Evening star., 1921-09-28
Editorial Digest
The Restoration of King Cotton.

The Restoration of King Cotton.
The return to normalcy Of the price
of cotton has started a smile In the
sunny south, which the press sees
widening through the dinginess Of Wall
| street, by way of the grain fields and
hog and cattle farms of the plains, into
the canyons of the far west. The king
dom Of cotton. while enthroned in the
south, is not isolated there. as is en-
phasized by the Great Falls (Mont.)
Tribune, which warns its readers that
they are mistaken If they "say that
cotton prices do not interest them in any
way. We are all bound together
on one string in Industrial prosperity
and the misfortune of one industry is
the misfortune Of all in some measure,
though perhaps differing in degree"
THE commercial interests of New
York and the south are so clearly in
terWoven." says the Charlotte IN. CO.
observer, that when times are bad in
! the south the New York pocketbook Is
ccrrespondingly fiat. and when times in
the south are of the kind that might
| be called flush New York is made to
rejoice The speculative element
! In New York has been inclined to the
notion that the lower it can hold the
!
element-and perhaps it is. But for
| commercial and industrial New York.
! the higher cotton goes the better" ut
| means. first of ALL" says the Fort Worth
Star-Teiegram. that a great deal of
shawed easa out tfe fsat 1anks is xsy T the rise se
| in the price Of cotton means better times
all around. 1t even means better de-
| mand for the other agricultural prod
ucts; Ultimately it will mean more
employment, and that will tend to in
| crease the purchasing power Of the
public and thus mean more business
AS to whether the curtailment Of
acreage, the alertness of the specu-
| lator or the boil weevil working in
conjunction with the old reliable law
titled to credit for breaking the jam,
| the editorial mind is not unanimous.
| In support of the first, the Passaic
IN. J.) Herald. referring to the dras-
tic reduction of acreage last year in
the ten leading cotton states, says:
What are the results of the south's
| self-made luck? The present crop
| of cotton, added to the carry lover
supply, will be virtually equivalent
| to one years production, and the
the demand within the United States.
The south deserves it's good luck.
| which was self-made" The Wichita
Falls Record further supports this
| contention in it's reference to the
testimony Of the Department of Agri-
| culture that the market now has
| behind it the largest percentage re-
| duction Of acreage ever made in a
| single season." while the San Antonio
| Light inclines to emphasize the i'm
| portance of the speculator:
LAS usual, the SPECTATORS, it seems,
| started the movement On the SELL
| ing side, next in order. were mill in
| terests that had made a large profit
on the cotton they had previously
| bought. They were said to be in
doubt as to ah the marke,ability Of cloth
! banks. too, contributed to the activity
| by selling outright cotton which they
| had obtained by default of borrow
ers who had given this commodity
| as security"
| cause of the boil weeviI, answers its
! own question of What caused the
| rise?" by stating: mot any manipula-
| tion of bank credits, but government
| reports of widespread damage to the
cotton crop and the probability of
| with the price of cotton low" says
the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel, "the
| buyers of cotton were not stocking
up for what they knew would be
their demands for the coming year.
Then came the report of a short crop.
| CduSeu ny TdSdSeS VI TIC UOlI WSSSI.
| The mills began to buy cotton and
| there has been a general improve
| ment throughout the south which
has been reflected in the markets of
New York and the east in general.
1t has been the south and the cot
ton mills that have set the ball roll
ing"
A note of moderation runs through
some of the southern comment. 1T
is doubtful" thinks the Houston Post.
IF 20 cents means the cost of produc-
ton of cotton this year. The
farmer is not making any money SELL
ing at 20 cents. even If he comes out
even," and the Charlotte IN. c. News
thinks there is no chance of the
southern farmer being able to sell his
cotton this year at a price which will
make up for the losses which he sus-
! tanned with his last years crop"
The future outlook, as indicated in
| the press. is the further suppression
| of the one-crop policy in the south.
The Kansas City Star, in answer to
the supposition that improved condi-
tions meant another plunge on cot
ton planting next year." says: THE
south is planning in the other direc-
ton and has said, Never again, -"
| while the Savannah News thinks
lived up to in the cotton belt is to
make cotton such surplus crop that
l the grower, and nobody else, may say
when it shall be put on the market"
The Nashville Tennessean states that
with plenty of food for man and
animal on hand, and with no bills to
| pay. the cotton planter. would be in
a pretty easy position when it came
to marketing the staple" and that
"once he is thoroughly weaned from
the one-crop idea, he will never re-
| turn to it,