The L'Anse sentinel., 1924-02-29

b
Queer is responsible for cooperative
marketing. It brought q psycholos-
ical change. Closer connection with
his crop after It's production made the
buyer think more of the problems Of
marketing. ws
In 1873 the Alabama Grange put
sales representative in New York. The
Mississippi Grange sent man to rep
resent them In Liverpool. Other state
Grange organizations hired a man to
represent them on the various cotton
markets. In some instances ware
houses were leased where the pre-
ducers sent their cotton for grading
and sometimes for actual selling. Cot.
ton marketed in this way did bring
higher prices, but the market as
Whole was unaffected.
From 1900 on producers made nu-
merous attempts to market cotton CO
operatively. In 1902 the Farmers
Educational Cooperative was organ
lied in Texas. Its first work was the
staging of campaign for maintaining
the price of cotton by fat. Many local
associations were established, usually
centered around warehouse. These
associations did eliminate some dis
honest grading and buying, they pro-
yided good storage, but they offered
no real solution 20 the marketing
problem.
During the World war the South
had taste OF prosperity. There was
real money in cotton. With the close
of the war they feared backset In
their market. They determined to DO
what they could to stabilize their
prices. With this In mind the Ameri-
can Cotton association was formed In
1913 In 1919 prices rose GO per cent.
due to an intensive acreage reduction.
But the high prices brought heavy
1920 crop. This, along with the gen.
eral conditions, crashed cotton prices.
Cotton producers discovered that the
conditions under which they were at
tempting to handle their business In
1920 were almost as unsound as the
system under which their fathers had
operated in 1850.
Aaron Sapiro met with the nssocia-
tion in Montgomery and aroused inter-
est by telling them the story OF Cali
fornia's plan Of cooperative market
ing. The plan didn't meet with gen
eral approval. The association set tn
work TO make marketing plan OF Its
own. When II was completed the
growers couldn't be interested. Slowly
the American Cotton association began
to fade into the background.
In Oklahoma, Mississippi. Texas and
North Carolina the Saplro plan had
found fertile soil.
The Oklahoma Cotton Growers as
soclation was organized under the
leadership OF Carl williams. The
Sapiro plan is simple piece Of ma
chinery. 1t Is composed entirely OF
bona fide growers Of cotton who sign
contracts under which they pledge to
deliver their cotton to the association
FOR certain number of years. The
| organization must acquire no cotton
by purchase or trade and II Is allowed
to make no profits. Title to the cot
ton Is vested In the association which
agrees to resell the cotton and TO pay
the resale price less the cost OF han
ding. The receipts are pooled by
grade and staple regardless OF the time
Of delivery or sale. This equalizes the
| rafurns IN tha prowarS
The Oklahoma organization made
rs start in June. 1921. BY April. 1922.
24.500 contracts had been signed, one.
third Of the Oklahoma crop acreage.
In less than year the association
had completely replaced cotton brokers
and secured directly for the growers
the spinner and export price. The
average price for the year was around
S7.2O.
Results OF Organization.
Growers in the Mississippi delta
were next to organize. The Staple
Cotton Growers Cooperative associa.
tion was formed. which signed 1900
producers of long-staple cotton. In
iU%i thcy uhhcteu ioo,uOU UHteS, ktt.
ting an average Of more than six cents
pound more than outside growers.
Tie Oklahoma plan moved over the
line into Texas, where II per cent of
the states acreage was signed. One
thousand Of the Pima cotton growers
Of Oklahoma Joined the Arizona Pima
Cotton Growers association. to which
nearly half the acreage of the Salt
River valley was pledged. During the
first marketing year Its sales topped
the outside market from one to two
cents per pound.
In five other states cotton growers
began marketing the Sapiro way.
There was North Carolina with 1900
growers and 40 per cent of Its acre
age signed by November. 1921. Then
followed the Arkansas Cotton Grow
ers' Cooperative association; the
Georgia Cotton Growers Cooperative
association; the South Carolina Cotton
Growers Cooperative association and
the Alabama Farm Bureau Cotton as
sociation. ~