Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-08-05
COTTON COOP PAYS
GROWERS MILLION
AS FINAL PROCEEDS.
Ten Million Dollars Worth of
Staple Sold During Sea-
son Just Ended
By EDWIN CAMP

Checks aggregating $1,232,634 were
being mailed out Saturday as final
distribution to farmers on their cot
ton sold during the season just
closed through the Georgia Cotton
Growers Cooperative association.
The association handled 70,S12
bales during the season ending June
80 and sold this cotton for a gross
amount of $1O,3O6, 942.O8. In volume
of business and extent of influence.
it is the highest development of CO.
operative merchandising in the his
tory of Georgia.
The average price obtained for the
cotton Of all grades was 30.05 cents
pound. The expense of conduct
ing all Of the business, including in
surance, Warehousing and interest,
was 1.55 cents a pound for the cot
ton handled. The mathematical
average net obtained for the growers
of cotton handled thus was $3.50
cents a pound.
The proceeds from the pools, how
ever, are not distributed on a mathe
NAUTICAL average of all the cotton.
placed into pools made up of lots
of even grade and staple. Each
member then is paid the average
price obtained for each pool into
which he contributed.
How Price Is Reached
For example, the association han
died 1887 bales of cotton which was
graded and classed as middling
white cotton of 1 inch to 1 116-inch
staple. This cotton was sold at an
average price of 1856 cents a pound
and those who grew this cotton
were paid on that basis, less 1855
cents a pound cost of doing BUSH
ness.
The largest pool handled by the
association consisted of 1859 bales
classed as strict middling white, rs
to 1-inch staple. This averaged
5000 cents a pound. The second
largest pool consisted of 1924 bales
sold as middling. white, 7-S to L
inch, at an average price of 29.40.
The highest price brought by any
pool was 1896 cents. Some cotton
of inferior quality brought as little
as 1880 cents a pound.
The results of the years business
have been very encouraging, Off
GERS of the association say. They
point out the large increase in mem
bership which has taken place since
last fall, a strengthening of morale
on the part of practically all the
membership, and say that with pros
poets for q reasonable crop this fall
and the consequent handling Of a
larger proportion of the crop pro-
duced in Georgia, a stronger in
fluence will be eXerted on the mar
ket in behalf of the members. Dur.
ing the past year the association
handled only one-tenth of the small
est crop in this states history.
Officers say the association prob
ably will handle about 100000 bales
next season, with a further reduc-
ton IN expenses due to greater vol
ume of business and with q stronger
influence toward stabilizing the price
in the interest of the producer.
ConweIPs Statement
President J. Z. Conwell sent out a
statement with each check from
which the following excerpts are Of
public interest:
Our average price is not as high
as some growers may have sold their
cotton on the outside. 1t is higher
than the price received by many
growers who sold early in the sea-
son or who waited until after Christ.
mas and sold their cotton. We only
had abO utone month of the higher
prices for cotton during the entire
twelve months, and the associations
books and records will show that we
have marketed our cotton each
month. orderly and according to CO.
operative marketing. AS is we'll
known, this means not the highest
nor the lowest price, but the aver
age price, and better still, a system
for us. as growers, under which to
sell our cotton
their cotton and could not deliver
their cotton as they got it out and
had it ginned, for various reasons
Some of them had mortgag es on
thei rcottOn and could not deliver
as early as they wanted to. Others
held their cotton in warehouses I'M
til late in the season. This means
that the association had considera-
BILE cotton to sell late in the season
and about the time that such a ter
rifle fight was being made on CO.
operative marketing b your enemies,
because of what it means for us as
cotton growers.
Have Cut Expenses
1--WE want TO call your attention
to the fact that we have b4en able
to reduce our expenses in many Ie-
spects. BY shipping our cotton TO
concentration points this year. our
books show that storage charges
this yeIr are 50 cents per bale less
than they were on last years bust
ness. Our insurance and interest
carried a fixed rate and the amount
of interest and insurance is deter
mined by the value OF cotton and
the amount advanced TO the mem