Evening star., 1929-12-21
Washington Ticker
BY CLINTON COFFIN,
Associated Press Financial Writer.

A new era of organization among
Southern cotton producers has been
instituted since the Federal Farm Board
began its attempt to stabilize the price
of the great basic commodity OF the
territory. Senator E. C. Smith OF
South Carolina, a most interested OBJ
server of the process, sees a number OF
difficulties in the road of the attempt,
but nevertheless retains hope that the
enterprise will result in bettered re-
turns for cotton growers in future years.
"I still think that the board could
and should have announced its Wiling
ness to advance 20 cents pound
against middling cotton of the current
crop instead of 16 cents per pound" he
remarked, land that its failure to do
so has virtually resulted in fixing the
market value OF middling at the To-
cent level. Nevertheless, the situation
now has to be met as It Is. What the
board Is endeavoring to do Is to build
up a sterilization corporation which
will head the marketing Of all that por-
ton of the cotton crop which Is sold
through local and State cooperative
associations Of growers.
Now 1t will be nee essary for CO.
operative movement in the cotton re-
gions to get under its control an i'm
portant fraction of the total cotton
yield If it is to influence the selling
prices. My own estimate Is that at
least 40 per cent of the output will
have to get into the co-operatives for
the program to be effective, and that
means a good deal of missionary work.
In my own State, with a production OF
perhaps 300, 900 bales of co ton, doubt
If more than $4,000 or 10000 bales OF
cotton are now passing through CO.
operatives.
at is true that there is a larger
proportion of cooperative marketing In
other producing States, certainly In
Georgia, Mississippi and Texas, than IN
South Carolina. That means that local
organization must be greatly extended.
The attempt to make Cooperation cure
the problems of the cotton producer
isn't new in the South, though 1t hasn't
been tried before with Federal funds
behind its initiation. The former result
was TO leave the cooperating producer
with somewhat smaller return than
the producer who stayed on the outside,
even though cooperation might have
raised the total return received on the
crop. Nevertheless, the organizations
are being extended again.
1T does seem that production and
distribution of staple crop like cot
ton, worth 81 500 100000 annually to
the country, can and will be gotten on
a better basis eventually than II has
been during recent years"
John Lord O'Brien, Assistant Attorney
General in charge of antitrust prose-
cutions, and his staff appear TO be CIV
ing no concern TO the latest announced
mergers affecting the steel industry.
These are presented in the proposals
sponsored by Cyrus S. Eaton of Cleve-
land for linking together the Republic
Iron e. Steel Corporation with Central
Alloy Steel, Donner Steel, Inc: the
Bourne Fuller Co., and possibly the
YOUNGSTOWN Sheet & Tube.
While no Official statements are be-
ing issued, there Is pretty clear intima-
ton that the Department of Justice
sees no antitrust law violations direct
ly in prospect from the merger moves
announced.
one of the reasons for this lies in
the set of precedents created by previ-
Gus inaction Of the justice branch
toward interlocking in the steel in
dustry. The Bethlehem Corporation two
years ago was allowed to absorb the
old Midvale Steel, without even a public
question on the subject. The principles
now applying to the enforcement of the