Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1922-03-08
WHAT OKLAHOMA
COTTON POOL DID
Ralph Smith Writes Back From
West To Atlanta Journal
About Its Success

Ralph Smith, correspondent for
The Atlanta Journal, las. week was
cent 10 Texas, Oklahoma and 9th
er Western states to investigate
the CO operative cotton market
movement at the place of its ORR
gin. He is rev writing a series
II stories fo~ The Atlanta Jour
nal giving the results OF his in
yeStigation. The following is an
extract from his first article.
By RALPH SMITH.
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla.-Sce
ing IS believing, It's said, and l have
seen enough with my own eyes and
heard enough with my own ears in
tins fair clty to strongly encourage
the belief that the cooperative mar
AeLing of~rotton Is economically
aounu ia prlncIpic and financially ad-
yantageous to the cotton producer in
=, c."e.
got AN eye full in the spacious
sample room of the Oklahoma Cotton
Growers association, No. SO Mann
street, under circumstances thIt were
more convincing. The accident about
To be reclted mltigates the error Of
Lcrpetuating an anti-climax IN Sc
lies about cooperative marketing III
the West.
The Oklahoma Cotton Growers
q oclation Is a cooperative organI-
zatlon-a selling organization, il you
please 1t IS under no obligation 10
any group except the farmer-mem-
bsrS Themselves.
Some days ago certain members Of
The association, living in the vicinity
of McCloud, OKLA, decided to dispose
Of about 200 bales OF old cotton--the
residue Of their 1920 crop. Street
buyers at McCloud were willing
enough TO. buy the cotton They Of
fered 10 cents, / 2 cents and l6 cents
per pound for the lot, depending upon
the grade-rhe grading TO be done
and the grade arbitrarily fixed by
the buyers.
The prices were so ridiculouSly low
that the McCloud farmers declined
to sell. They requested the okla
hCma Cotton association TO sell the
lot for them. Samples Of the cotton
were pulled and forwarded TO head
quarters in Oklahoma City, where
they were graded and classed accord
ing TO grade and staple, by the best
totfon classers in the state.
The representative of an exporter,
and prospective buyer, entered the
associations sample rooms while
was engaged in conversation with
Walter G. Sparks, general sales man
ager of the association.
The buyer liked the cotton, and he
bought the entire lot on the strength
of the samples submitted for his ex-
animation. But he paid a premium
for the two hundred bales above what
had been offered by the street buy
ers. For one lot he paid Is 10
cents, for another ! 5 ga cents, and
for the third 10 1-2 cents.
In word, Sales Manager Sparks,
in my presence, sold for the Nc
Cloud members of the cooperative
association, 200 bales of cotton at
premium of from 2 1-2 to 3 3-4 cents
a pound above the best figure the
members could have obtained had
they sold their cotton under the old
method
The incident is only one of hun
dreds that have happened in Okla
hona City. Such occurrences are not
rare. and this has been especially
true with the new crop of cotton.
Barring only the big bull movement
in September and October, when
street buyers were bidding 'and buy
ing recklessly, the cotton sold through
the cooperative association has COM
manded steady premium over cot
ton sold to stem winders and f. O. b.
men in Oklahoma.
Mention is made of the incident.
not because of the premium received
for the old cotton, but because see
ing is believing" and / personally
witnessed a transaction that con-
firmed in part some of the things that
! had heard previously.
CEnprYA hA0rxRrn r,-n