Roanoke Rapids herald., 1923-09-14
GOVERNORS ENDORSE
COTTON CO.OPS
Heads of Six Southern States
Call For Cooperation of
Growers in The Marketing of
South's Big Crops
MEANS MORE MONEY FOR COTTON

mEANo NUKE MONE FON CO lON
Governor William w. Brandon
of Alabama; Clifford M. Walker,
Governor of Georgia; Thomas
G. Mcleod, Governor of South
Carolina; Austin Peay, Governor
of Tennessee; r. C. McRae,
Governor of Arkansas and A.
M. Hyde, Governor of Missouri
have joined in a joint proclama-
ton calling on the farmers of
the Southern States to stand
Loyalty by the principles of CO.
operative marketing. These
men agree that the old system
of dumping the cotton crop on
the market within 80 days after
the crop is harvested means a
tremendous loss to the farmer.
The Proclamation follows:
Whereas the south for more
than three generations has pro-
duced the majority of the cotton
used in clothing the world, and
whereas the production of this
great world necessity has en-
rlched cotton merchants, export
ers, importers, brokers and
manufacturers, while it has left
the south struggling against
poverty and a low standard of
living, returning to the growers
OF the cotton such a small por-
ton of the tremendous wealth
which they have created, that
the average cotton growers
family has been compelled to
live on less than S400 per year,
/ Whereas it is now realized
that this condition has brought
about by the practice of dumping
the whole crop on the market
during the months of harvest
ing thus breaking the market.
Whereas,it has been demon
strated that by marketing cot
ton in an orderly manner,
throughout the year as needed,
a just price can be maintained
and a fairer share of the con-
sumers dollar will be realized by
the producer, thus enabling the
producer to improve his stan
dard of living.
Whereas it is now generally
recognized by the leading econo
mists, bankers and business men
of the United States, that
something must be done to bring
the agricultural producers into
a state of greater prosperity in
order to maintain an equilibrium
of population between town and
country, as we'll as a more stable
economic and social condition in
the interest of the future well
fare of all people, and whereas
the President of the United
States, the Congress of the
United States, and the legisla-
lures OF the cotton producing
states, have approved the plan of
cooperative marketing through
their voluntary statements in the
belief that this much needed
Improvement in the financial
condition of the cotton grower
can best be realized through
their cooperation in marketing
their products.
Whereas the Cotton Market
ing Associations in each of the
II principal cotton producing
states in this country are now
conducting a nationwide cam
paign for increasing their mem
bership and extending the bene-
fits OF cooperative marketing to
a largerly increased number of
cotton growers, therefore we, the
governors of the states of Ala
bama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mis-
souri,, South Carolina and Ten
nessee believing in the sound
ness of this type of organiza-
ton and in the justice of the
farmers combining to promote
their economic interests, do here
by call upon all classes of our
membership to inform them
selves of this great economic
movement and to assist in every
practical way in the successful
elimination of the respective
state membership campaigns,
with the hope and to the end
that our people may benefit by
their intelligent cooperation the
same as has been the case with
the farmers in California and
other sections of the United
States, whose success has been
rewarded by standard of living
and Civilization worthy of the
history and the traditions of
our people.