Pocahontas star herald., 1927-03-24
COTTON REDUCTION
COMMITTEE MEETS


ON March 10th there was a final
meeting of the SOuth-wide Committee
on Acreage Reduction In Memphis The
Arkanss Committee was represented
there with the other cotton producing
states of the south. That was the
final gathering of the SOuth-wide Com
mittee The several state committees
left the meeting determined to carry
the acreage reduction campaign on
up to planting time.
The necessity of curtailing the plant
ing of cotton acreage is Of paramount
Importance this year. We quote the
following from Geo. F. Fossick:
Selling which brought about net
declines in the cotton market yester-
day was attributed to talk that acreage
will be only slightly reduced Advice
to this effect came from both western
and eastern sections of the belt. Farm
ers would do well to take notice.
"It may be the reason for yesterdays
decline was other than the explanation
given, but it is certain that most Of
the bearish sentiment in the market
arises from lack of faith in acreage
reduction.
"The farmer has been duly warned
that it will be dangerous to plant an
other big acreage. If he goes ahead
as he did last year, in spite of all
warnings, it will do no good later on
to cuss the government and private
estimates and it must be concluded that
he is willing to risk the possibility of
cotton at 10 cents n pound or less"
This indicates that there is gener-
al lack of confidence on the part of
the cotton trade that the farmer is
really going to help himself in this
situation. Regardless of whether a
man cut his acreage last year and the
year before and is now on a sixty
forty or fifty-ffty basis, it is fool
hardy to grow cotton for ~ or IA cents
that he will have to sell for 10 cents
or less. 1t would be much better to
buy cotton at the present market and
let his land lie out.
In this connection, let us see what
the British capitalists and spinners
have done with their present crop.
The Arkansas Gazette of March 18th
prints the following:
when it became apparent that there
was a huge over-production of cotton
in the United tSates and that growers
would have to take whatever they
could get to meet their borrowings,
a group of British spinners and specu-
lators saw a chance to make big
cleaning. The waited until the price
hit the bottom, then tossed their ready
money into the scale and brought in
unprecedented quantities, keeping their
buying as quiet as possible and spread
widely to avoid a rise. Before the ex-
citement had subsidized they had enough
cotton to keep British mills busy for
two or more seasons and their profits.
up to date, are said to be not less
than $50,000,000, with the chances all
in favor of reaching twice that sum-"
As the editor Of the Arkansas Gaz-
cite so aptly says, ''this condition is
enough to make the gorge rise in every
business man, banker, and farmer in
tcrested in cotton" Our disOrganlza-
tiOn and unsound methods have placed
us in position whereby southern agri-
culture has contributed approximately
| 81 ,0O0,O ,O00,000 to industry and specu-
latOrs In the last seven years. No
class of people can continue to be pros
porous or ever hope to grow prosperous,
or even survive, under conditions Of
this kind.