The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1921-06-04
Cotton Conditions
Are Discussed
Representatives Of Cotton Grow
crs and Cotton Manufacturers
Meet in New York

New York. May &o-Ways and
means of rella,ilitating 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. manuiac-
tur4rs and affiliated interests.
Leading cotton growers and gov
ernmental officials warned that the
country faced The shortest cotton
crop in the last - ears. and that
unless Immediate steps were taken
to create q market and restore the
staple to a profitable price, a greater
shortage would result in the net
few years.
Figures presented By the various
speakers showed that the reduction
in cotton acreage this year ranged
from 50 to 81 per cent. due to the
acreage reduction campaign tor the
:%;.tional Cotton association. the ray
ares OF the boil weevi. and unfavor-
able weather conditions
United effort by government and
business IS necessary if the cotton
industry is to reGain its feet, de-
cIared J. :. Wannamaker Of st. Nat
thews. S. c., president OF the Ameri-
can Cotton association. Artificial in
fation 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 crop Of cotton in 1921.
Senator Joseph Z. Ransdell of
Louisiana a cotton planter. est
mated that cotton producers had lost
approximately 5000 0n0 600 in 1920.
due to adverse narket conditions.
Senator 2. y. Smith Of South Caro-
lima said that with q group Of 5ena-
tors from the agricultural states Of
tho south and vest. he believed they
had q solution of the situation in
vieyr. He explained that it vas pro-
posed to modify the federal reserve
act so that the farmer would nave
some fixed and dependable financial
arrangements He added that it vas
proposed to make il 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 SO
cents.
The American cotton crop is the
most wastefuilv handled staple farm
product in the world. Harvie Jordan.
secretary of the association, de-
c!2red.
.Uneconomic lcsses due to waste
and primitive PRACTICES in haiins
and handling tie cotton crop" he
said wipe out the full annual value
Of a crop every ten years. accord
ine to figures prepared b?' the
United States bureau OF markets
These losses aggregate ueariy 500
900. 900 per annum.
SIR. Wanuamaker, in his address.
declared that until cotton vas rec
ognized as one Of the nations great
est assets and until II brought
profitable price to the grower. every
SOulNSll IIllNStlN NO-titS * / Ne~A ~ ~
we produced in 1920 only l3.l9'.-
rs bales o. cotton he asserted
Still today we are without markets.
except at a price Of approximately
one-third the cost Of production. aud
then only in limited va. The
farmer is being smothered with his
o,vn production. Business stagnation
and paralysis. resulting from the de-
struction of the purchasing power
of the farmer is counting more eVery
month than The total value; Of lill
production.
Declaring that financing Of cotton
production was national problem.
he continued.
when a safe system of issuing
short term certificates Of indebted
ness or debenture<; against cotton,
properly stored. has beer put IN op-
GRAFTON. it will present new ma
tional field for Investment by the
whole people which will be as safe
and as attractive to the investor as
government bonds.
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