Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-11-23
ONLY CO-OPERATIVES ARE
ABLE TO COMBAT WILES OF
EUROPEAN COTTON SPINNERS
Consumers Often Force Temporary Break in
Prices by Stopping Buying and Curtailing
oduction-Marketing Associations Are in
Position to Beat Spinners at Own Game

troll about one-nlnth or the
American crop. 1t is likely that
they will control about one
third next fall, for the marvel
lous success, they are achieving
is recruiting their membership
every day.
And when they do'control, say,
one-third of the American pro-
duction, you will see no further
effort by British spinners to
break the price temporarily by
curtailing consumption for a
month or so.
The price will become more
and more stabiljzed; more and
more it will be fairly steady
expression of the reaction of de-
mand on supply.
That is all the farmers have
any right to ask - that they
shall be assured a FAIR price,
LCllL " IllS11loSANNS1 ~
the spinners and the peoples of
the world who depend on farm
err and spinner for necessity
of life.
They have never got it in the
past-not even when cotton was
selling for 40 cents.
A Puzzled Reader
A reader who was interested
in the preceding articles in this
series asks how the cooperative
principle can be fair to all the
farmers. "You say" he says,
"the co-operatives sell gradual
ly with the market. Won't that
give some farmers more for their
cotton than others will get?
Won't there be some sort OF
favoritism in it,"
The reader doesn't under
stand the fundamental principle.
1t centers on the word pool
ing" ...-........., .......
All the cotton handled by each
of the state associations is gath
eyed into pools. There ere very
many different grades of cotton,
varying according to color, clas-
sification and staple length.
Some spinners use one sort, 9TH
ers the other sorts. The differ
ence in price when middling is
quoted at 25 cents runs nearly
20 cents. That is, a poor grade
of cotton barely spinnable will
be worth only Z or s cents, mid
ding will be worth % cents and
a higher grade will bring 81 or
% cents.
These pools are made up of
the different grades of cotton
handled by the association. From
Uncle Reuben Smiths farm in
Pike county there may come to
II e asso ;iation twelve bales of
'otton OF three different grades.
Uncle Reuben's cotton at that
l~AOIIlC1lI 1OSSSo clll CO1lLcL~l Will
itself and with him. He gets
receipts for four bales Of each of
the thron grades specified, draws
$50 a bale advance from the as
ISOLATION and waits till The end
of the cotton year for final
statement. Each set of bales is
put with other cotton of the
same grade held by the assoc.a-
ton. Let us say four are good
middlirg fonr are middling and
four are low middling.
Averages are Struck
When The association finishes
ellinS its years cotton, the price
obtained for every bale of cotton
in every single grade is aver
aged. Don't read this to mean
that an average is struck of the
prices for all grades; the average
is struck for each grade.) And
settleme-1 is made for every bale
in each grade on the has s of
the average price obtained for
that grade during the season.
Some good middling may have
sold for % cents, some for &c,
some for 81, and so on. What
Uncle Reubens four bales
brought Will never be known.
1t might have been % ,r it
might have been 2S. It makes
no difference to him. He gets
the average price.
This, of course, IS the very es-
ser of fairness. There can be
no favOrilism; there IS no luck
in it. He gets for his grade of
cotton just what all TIE other
producers of that grade get.
The beauty about it is that
the average price is bound to be
higher than the Independent pro-
ducers will average.
And it is a 100-to-1 shot that
it is higher than Uncle Reuben
would have got if he had sold
independently.
The reasons are three-fold:
FIRST: The cotton has been
correctly graded by Uncle Reu-
ben's agent instead of by the
buyers agent.
SECOND: Uncle Reuben gets
the profits that would other
wise have gone to three or more
course, must be deducted the
pro rata expense of the associa-
ton in handling it.
THIRD: The association,
avoiding selling during the dump
ing periods of very low prices,
has by gradual selling obtained
its average price which is sew
eral cents higher than the actual
average price of the year.
Uncle Reuben, acting indie
pendently, would have had to do
one Of two things:
Either sell as soon as he had
ginned, if he were unable or un-
willing to hold;
Or, if he were able and will
ing to hold, to GUESS when to
sell.
A little investigation will show
e.,