Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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GAIN ADVANTAGES BY POOLING CROP Grower Get* Interest in Larger Lot* ?Middlemen Kept Out. CJemson College, May 17,?To an individual grower the pooling of his crop of cotton under the cooperative marketing plan means swapping the specific bales grown by him for pro portional interests in much larger lots of cotton. The number of lots in which he owns an interest will be determined by the number of differ ent kinds or grades of cotton pro duced by him. For example, if the growers belonging to the associa tion produce 1,000 bales of good middling and one of the members, John Doe produces 100 bales of that 10,000, then John Doe in pooling trades in his hundred bales and re ceives a 1 per cent interest in the entire pool of 10,000 bales. The pools are made up of cotton belong ing only to growers who are mem bers of the association. Pooling gives each grower certain advan tages which are explained below. Advantages of Pooling (1) Pooling gives the grower the advantage of accurate grading. (2) Pooling gives the grower the advantage to be gained from selling cotton in large, even running lots. Tbe work of assembling cotton in such lots is now done by middlemen but the association would do it through pooling at cost, thus cutting out one or two middlemen. (3) Pooling gives the grower the average price received for cotton, less costs of operating the associa toin. This may be regarded by some as an advantage and by others as a disadvantage, depending on whether the particular grower fears that he will sell his own cotton on the low est market of the year or is confi dent that he will be able to pick the time of highest prices. It must be generally conceded, however, that growers can not determine before hand the best time to sell, and ?hat by averaging the price a certain amount of gambling is taken out of the selling operation. (4) Pooling makes it possible for growers to market their cotton in an orderly way over a longer period of time and thus saves the losses in curred in dumping most of the crop in four months. (5) Poolng enables the growers to eliminate comnetition amon'e themselves in the selling of the crop. This means that competition will be limited to the economical production of the crop and this is the only fair field for competition among growers. Without pooling, some growers, because of their in dividual circumstances, will always sell cotton for Jess than it has cost them to produce it. This is manifest ly unfair to the industry as a whole and growers have known this for many years. Length of Pooling Period If a crop is a non-perishable, is produced only once a year and is in fairly regular demand over a period of 12 months the fair pooling period would be one entire season. Of course in the case of crops, such as truck, the value of which is fixed partly by their earliness, the pool ing period should be made shorter as one day being used in some cases. The fairet pooling period for cotton would be one year. Any shorter period would leave the field open for speculation, which in the long run does not benefit the grower. When' pooled cotton is put on the market, it ds sold with the single idea of benefitting the pool as a whole, and no advantage can b? granted to one grower over anothei in the same pool. All pay a pro rat': share of the necessary expenses and all receive the same net price pei pound for cotton in the same pool The fact that a grower may happer to beone of the directors would nol give him any advantages whicl would not apply to every othe] grower in exactly the same way. A farmers' cooperative marketing association handling as much a: 400,000 bales of cotton . in Soutl Carolina, would truly be a large en terprise, and the only plan tha would be absolutely fair, square anc above-board, with no possibility fo: favoritism, would be pooling. THREE BILLION OYSTERS WERE CONSUMED IN U. S. LAST YEAI New York, May 19.?Three billioi oysters were consumed by the peopl< of the United States last year tw< GOVERNMENT WINS COURT VICTORIES Washington, May 17?Through de cisions of the supreme court today, the government won two important victories in controversies involving | interpretation of income provisions of the revenue acts of 1916 and 1917 Increased value of a capital asset could not be added to 'invested cap ital" the court ruled in the appeal [ of the La Belle Iron Works, an Ohio concern, from a ruling by treasury , officials but on the contrary must be considered in computing the profits j of the corporation on which the tax es were to be assessed. In the other decision, the court ruled that inheri tance taxes paid to a state could not be deducted from the "net estate" taxes under the revenue act. The La Belle Iron works suit was characterized by a high government i official as 'the most important legal . suit affecting federal finances to arise . in several decades.' The specific point > at issue was whether ore lands in the 1 Mesabi range of Minnesota purchas ed for $190,000 prior to 1904, could be returned by the iron company at a new valuation of $10,000,000 in 1917, the increase being covered by a stock issue and carried under in vested capital. Meaning Perfectly Clear "We think the meaning of the act J as to 'invested capital' is perfectly) clear," said Justice Pitney in deliv ering the court decision" ... it defined this term to mean (1) actual cash paid in, (2) the actual cash val ue at the time of payment of assets other than cash paid in, and (3) paid in or earned surplus and undivided profits used or employed in the busi ness,' but not include money or other property borrowed. "When speaking of the capital of a business corporation or partnership such as the act deals with 'to invest' imports a laying out of money or moneys' worth with a view to ob taining income or profit from the conduct of a business. "In order to adhere to this restrict ed meaning and avoid exaggerated valuation, the draftsman of the act resorted to the test of including nothing but money, or money's worth actually contributed or converted in . exchange for shares of capital stock, i or actually acquired through the business activities of the corporation or partnership and coming in ab ex tra by way of increase over the orig inal capital stock. How consistently this was carried out becomes evident if the section (section 207) is exam-; i ined in detail. . . . "The same controlling thought is J , carried into the proviso. Every line) shows evidence of a legislative pur i pose to confine the account to such ; .tems as were paid for. in stock or . shares/Specifically issued for it, and : to their values 'at time of such pay - ment.'" Millions in Balance. Hundreds of millions of dollars in i i taxes hung upon the decision, there j i being but few partnerships or cor porations which did not have on j | their books an item showing material! | sums resulting from appreciated j i value of capital assets. I The inheritance tax case was brought to the supreme court by ex. J ecutors of the estate of the late J.j Harsen Purdy of New York. No less than five states had collected taxes j on the turnover of parts of the estate within their jurisdiction and the ex-; i ecutors claimed that all these sums should be deducted before federalj > taxes on the "net estate" could be: > legally computed. Refusal of tax col- j t lectors to agree to this contention ? was upheld in turn by the treasury j department and the federal courts; ? and today, by the supreme court. , [ The "net estate" contemplated in ( 'the act the opinion said was the en . tire residue remaining to be distrib-' i uted after the immediate charges,1 h such as 'funeral expenses and debts.' . had been met. Imposition of the fed-j r eral tax did not interfere with the! right of the state to control the prop- j ? erty within its borders of a decent' j the court ruled. ^ i ! . I hundred million more than in 1919. | t! These statistics were submitted to j ] the fourteenth annual convention of, r the Oyster Growers' and Dealers' as sociation of "North America by Eu gene D. McCarthy, recording secre tary. He said growers had planted this year only 75 per cent of the nor t'mal crop because of a scarcity of! seedlings and increased labor costs. J i Wm. H. Killian, of Baltimore, was e re-elected president of the associa j tion. I GIVES REASONS FOR DEPRESSION Rail Chief Declares Freight Charges Not the Cause of Stagnation. FARM PRODUCTS ARE CITED RiifiinPftc rtanre&sion and Lack of I , Demand the Real Trouble. Washington, D. C.?In testifying be fore the Senate Committee on Inter state Commerce, \rtiich Is conducting an inquiry into the railroad situation, Julius Kruttschnitt, chairman of the hoard of the Southern Pacific com pany, went into great detail as to the effect of freight rates on produce ship ments, foreign and domestic. The main points he made in this part of his testimony were: First?That buslneu depression is not the result of high freight rate*. 8econd?That the real cause of stag nation in produce shipments Is lack f market or profiteering. He said, In part: A widespread pr?^agnnda is being carried on to arouse public sentiment against existing freight rates, whereas the fact is that even since the rites have been advanced the cost of trans porting commodities Is far less than the t?>ll taken by the commission mer chant and the retailer for buying and selling them. Public Misled as to Situation People are misled and conclude that high rates have stopped ttie raovemenr of a large amount of freight and that the railways would make more money if they would reduce the rates and thereby revive the traffic. There 1b the strongest reason to be lieve that the very great reduction In traffic has been due almost entirely to general business conditions that are world-wide III their effect, and that would have come if there had been no advnn<f> In freight rates. Prices of commodities reached their maximum in the first half of the year 1920 and thereafter fell with great rapidity in France, the United States and the United Kingdom. The fall In the United States began In May, and was rapidly on its way downgrade in September, when the advanced rates took effect. Nevertheless traffic did not drop for nt least four months. Slump Not Caused by Higher Rates It was a general deflation and fall In prices from the heights to which they bad been driven by war condl- j tions that has caused a stagnation of i business throughout the world. That It Is not caused by the cost of j transportation is convincingly shown | by the fact that stoppage of buying has caused an oversupply of ships, hence ocean tonnage rates have been recently at the lowest points in their history. Notwithstanding these low rates, ocean traffic shows as great stagna tion as rail traffic, and millions of tons of shipping here and abroad are rust Ins away in Idleness. Many commodi ties w??uid not move even if the freight charges on* them were abolished en tirely, because producers can find no market. That the decline in business is not due to prohibitive freight rates is shown by the following examples: In January of this year the total tonnage of lines west of El Paso and Ogden operated by the Southern Pa cific Company fell off 41 per cent. The combined Intrastate freight ton- i nage In Arizona and Nevada declined 50 per cent although no Increase In the Intrastate freight rates In those States has been as yet authorized or made effective. This decrease em braced grain, hay and livestock, as well as ores and other commodities. COTTON UN8HIPPED FOR LACK OF MAKKET8 Of a Texas cotton crop of over four million bales, 40 per cent remains un marketed. The average fOst of rail and water shipment from producing point to Liverpool has been reduced about $1.23l/a per 100 pounds, in the face of which about one-hair million bales of cotton less than normal have been exported to Liverpool. Obviously the freight rate Is not responsible for the restricted movement. During September, October, and November, 1920, 45 per cjnt less rice. 60 per cent less canned salmon and 77 per cent less dried fruit were ex ported than during the same months of the previous year, although the reduction In ocean rates was sub stantially more than the Inoreaae In Inland rail ratea. so that the material decline In the exports of theae com- ' mod It lee wae In the fact of a liu ag gregate coat of transportation. The Case of the Fruit Growers The troubles of the California lemon grower have attracted much attention. He claims he Is unable to ship his prod uct because of the increased freight rates. A removal of all the recent In crease of the rate on lemons would not help him. He has a rate by sea through the Panama Canal of less than half? 48 per cent?of the rail rate, yet his lemons are not marketed. The average price of a cantaloupe laid down In New York In the season of 1920 was not quite 11 cents. As they were retailed at about 25 cents, there Is a further profit to somebody of 14 cents per cantaloupe. The manageri of the propaganda for u general reduction of freight rato? have lost sight of the fact that In Oc tober, 1020, 1,195,821 carloads of coal were moved, being the maximum mov ed in any month In the preceding two years, although It was handled at the advanced freight iates, and we have heard nothing as to coal being pro duced at a loss or of the coal mirif owners going out of business because of existing freight rates. The percentage of freight charge to valse in the early part of 1021 I 1 almost exactly the same as It wu i 1914. HINTS TO IRISH POTATO SHIPPERS Clemson College.?Much of the loss in southern new potatoes in transit and in the markets is caused by field cuts and bruises and by the practice of allowing the potatoes to remain exposed to the sun after dig ging. Careful grading will increase the growers' profits and will make a surer and more constant, market for his products, suggest the mar keting agents of the Extension Ser vice. It is important to keep the skin of the potato intact. In handling new potatoes this requires great care. Cars should be loaded according to a definite plan. Loaders should secure the maximum of ventilation throughout the load and avoid me thods that allow shifting and break age in transit. The double-headed barrel is the] most satisfactory package for new potatoes. The heads should be secur ed by "head-liners." The barrels us ed should conform to the specifica tions of the U. S. standard barrel. Barrels loaded on end carry better than those loaded on other sides. Constipation is the fore runner of 85% of all human ills. It brings on more suffering, more sleeplessness, more ill-temper than any other single cause. But YOU CAN GET RID of constipation. Nor do you have to take any nauseating, griping medicines to do it. Take TTH I AY AV1VI X J. - JUJ. RICH-LAX is a new treatment It cleans the system, removes the poisons from the body, and puts you in shape to accomplish things. And RICH-LAX does this wi thout leaving you weak and half-sick, ai you &l ways f<;el after taking ordinary laxatives. Guaranteed at Ou? Store. We are so sure that Ricb-Lax will please you that we want rou to come la our atore and get a bottle and trr it en tirely nt our risk. If it doesn't ?uit you. if it ian't the beat laxative mtdicine you erer used, limply tell ui so and we trill promoUy refund tJie full purchJiae price. McMURRAY DRUG COMPANY. n am irres ity. It i advertis portun consum locality. THE Cloth-topped 'barrels do not pro tect their contents as effectively as those having double heads. Sacks do not sufficiently protect new potatoes from cuts and bruising If used, those holding 90 to 120 pounds are the most desirable for careful handling and ventilation of the contents. Hampers should not be used. If crates are used they should be so made as to protect the potatos from too rapid evaporation and conse quent shriveling. v Packages should be marked with the weight or dry measure of their contents. . . If stock cars are used, it is advis ^ 1_ 1 - X J. J. .4.1 X- i. T _l_l a Die ro protect, uie puwnves irom ine sun and weather by lining certain of the open parts with strong build ing paper. Hie Best By Ev< Less Carbor Guaranty Mil< Sherar "Service first-Sal SPAPER adver g is the lifeblooc trade, because i i s all consume: in every commun nves the nationa er the same op ity for complete er appeal in an] More than $700,0 last year for new by merchants and PRESS AND BA FRUIT OF THE LOOM BRINGS NEW PRICE New York, May 15..?A new price of 58 cents for l'J-4 bleached fru:t of the loom, now beinjf made in tte same construction of 4-4 goods, was announced today. Trade in brows and grey goods continued steady and sheetings were in better eaD. Yarn markets were firm with a mod erate increase in inquiry and trad ing. Official confirmation of lrariap shipments from Calcutta in ApriS revealed the smallest outgo in many months, -being less than half the volume in March. A new carpet lidt will be issued next week and sight ly higher prices aie looked for. Silk hosiery was in active demand, an< scarce for quick delivery. Watch the label on your paper. ? t rn ;ry Practical 1 est \ and Worry ;ed More 3a ge d Bros. tisfaction always" \ . ; a J 100,000 was spent paper advertising manufacturers. NNFR 141111411 T