
Il am not in the cotton business,
but my bank has numbers of people
doing business with US who raise
cotton; therefore, / am interested,
and then also for the further reason
that city is only SO good as the
surrounding country makes it. Fail
ure to the farmer means failure to
the city to which he is accessible.
. Regional Banks Are Money Making
Concerns.
81 do not believe all of this APP
parent effort to force the sale of cot
ton'is necessary. If the regional sys-
TEN and the bankers generally would
stand behind cotton it ought to be as
easy to finance the cotton crop as 1t
is to sell the obligations of France
to the extent of one hundred million
dollars. | do not want to criticise the
regional system, but it does appear
that it has been converted into a
money-making proposition. If the
reports we hear are true, the re-
gional system has made in the past
six months two hundred million dol
lars. 1t seems that a little more elias
ITCHY might be used in financing the
South's cotton crop.
Recently the English people
started out to ascertain what could
be done to produce more cotton nee
essary to supply the world. That
would indicate that they know there
is not too much cotton grown II
should also be remembered that, al
during the war, the farmers were
appealed to to grow more foodstuffs
and food, and. without their help
this and the old countries would have
been in a deplorable condition. If the
government provides a subsidiary ar
rangement to care for certain other
enterprises why is it not legitimate
to make some arrangement to keep
the farmer going?
"The farmer who has plenty OF
food and plenty to live on should
hold his best grades of cotton and
plant less each year; then they will
be ahle to come into their own. This
odvice ie contrary to the advice Civ
en- in circular letters being sent out
advising the farmer to sell his cotton
and unless am mistaktn most farm
ers can afford to hold their cotton
and when those ships, which are al
ready chartered, begin to reach the
southern ports prices will advance. y