The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1920-11-11
Editorial
of the Day
FINANCING COTToN EXPORTS

Orleans is a promise Of relief to the |
beleaguered cotton growers, How !
much relief may bee expected as I
result OF this action and how soon |
are questions to which probably no /,
one would venture an answer, The /.
capital stock oil the corporation. which /
has been fixed at $4,000 coo, has yet
TO be subscribed. To get it subscribed |
to do the other work of organization
and then TO put its machinery into
motion, will obviously require no
I little time. With respect to the guam
tity of relief which may be expected
from its operation, it is pertinent
10 say that the debentures il may
offer for sale under The Edge Act
authorizing its creation are limited
in amount 10 ten times the amount
of its capital stock and it is from
the sale OF these debentures that
money is to be got for paying for
cotton and such other commodities
as the corporation may undertake
10 finance for export. The quantity
OF cotton which may be moved with
$50 ,O0O, 900 is only small part Of
that which is clamoring for mar
ket
However it, in the relative sense,
no very great relief is TO be expected
as a result OF this single action, and
even that not very soon, it is to be
commended as u definite beginning
in the right direction. The price
of cotton is low. the market almost
comatose. chiefly because European
countries whose normal require
ments before the war absorbed almost
half OF our crop have left no assets
= in forms which b yordinary tinan-
cia operations can be converted in
to buying media The Edge Act Gre
, ates method designed to enable
$ the liquidation Of such assets. assets
Of the kind not convertible into cur
rent funds by ordinary banking pro>
cesses 1t is this method which the
. federal foreign finance corporation
organized at New Orleans is TO put
into operation. European establish
l ments wishing to buy cotton. or any
d other commodity which the corpo-
|. ration decides to finance will offer
to pledge TO the corporation such
- assets or Endorsements as they may
r possess. the forms OF security being
!. described by the law The corpo-
c ration's advances ON these will be
, made Immediately out of its own
capital But to repenish IT'S capital
. and to enable it TO expand its oper-
ations il is authorized to sell its
own debentures. secured first by
II whatever securities it accepts from
/ foreign buyers, and then by its own
o capital The total of the debentures
# which it is allowed to have out
il standing is limited. as has been said,
n to ten times the amount of its CAPT
tai.
The experimental nature Of the ef-
Fort is apparent The success of it
will be contingent on the ability OF
1 European establishments TO offer ac-
\ ceptable security in large amounts,
| and then on the ability Of the finance
| corporation to find market for its
own debentures in this country; for
I! the money necessary 10 be got, ii
our cotton is TO be moved from our
IS farms and warehouses 10 the mills
Il of Europe. must come from our own
I. accumulations The first of these
contingencies is probably the less
le doubtful one II is reasonable tC
e suppose that the men who have or
n ganiged this foreign finance corpo
ration satisfied themselves before do
ing so that, in the ways the Edge
! n
lie position to secure the purchase o
lie large quantities OF cotton. If thin
lr is so. it should seem that the onll
questions is as to the extent that tn
securities. indorsed 10y the finance
ot corporation in effect, may be eX
le changed for cash among investors II
g this country II is in this direc
e, tion that we shall probably encoun
n ter the limitation on the success
" OF this effort to move our cotton ah'
so revive the industry upon whicl
the welfare OF the south is 50 large
he ly dependent
X That any very perceptible effec
lie will soon follow the organization Q
At the federal foreign finance corpo
d ration is hardly to be expected, a
m has been said But II its effort shoul'
be rewarded with u reasonable de
gree of success, we may confidently
n count on the organization of othe
+. such corporations, and SO hope ina
is eventually Europe will be enaole
lie TO buy all of the immense quanut!
he of cotton that 1t needs and Wi
Iu rnptinna n need.
This prospect may not be highl
comforting 10 those who are surfer
N ing from the grip Of the existinl
E. situation To them it offers little
:. any immediate relief, But to then
=, II does offer the promise that slt
IN uation which inflicts so great hard
ir shin on them will be remedied ii
the quickest way that now seems pos
sible. and that that situation wi
Or not recur For it is to be remembere
I'd that It will be a long time beior
is Europe recuperates enough econo
le mically to make the pre-war method
~ OF financing its purchases serve eithe
ID it's needs or those of our own cot
Of ton Industry Assuming II successIu
the federal foreign finance corporauo
and others which It's success ma
be expected TO give rise TO- WI