The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1922-01-05

himself at the mercy either of the
local merchant or of the local bank.
He has never had enough money to
keep a season ahead. Usually at the
end of the harvest along in November
he pays his landlord, in cotton-if a
tenant farmer-and then is forced to
sell the remainder of his crop imme-
diately either to the merchant credi-
tor directly or to the curb buyer in
his nearest town. In good years he
has enough to pay off the landlord
and the merchant and enough left to
run him to cotton planting time.
Then the vicious circle of borrow
ing at exhorbitant rates must start
again. At the end of the season he
must sell at once to pay off the local
merchant-and if not the merchant,
the local bank.
Not only is his crop thrown on the
market at the very moment when
everyone else is unloading, but his
cotton is ungraded and undervalued.
The new state cooperative selling
organization will handle his cotton
from the moment it is delivered to
them by the local gin, where it is
baled as soon as it is picked. 1t is
first of all correctly graded by state
inspectors, then placed in state-ac-
cepted warehouses. With warehouse
receipt the farmer can go directly to
any bank and borrow sixty per cent.
of the market valuation.
The National War Finance Board,
with hundreds of millions at its COM
mand, is back of this great selling
machine.
As I write, five of these state CO.
operative selling organizations have
already gone over the top to the ex-
tent that they will control from one
quarter to one-third of the cotton
crops in their respective states for at
east the next five years. Texas, Okla
homa, North Carolina, Arizona, and
Mississippi have signed up. their
quotas that apparently guarantee the
success of the movement, and the
other cotton states are closing up
their membership drives.
It is a great promise for the future
and there are others. At this par
ticular moment the government estl-
mate is for a 42.2 per cent. normal
crop-due to small paintings result
ne from last years low prices coupled
with the boil weevil and general un-
favorable weather conditions.
Like the boil weevil this short crop
has been a blessing in, disguise. IL
has practically doubled the price OF
a few months ago and brought no
less than s5O0,00O,O00 to the south
which in turn has ultimately bene-
fitted the whole country.
Were it not for the unprecedented
carrv-over from last year-estlmat-
ed at $4,000 bales-there would
he a real cotton famine this COM
ing wear. As it is, with norman
consumption by American mills anu
anything like a fair foreign export
there will be practically no carry
over next year.
"In 1922 we confidently look for a
greater decrease in acreage" one OF
the best-informed cotton men OF the
south explained to me. Little Oy
little Europe will assume it's norman
cotton importation. We can easily
EXPECT our European export in 1922
to be greater than this last year
This means that in 1922, with very
small if any, carry-over and a reduc-
od cotton acreage, there will be a
real cotton shortage for the wnoie
world in 1923.
"The south will exercise its prac-
tical monopoly for at least anotner
quarter or half century. And our