The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1920-09-29

= Raid on Cotton Succeeds BUS
hess Of South VIII be Stag
mated

WNM 10 BAy IN. every business man
!. tnat has goods on -his shell that the
hQGcr portion of his stock viii stay,
thtrq." said Commissionrr Harris
1eulerdhy. when ne saw thas the cot;
tom futures huOtation had gone down
another loo points during the day.
Ar Harris ~ not 1ismayed. He says
that cotton renily Is higher t,,day than
u was q year ago. aud II weDt 10 4s
cents daring the sum mer Just pasts
Ae feels confident that cottJn or the
present crop viii go beyond 90 cents
next summed, but he wishes TO see the
real producers enjoy Nhe benefits OF
thfde high prices.
"Hluo< 4 have been old enough TO
watch things. Nays Mr. Iarris. "the
l.rner Is always the one. the very
nr1t man TO get lick ON the head,
) Ae Il the man who gets Jumped on
and cussed ont when the prices OF
c9nniVdities are high. AZ press mt II
rcerns that ths financial interests OF
me coantry are affayed atsIusk the
4outh's monopoly. cotton. We have
. monopoly and they have, cotton.
f4mlna. u Is actual.1 and yet they
arp trying TO beat down the price or
!. cotton. DefiatioR1 -After our crop Is
made and paid for BY the tanner
That's a ons sided proposition. Let
IA make Il and then squeeze MS.
CaNso us To suffer ~ heavy nnaDclal
lOst. ana onrf octiHn as whole to be
XtAktned IN power and influence.
That's what they are drivIns for.
The reason why they carr Get away
With 40 much OF this kind OF stun is
hhcause OF oiir unbusinesslllte system.
have presented this TO the STATE
penkers asoclation and others aud
they promised relief. and we must
change eur system u saving ali OF
our indcnledness Tor the year 10 fall
Nue between october rs and Decem-
Der A. ~,
Every bear speculator I'm the world
knows how much money Is owed i,y
tne farmers in each county and whtn
4 has TO be paid. The. speculatoss ss
have Tor 40 years taken advantage i,f
the situation for they know that sonic
of the cotton has to so on the rnarlis
20 satisfy debts This Is bad system
tor the farin< and II Is up to hin % !
feyutefy at ~ Il
-'rhers q no is,st rs ason why cotton
Wa W'0rh Yesterday 110 points more
thnhi m was quoted today. am proud
% soy that there is ',ery lintIe cottin
9oinD on the market for the farmers
know that such prices are not jnstiiI N
BY the costs OF production and The
Jaw of demand. II this cotton cr,,p
gcta out OF the hands OF the farmers
- the prices quoted today. want to
hay Co thF merchants that have goo is
on their shelves that the bigger pur-
um cf tho GOODS will stay there, tie
people viii not buy them. And the
bankers know ffat their deposits win
be sllu. -
The prices being offered for cct-
ton tquay aDe $50 to $40 hale bel,,w |
lts intfinslc value. Yet, am sor ry
20 say, there are some very prominent
men in South Carolina who have 81 ia |
that the farmers have made very !
grave mistake In not selling their c,,t-
ton before now. These men evidently
mink that the farmer was holding
on SPECULATION. but he wasn't Cotton
mas not sold In the last IL monyhs
for the average cost OF production
over the cotton belt last year.
II do not think that any farmer or
any inanufacturer Is doing wrong
when they are holding their products
Tor a )rice above the cost of produc-
uon. The present crop has cost the
farmers more, money than any other
crop. aud IL II gets out OF the hands
cf the producers at price below the
cost OF producing II, every busin ess
man in the south is going To feel AZ.
VIII selling above the cost of pro-
duction hurt tho south?
II viii guarantee II IL New Eng
land states owned the monopoly OF
such worlds commodity as cotton,
short staple would be selling. today for
n dolInr a pound They would hold IL
and make the World pay for 1t. .ist as
they viii DO with the goods made OF
our cotton. I am afraid n some OF
the fellows who say that so cents is
Too high for cotton had TO get out
and make Il and gEther Il, they would
say phat II was too cheap at chat
price. The committee OF 100 farmers
An TEXAS has figured that Il cost 4Sl
cents pound for the 1890 crop IN that
state. and I am ture that the cost In
south Carolina will be just as heavy.
for we have fewer boil weevils, but
more fertilizer bills.
II call upon all classes OF ,citizens
IN our state &C. assist our farmers 10
get ove' this crisis. ~ we want money
and prosperity In our state. we must
help the man who has the raw ma
terial 10 convert into that cash which
makes all lines OF endeavor more
active. Let the farmers warehouse
their cotton. get the receipts and bor-
row enough 10 pay their pressing
debts. l am not in favor OF the farm
ers evading their debts. but pay them
on With warehouse receipts, and lee
the merchants pass them on To the
banks This Will hold the cotton off
the market and az the same time keep
business going In a fairly normal way.
The farmers have the situation I'm