The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1922-08-26
THE COTTON
7 MARKETING
ASSOCIATION
Cooperative Plan Has Been a
Success in Texas-Fight
Now on in the East

! Now on In the East
Columbia, Aug. 23-The cotton
growers OF Texas and Oklahoma
who are members of the cotton CO.
operative marketing associations
are delighted with the results Oh
| tained by the associations in the
first year Of their operations, ac-
cording to c. O.. Moser, secretary
| of the American Cotton Growers
Exchange. who is in Columbia
/. this week with officials Of the
,South Carolina Cotton Growers
COOPERATIVE Association. Mr.. Mo-
ser has been i'm Texas recently as
sisting in a membership campaign
waged by the association OF that
state.
| Mr.. Moser said that cooper at:ve
| will function this fall in nine states
and that all OF them are beginning
! the new season under most fa"n.-
able auspices. The morale Of their
membership is splendid. he deelar-
ed. Membership eampaigners are
now being conducted in all Of me
states from Arizona to North
Carolina he said. .tand there has
never. been more confidence in ene
ultimate success of the plan, as the
leading bankers, merchants, busi-
ness men and cotton planters ev-
terywhere are wholeheartedly CO.
operating in the movement"
In the state of Texas" said .-Ir.
Moser we recently held a hundred
meetings Of the members IL rs
many county seats, and wittos1.
exception each of the meetings
UNANIMOUSLY approved and endors-
led the management for the pa.t
year and pledged their en,hu=ias-
tie support and cooperation IN eX-
, tending the membership in tEe:r
communities. a few days later a
statewide meeting was called, IN
which there were more than five
hundred member delegates from
practically every organized county
in the state. This meeting was
held at Dallas in the Offices Of the
organization and whatever may
have been wanting to completely
satisfy the members with refAr-
fence to the operation Of the Texas
organization during the past year,
was completely supplied them
when the members themselves
saw the splendid institution which
they had b,lilded UP through the:r
own efforts. Expressions were call
ed for from the different counties,
and almost without exception a
spirit of general satisfaction 'was
reported at home by the delegates.
Of course, the minds Of some of
our good members in Texas and N
Oklahoma, as they will be in all of
the other states, were poisoned by
Hes and Misrepresentation and
everything that could be devised by
the gamblers, spectators and
sealpers was done to discredit the
organization and dissatisfy the
morale of the membership. The
mem bers, however, were told the
whole truth and Had an opportur-
ity to visit the organization places
Of business and personally inves-
tigate every phase of the business
operation. They soon realized that
their intelligence had been insult
ed by those whose interests were
adverse to those of the members.
and who had hoped by this means
to destroy the confidence that the
members had in their organization
and thus destroy the organization
itself. The members upon refec-
ton resented this SPECTATOR prop
aganda as they realized that the
spectators regarded the farmers
as men who did not know their
own interests and who could be
turned against their own organiza-
ton. As aggravating and disgust
ing as such propaganda was to
the management, it was perhaps a
good thing for the organization IN
the end, because it put into the
members hearts fighting spirit
and determination to win and has
solidifed the membership into a
real fighting force, and has prac-
ticaHy destroyed the force Of the
opposition's influence"
"In Oklahoma practically the
same thing has occurred. The
membership in both states are en-
tirely pleased with the prices,
which they have received and with
the cost of doing business. There
are. of course, always in so large
a number Of men few who are
easily persuaded and who are in
fuenced by the enemies Of the or
ganization, but those members are
small and are negligible from a
standpoint of the successful move
naent and were anticipated in the
original plans of the contract.
These men will be compelled to de-
liver their cotton under its iron
clad legally enforcible provision
and we are glad to say that the in
intelligent far-seeing majority are
giving their assistance in the prose-
cution Of those who would welch
from their Obligation
$ ! -.