The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1921-03-29
DIAL DISCUSSES
COTTON SITUATION
HOLDS CONFERENCE WITH
SECRETARY HOOVER
hopeful of Results by Energetic
Action on Part of
Cabinet
By Hugh ". Roberts

Dial today expressed himself as be-
ing very hopeful Of good results to
be secured by the new secretary of
commerce, Herbert Hoover, in the
matter of our foreign trade. The
South Carolina senator held long
lnterview with Secretary Hoover and
discussed with him at length all of
the important phases, including COM
merce generally, but with special
reference to the expectation of cot
ton, Senator Dial found that Mr..
Hoover had for many years been a
close student of this matter and that
he is now in possession of informa-
ton, coupled with his ideas, which
should end in fruition at very early
date.
The new secretary believes that
under the Edge act, which is an act
to promote export trade, and under
the Webb-Kenyon act, authorizing
banking corporations to do foreign
banking business, excellent results
may soon be had.
II found Mr.. Hoover" Senator
Dial said, Every alive to the situa-
tion that is now confronting US. He
believes that under both the Edge
act and the Webb-Kenyon act there
is an opportunity for American pro-
ducers and shippers to get out of the
slump into which the effort to get
back to pre-war times has thrown
them.
No Thoughts of Marketing
81 am sorry to say that we people
IN the South have never seriously
considered our position and condi-
tion. When we reflect that we have
? little territory about 2,e00 miles
long and about 500 miles wide, with
q population, perhaps, of 20,0O0,000
people, raising 60 per cent of the
cotton of the world without any
thought of marketing this shows how
little business ability we possess.
Then we compete with ourselves by
raising twice the quantity that should
be raised, we simply commit financial
suicide.
"Our slogan, Reduction of acre
age,'-is wrong. When we advocate
this, q great many of orr people
think that we mean for them to cease
work. On the other hand, our mot
to should be to make living at
home Just the idea Of our state
supporting about s11e,e00,000 of pro-
ducts that we can raise just as well
rs can be produced anywhere in the
world, and then raising cotton at a
loss to pay for this, is most distress
Ing. A farmer thinks he can raise
cotton on a certain piece of land
and buy more corn than he can pro-
Auce on this piece. This is true, per-
haps, but when he has planted that
additional field of cotton, he has SIM
ply cut down the price of what he is
raising on the other part of his farm.
Ne should make living at home and
then the cotton acreage would be au-
tomatically cut. For example, in
1914 l6,oe0,e0e bale crop brought
$500, 0,Ooe,0ae; in 1918 an 100000
bale crop brought s2,50o,000,00
Last year if we had raised half crop
40 doubt today cotton would be sell
ing at 40 and SO cents a pound. 1t
is useless to produce cotton to sell at
less than the cost of production, and
even now it would take about double
the present price to let the producer
out. We, are working and boarding
ourselves and are exchanging at
loss for other products, which we
should raise at profit.
Nobody Buying Now.
81 do not want to present a too
discouraging picture, but it is SIM
ply nonsense for US to try to deceive
other people-and especially to de-
ceive ourselves along with them. The
most discouraging feature to my mind
is that before the late war England
and Germany and other countries
could buy cotton at some price and
even hold it. Furthermore, New
York and the East had money with
which it could be obtained by mills
of this country and they could buy up
cotton and store it for future use,
but now Eurone is practically bank
rupt and has no money for invest
ment. Also, New York is a creditor
and can make a higher rate of inter-
est out of this money by using it in
other sections of the world than in
the South. Hence we are simply
or onl hoyo loft