The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1921-04-13
MILLION BALES
MAY BE EXPORTED
Head OF Finance Corporation Discuss.
es Plan. Would Mean Relief.

es Plan. WoHld Mean Relief.
Washington, April 9.-Eugene Mey-
or, Jr., managing director Of the war
finance corporation, holds that IT
Southern bankers cooperate with the
government in putting into effect the
cotton export plan which ho devised
it will be possible to put 1000, 900 bales
in Europe.
The plan is very simply. The gov
enment undertakes to lend money to
banks, in approved cases, when the
banks will underwrite the transpor-
tation Of cotton to foreign nations.
While the details are not known, it
Is surmised that the government will
give the banks long time in which to
make repayment to the government
so that the banks can give impoverish-
ed European countries an opportunity
to pay In the meantime, the farmer
will have credit at the banks
One loan, as already reported
amounting to 100000, has been ap-
proved. The scheme is not approved
in its entirety by all the Southern
bankers recently in conference with
the war finance corporation in Wash
ington. But the majority, 1t is under
stood, looked with favor on the gov
ernment's willingness to divide an,
risk with them for the benefit Of the
farmer.
In this connection, it is the opinion
Of certain financiers Of the w. p. G..
Harding type that the scheme if gen
orally sponsored by bankers would not
only materially aid the farmers but
the bankers, themselves, and the
country. Mr.. Meyer, in talking with
the bankers, reminded them that the
plight Of the South was not and could
not be sectional, but nationals that
when the South's cotton was a drug
on the market, the South could not
trade with other sections.
And Mr. Harding informed the
bankers that loans, on the basis Of
present prices, were safer than on
the basis Of high and necessarily fic-
titious prices, and he urged them to
invest in European securities, and
check against them In advancing
money to tho producers.
At the Same time. the bankers OF
the South are hard hit They are car
rylng all tho cotton paper. And half
the cotton produced Is unsold. Robert
f. Maddox. OF Atlanta, informed Mr..
heyere that the bankers were CORY
Ing the load with difficulty. and that
relief was necessary because Of the
certainty that If they did carry tho
present crop, they could not carry the
next
While there was no disposition on
the part OF any banker to use force,
or resort to law, in collecting the in
debtedness of the farmers, and Gov
ernor Harding spoke directly against
such policy, the idea was prevalent
that the farmer, by some personal
means, should be made to see the folly
Of over-production OF one crop, that
is, cotton.
r. G. Rhett OF Charleston had this
idea in mind when he stated frankly
that a newfound market during this,
the planting season, attended by an
increase in the price OF cotton, would
be exceedingly hurtful to the South.
Under such conditions, he declared,
the farmer, now included to reduce his
acreage, would redouble it. He urged
that no relief be granted until after
the new crop was In the ground
he declared 1t to be necessary to
deal with the farmer practically in
asmuch as the farmer could not be
persuaded by mere logic to reduce his
acreage