Evening star., 1933-06-20
Cotton the King Again.

The Government and the cotton in
dustry itself are moving rapidly to bring
the benefits Of the farm relief act and
the industrial recovery act to that great
basic industry, to the farmers in the
South and to the textile mills Of the
South and the North. The problem Is
attacked on two fronts. In the first
place, the Secretary of Agriculture has
put forward his plan for material cut
In the cotton crop, using authority
granted under the farm relief act. His
plan contemplates the leasing Of cotton
lands, at rates varying from 81 to $40
production this year. The rate Of the
lease payment will depend upon the
productivity per acre of the land. An
optional plan for the cotton farmer Is
a cash payment for abandoning a per-
centage Of his acreage plus an option
on cotton owned by the Government.
The payment per acre under this alter
native would be $6 to $12 an acre and
the option on the cotton would be at
six cents a pound, giving the farmers
the opportunity to share In price ad
vances for cotton.
The Secretary 5f Agriculture under
the farm act also Is to put into effect
the so-called professors tax, which is
designed to finance the operations for
the benefit of the cotton producers.
The tax Is to be levied on the makers OF
cotton goods Of all kinds. This tax,
In the case Of cotton, will be the dif-
ference between the average farm price
of cotton and the pre-war parity price
Of l2.4 cents per pound. With cotton
prices advancing, this difference may
be wiped cut, making q processing tax
impossible. The price Of spot cotton
as quoted yesterday in New York was
9.35 cents per pound, with Southern
spot markets ranging 20 to Is points
lower. Secretary Wallace In announc-
ing his plan for crop reduction pointed
out that the prospects for . heavy crop
tAiAo yCai uiC 8OO0, tllat ouA Rluo VA
cotton in this country running into the
millions Of bales has come over from
previous years.
Meanwhile, under the provisions OF
the industrial recovery act, the cot
ton mill industry is submitting q code
to the Government for approval, look
ing to fixing minimum wages for the
workers and to limiting the hours Of
labor per week. 1t is reported that two
thirds Of the members Of the cotton
textile industry are willing to agree
upon a code and hearings are to be
held on June 27. The minimum wages
to be paid per week are $40 in the
Southern mills and $l1 in the North
ern. and a forty-hour work week is
proposed. The Cotton Textile Institute
is the first to file such a code. But
other industries are moving fast in this
direction and soon the attack on in
dustrial depression under the new re-
covery act will be in full swing.
The effort to improve the condition
Of the cotton farmers and the cotton
mill industry in this country is great
experiment. The fact that the majO
portion OF the American cotton crop
is for export purposes complicstes
the situation very greatly. But under
the now proposed management OF cot
Ton production and the cotton industry
1t is hoped that benefits will now to
the cotton farmer and to the cotton
mill owner and the mill operative. Old
ideas OF competition are cast aside
Cooperation Is to be substituted At
the same time the Government agen-
cies are promising that the consuming
public will be protected against too
great increases in prices CT the cotton
goods it buys.