The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1921-06-01
GROWERS0F COTTON
TALK0F CONDITIONS

ING IN NEW YORK OF PLANT
ERS, MANUFACTURERS AND
OTHERS.
New York, May 31.-Ways. and
means of rehabilitating the cotton in
dustry and putting it on a pre-war
basis, were discussed today at the
opening of national consultation OF
American cotton growers, manufac-
turers and affiliated interests.
Leading cotton growers and gov
ernmental officials warned that the
country faced the shortest cotton
crop in the last rs years, and that
unless immediate steps were taken
to create a market and restore the
staple to a profitable price, a greater
shortage would result in the next
few years. '.
Figures presented by the various
speakers showed that the reduction
in cotton acreage this year ranged
from 80. to 35 per cent. due to the
acreage reduction campaign for the
National Cotton association, the raw
ages of the boil weevil and unfavor-
able weather Conditions. .
The government recognizes that
the industry faces critical situa-
ton, President Harding declared in .
telephone message to the conference,
and he assured the cotton growers
that the administration desired in
every possible way to cooperate with
those seeking to improve conditions.
Two three year old daughters of
cotton men replied to the presidents
message thanking him on behalf Of
the North and the South
United Effort Necessary.
United effort by government and
business is necessary if the cotton
industry is to regain it's feet, de-
clared ]. S. Wannamaker of St. Matt
thews, S. c., president of the Ameri-
can Cotton association. Artificial in
fiation in values must be overcome,
he said, and the channels of COM
merce opened and exports of raw cot
ton stimulated. He defended the
acreage reduction campaign, declar-
ing it would have been nothing
short of suicidal to produce more
than half a crop of cotton in 1921"
Senator Joseph E. Ransdell Of
Louisiana, cotton planter, esti-
mated that cotton producers had lost
approximately $2,000,000,O00 in
1920, due to adverse market condi-
tions.
Senator E. D. Smith of South Car
olina aside that with group of sena-
tors from the agricultural states of
the South and West, he believed they
had solution of the situation in
view. He explained that it was pro-
posed to modify the federal reserve
act so that the farmer would have
some fixed and dependable financial
arrangements. He added that it was
proposed to make it mandatory upon
the home banks and the regional
banks to accept the farmers paper
at fixed discount rates, and that this
paper should be good as long as the
banks assets permitted. Cotton at
no time, he said, should sell below 80
cents.
The American cotton crop is the
most wastefully- handled staple farm
product in the world, Harvie Jordan,
secretary of the association, de-
clared.
"Unecononiic losses due to waste
and primitive practices in baling
and handling the cotton CROP" he
said, "wipe out the full annual value
of a crop every ten years, accord
ing to figures prepared by the
UnitedaSt bureau of markets.
These losses aggregates nearly $780,
100000 per annum."
Mr.. Wannamaker, in his address,
declared that until cotton was rec
ognized as one Of the nations great
est assets and until it brought a
profitable price to the grower, every