The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-10-31
BALANCE OF TRADE
 PRESERVED ID J. s. BY COT ON CROP STATES B. M. ALLEN
Strong Organization of Cotton Growers and Business Men Needed to Aid Producer to Get Fair Price for Sta
 pie Is Object

The prosperity of the United States has been maintained for fifty years through the exporta- tion of cotton, declares Judge B. M. Allen, chairman of the membership committee of the Alabama division of the Amer ican Cotton Association, in a statement issued yesterday.
 Judge Allen declares that but for the south's principal product the balance of trade. would have been against this country during the half century pre- ceding the great war and the constant drain upon the gold supply of this country would have greatly retarded it's development.
 Pointing out the heavy losses which the south has sustained each ytar through the unbusiness- manner of marketing the cotton crop, Judge Al len outlines the objects and accom- plishments of the American Cotton .As- sociation in correcting this fault.
 The urgent need for strong or- ganization of the cotton growers aided by the business men and bankers of the south is shown by Judge Allen, who makes strong appeal to the oeo- pie of Birmingham and Jefferson county to rally to the support of this campaign and become members at tt e nominal charge of $s until January. 1922.
 ALIENS STATEMENT
 The statement of Judge Allen fol- lows: ~
 States the bals te of trade in our favor between America and foreign countries; but for the cotton crop America would be drawing upon her 1 financial resources to pay for goods imported from foreign countries, yet with this wonderful staple so neces- sary to all civilized nations, America has been drawing from Europe an- nually, many millions of dollars.
 ''The farmers of the south, to whose industry and fealty to the cotton crop l is due the annually increasing produc- ttiop, have never been properly organ izedsas an industrial unit in the ma ter of financing their crops; they have no systematic recognized method of finan- cing their farming operations but have been dependent generally upon some local merchant or commission I1er- chant for the necessary advances with which to masoe their crops; when raade, the cotton usually rushed to the market with but any regard for the principle of tsupply and demand, but solely for the purpose of satisfying the urgent demands of those to whom they are indebted, with the result that the producer of this most valuable of ,rops usually receives the lowest price that prevails for the year, while imme ase profits are made by those who subse- quently handle or hold the staple.
 UNFAIR CLASSIFICATION
 ''The American Cotton AssOcia- i. ton proposes to assist the farmer
 in storing his cotton in bonded
 warehouses built and operated s.c-
 eording to government require
 ments; it proposes to protect the
 farmer from the unfair cIaxsifica-
 ton of his cotton. which is gen
 orally done not by the farmer, but
 by those interested or antagonistfc
 to him. In my opinion this will
 result in the saving of many hum
 dred thousand dollars annually and
 will not he an additional tnx GIT
 burden upon any one. It will en-
 able the farmer to know what his
 crop is worth and will enable .lim
 also to use this crop as acceptable
 collateral in the local banks. which
 have announced a willingness to
 lend to him on proper warehouse
 certificates. so percent of the
 value of his cotton.
 'The Southern states produce about 65 per cent of. the total cotton crops