Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-02-01

have to be carried until such time as
| the demand would justify its sale;
| therefore. there is involved in this
proposition the question of production
! control and this brings us directly to the
| proposition now before uS--the control
of the surplus and the control of pro-
| duction
In all probability the carryover of
American cotton in America August i,
| 1881, will be very large. Therefore, 1t
is Of vital importance, not only to pro-
ducers Of cotton in the South, but to
| the entire American commercial world
what is to be done to avoid the certain
disaster that must follow the production
of another average cotton crop. A
sterilization corporation has been set
up, but 1t has not purchased the sur
plus cotton It is to aid in solving this
situation that 1 have suggested plan:
1t is very probable that there will
be six or sevsn million bales OF old
cotton to carry over to add to the crop
of 1881 and, as the present price OF
cotton is from $50 to $50 per bale
below the cost of production, my plan
is that the corporation should purchase
this surplus. as the law contemplates
its doing, and In place Of holding 1t
until there should be a crop small
enough and a demand great enough
to justify a reasonable profit, that the
corporation should contract with the
land owners who produce cotton to
finance it for them out of this old cot
ton in an amount equal to the pro
duction of the producer in 1880, the
producer agreeing to enter into a con-
tract with the corporation to the effect
that as the corporation is holding. for
him, at and around the present level
0f cotton
to his 1880 production, that the land
owner will not plant cotton on any
land owned by him in the year 1881.
This will give the producer an equity
in the amount of cotton he would make
in 1881 at a price less than he could
make it for This would avoid the
danger Of reproduction of an additional
surplus. relieve the danger of an ac-
cumulative surplus and relieve the cor
poration of an indefinite carriage of
the surplus. It would release Is or 20
million acres now devoted to cotton
from the production OF cotton and make
this much land available for the pro-
duction of diversified farming. food
crops and live stock The contracts
thus entered into would give the board
and the public definite facts as to the
reduction Of acreage. 1t also would be
an almost irresistible inducement to the
producer to enter into the contract.
The corporation would purchase the
cotton and allocate to him under con-
tract the amount Of his ordinary pro-
ducticn and hold this amount Of cotton
for him until the marketing period of
1891 without any monetary investment
on the farmers part. The corporation,
when the cotton is sold, would deduct
the purchase price plus the carrying
charges, the farmer receiving the net
profit This would be tantamount to
the farmer making crop in the ware
house at price much cheaper than he
can produce it on his land, with the
probability of good profit. In addi-
ton to that, he would be enabled to
raise superabundance of food sup
plics for man and beast on his farm.
1t would not be necessary for the
contract to provide that the farmer
should not plant any cotton; he might
contract for half his crop and acreage.
Instead of purchasing the surplus cot