Evening star., 1933-07-09
PRESIDENT URGES
COTTON REDUCTION
Importance of Program En-
phasized in Letter to Sec
rotary Wallace.
BY the Associated Press.

=
President Roosevelt, a cotton grower
in his own right, last night urged cot
ton producers to join the acreage re-
duction program promptly next week
in the interest of reducing supply and
improving long-range prices for the
staple.
His message, in which he described
as "absurdly low" prices he has re-
ceived for cotton grown on his land
near Warm Springs, Ga, was issued
in the form of letter to Secretary
Wallace, who made it public in an ad-
dress in which he reported that the
campaign has met with hearty re-
Spouse from farmers. 1t was not dis
closed whether the President has yet
signed a reduction pledge for his land.
L want you to make 1t very clear
that 1 attach the greatest possible i'm
portance to the cotton adjustment cam
paign,'' the message of the President
said. 1T is our first major attack on
the agricultural depression.
Question of Readiness.
L know that for the past two weeks
the representatives of the farm adjust
ment administration have been pre-
senting to the 100000 producers of
cotton the hard facts of supply and
demand, but the real question is, are
the cotton growers ready to recognize
these facts and seize their opportunity?
Il myself am one of those who, as
planter of cotton, has suffered from
the absurdly low prices of the last few
years. What I am concerned about
and what every other cotton grower
ought to think about, is the price of
cotton next year if cotton acreage is
not reduced. ="
Farm administrators officially de-
scribed their first major program to
adjust American farm production
downward an unqualified success" in
announcing that cotton growers had
signed contracts offering to pillow up
5,566,l69 acres of their growing crop.
Secretary Wallace at the same time
extended the period for growers to sign
contracts. which was to have ended last
night, to midnight Wednesday and
said later extensions would be made if
necessary SO that every cotton grower
would be given chance to enter the
program. They desire to cut the po-
tential crop by at least 5000 900 bales
and Wallace and George N. Peek, chief
administrator of the farm act. indi-
Gated confidence that this goal would
be achieved.
40,798, 900 Acreage Report.
Earlier yesterday the Crop Reporting
Board, in its first cotton estimate this
year. reported the acreage as of July
was 40,798 900 acres, an increase of 11.6
per cent over last year.
The board will make its first pro-
duction estimate in August. but on the
basis of the longtime average yield in
the cotton belt of one-third Of bale
to the acre this would indicate a po-
tential crop Of about 13,500,000 bales.
BY cutting production 100000 bales
or more. Wallace hoped this years
crop might be brought to about TO-
100000 bales. There is carryover
of American cotton.
program means that processing tax
of about cents a pound will go into
effect around August /. At the same
time the floor stocks of cotton process
sors and wholesalers will be subjected
to tax Retailers will have 80 days in
which to dispose of their stocks OIL
hand before they are taxed.
Wallace said the Bureau Of Internal
Revenue was attempting to work out
conversion factors to be used in de-
termining the amount Of tax to be ap-
piled to cotton goods on the floor.
Also when the processing tax be-
tax of an equal amount will become
effective. The movement of raw COT
ton to American sources has long been
insignificant, however as more than
one-half of this country'S production
ordinarily is expected. ...