Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-09-28
Failure Of Long Cotton Plan
IS Shows States Aims Differ

Action by Texas is believed 10 hav,
put an end to the possibility of &enera
adoption by the cotton growing state
OF the plan offered by Gov. Niue,
Long of Louisiana for no planting nesx
year. There is some skepticism as co
! possibility Of acceptance of any plan by
! agreement of the States, because of
| different conditions and diversity of
conclusions as to curtailment by law.
Some voluntary action is expected, and
diversification continues to receive at
! tention.
A Pacific Coast paper voices the most
| favorable comment, the Los Angeles
Express stating: The Louisiana plan
undoubtedly has its faults. Men rarely
! plan perfection. But If adopted, 1t
would result in clearing the storehouses
| of the surplus cotton, and probably at a
price which would net some profit to
| growers" The Columbia Is. CO. State
| supports another plan in its statement:
| :It seems imperative that the Govern
| ment should make every effort to get
more cotton into foreign markets, and
that there be real potent organization
at home to extend the use of cotton
here. It can be DONE" AS to the pro-
posal that the State borrow money to
advance to farmers, taking their cotton
at 80 per cent of its market price and
holding it until the price reaches 8
cents, the State comments: Simply
to advance money on cotton, with no
means of forcing reduction, is following
in the footsteps OF the Farm Board
Unless the State radically reduce pro-
duction. who can say when cotton will
again sell for cents pound?"
Action by South Carolina, notwith-
standing the failure of the Long plan
in Texas, inspires the statement by the
Charleston Is. CO. Evening Post that
"the adoption of corpse Is grue-
,, some business This action causes the
Spartanburg Herald to suggest that
evidently the Legislature believed 1t
was acting in response to the sentiment
of the great majority of the cotton
growers in the State" but that paper
holds that "in the nature of things in
the other cotton-g growing States 1t ap-
pears Ineffective" The Charlotte News
thinks that mo matter how generous,
subsidy will only succeed in prelonglng
losing struggle" suggests as the rem
edy that "the cotton farmer ana the
grower of wheat must revise their
schedules, lower their costs, dispense
with farms of such small size that they
constitute an utterly uneconom1c unit. .
The Madison Wisconsin State Journal
sees the same problem as in wheat,
concluding that 1.-The governors OF the
Southern States perceive that only
better distribution and the raising OF
the ability to buy of persons needing
the product will in the end meet the
problem
\ n
Observing that the Long plan has
blown up with the suddenness with
which it was conceived" the Roanoke
World News offers the general conclu-
sion: powers to regulate individual
conduct and use of privately owned
land. if assumed by State governments
under stress of the present emergency.
would not be surrendered by them when
the emergency has passed. 1t Is only
step from prohibiting planting of cot
ton to law making it mandatory on
every farmer that he shall raise so
much of a certain commodity whether
he wants to or not" The Admission
star maintains that Texas action lin
iting the 1892 acreage to 80 per cent
sounds the death knell for the pro-
posal of Gov. Long" and that the ac-
ton of the South Carolina legislators
is likely to be futile gesture"
cit should be clear to every cotton
grower. !" advises the Fort Worth STAR
Telegram, S.that there's no magic In