Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-03-07
POOLING SYSTEM LNSURES
BEST PRICES FOR ALL
No One Member of AssoCia-
ton Gets Lower Price for
Same Grade of Cotton
Than His Neighbor
RY RALPH SMITH

homa association has experienced
some annoyance from the fact
that many of its members and
not a few country bankers are
wholly ignorant about pooling
agreements There are still
others who have a very general
idea as to pools, but who do not
understand the chow" and
"why" of the arrangement under
which the assoc! LtiOn is Operat-
ing.
Fred Wilmarth, the general
publicity director of the associa-
ton, says the two questions most
frequently asked by associa ton
members are:
1. How does the pool work?
2. Why doesn't a member get
all of the actual sale price OF
his cotton when it is finally dis
posed of by the association.
There are undoubtedly many
members of the Oklahoma asso-
citation whose cotton already has
been sold in one pool or another,
even though not a single pool
has been finally closed out. Sales
usually are made in even run
ming lots of 100 bales. Maybe
member has only two bales of
cotton, and it is possible that his
may have been among the first
to be sold from a particular
pool.
The association publishes a
semi-monthly paper-The Okla
homa Cotton Grower-which de-
votes several pages of each issue
to describing the cotton that has
been sold and the price that it
brought. The farmer who sent
in his two bales reads this paper
and sees that his two bales have
been sold. He wonders imme-
diately why he hasn't been reim-
bursed for the full value of his
product.
How Pool Works
Mr.. Wilmarth explained these
features Of the associationS
operation to me.
THE working of the pool is
Simple enough" said he.
I'VE are making satisfactory
progress in explaining the SyS.
TEN 10 our members, and inquir-
les as to the method of operation
are gradually decreasing as the
members are made to under-
stand the rethod in detail.
"a farmer delivers his cot
ton to the railroad. 1t is billed
to the associations order and
shipped to the nearest compress
point. The minute the farmer re-
ceives the bill of lading he has
no more to do with the actual
cotton, Of course, he takes the
+ bill of 1ading to his local bank
and gets an advance of 10 cents
pound, which anvance is
charged to the assoc atoms ac-
count. But he has no more
troubles about his actual cotton.
The association handles every
transaction involving the cotton
from the time it is delivered to
the railroad until it's final sale
to buyer. The compress, upon
receipt of the cotton, pulls a
sample from each bale and for
wards these to headquarters in
Oklahoma City, where they are
graded and classed. The cotton
the meantime has been tag
ged SO that it be identified
readily and Enthusiastically.
when the cotton has been
graded and classed as per sam.
pie received from the compress,
eacI sample, bearing the identi-
1ication tag number, is placed
with others of the same grade
and STAPLE, and the lots thus
formed are known as pools.
when the association finds a.
buyer, he is shown the samples
of several pools, and if he wants
a quantity of cotton of the same
grade and staple, as is usually
the case, he finds the associa-
ton ready to supply him in even
INNING lots.
Test of Cooperative Marketing
cit is obvious, of course, that
cotton is going in and being ta-
ken out of the different pools
throughout the selling season,
which explains why a pool con-
tinues throughout an entire
season."
1t is the view Of Mr.. Wilmarth
aid others thai it is less diff
cult to make the average man
understand the operation of the
OILS than it is TO make eTery
man un. .erstal.' and appreciate
the reasons why a member is
not .ompe stated in full the
mute his cotton has b en-
actually sold. Herein, as L sec
it, is. matter that relates vIA
tally to the success of co-operas
tive marketing of any farm
product. 1t is indeed, test OF
the cooperative movement, and
a severe one, for it il Olives a
spirit of altruism.
"Since cotton may be sold out
of a given pool at any time"
explained Mr.. Wilmarth, "some
cotton from each pool will be
sold at one price and some at
another. The cotton market
fuctuates, you now, and one
grade and staple may bring
higher price one day than the
very same grade and staple will
bring twenty-four hours later.
Nov, as we are making cur
members appreciate. Werb rps
association to pay each indivtd-
ual member the price actually
received for his own particular
cotton, it is apparent that the
man whose cotton Was SuGh &S
the top of the market might ~
ceive one or two cents more for
his product that his neighbor on
the adjoining farm would re-
ceive for exactly the same grade
and staple of cotton. All sorts
of dissatisfaction inevitably
would ensue.
'The only fair method of dis
tributing the proceeds from the
sale of pooled cotton is to aver
age the price throughout the
season and to make the distribu-
ton on this basis, and this basis
only. 1t is this feature of our
OperatiOn-and q very essential
feature it is-that makes it nec-
essary for an association men,
Der to wait until the end of the
selling season before being final
ly and fully compensated"