Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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WALl STREIT CONTROL OF COSTS SOUTERN speculators, Who N Never Buy It,. "1 By Wm. Few understand the technical opera-l t us' of cotton exchanges anal the in .oide niachinery- conducive to the mani ,,ul tein of prices. To this lack of * wiage may be partly attributed ? ' dd fe~nt legislaton that has: from time to time been enacted agains.ot ton exchanges. 4 Exchanges in general ,and the New ork Stock and Cotton Exchanges in nrtlcular, are like giant spiders spin-. ng an interminable web over the commercial economy of the nation, matching the unsatspecting adventurer in business. The spinning has been carried on so long, and has so many ramifications of political strength, ,th.at the threadi.of the web have be gome like cables of steel, which can be cut and destroyed only by the steel saw- of public opinion sharpened to the actual truth of the case. The mystery of cotton exchanges their history, function, use and abuse, and how these giant gambling palaces keep within the .law and thrive, con stitute a story well worth the relat ing. At the feast of the New York Cot 4In Exchange in 1920, in celebration -h fthe fiftieth anniversary of. its or ganization, a pioneer member' told how otton.exchanges came into exis tence. He said that back in the fifties and sixties, cotton merchants traded a more primitive way, more from hand to mouth, and had not developed the great modern system of buying and selling for -future dplivery, of contracting for heavy deliveries far ahead, which system, as we know= give a tremendous expansion to business, and, furthermore, instills into it a high sense of honor and trust, and develops business acumen. Their trading was on a narrow scale because they lacked the protective facilities for large scale trading, such as high ly organized insurance companies to asume the risks on their stocks. As the demands of trade grew, how pver, one New York merchant took the initiative by offering to deliver cotton to a foreign buyer, at a fixed *ice on a future date several months ahead. That transaction was the fore runner of the establishment of the fNew York Cotton Exchange. A few years later, in 1870, the Exchange was established. Thus, the cotton world is given a liquid trading center for dealing in cotton for future delivery. There are two official cotton ex e .anges which is the leader, and the New Orleans Cotton Exchange. These are known as cotton-future exchange-s, since they are markets for trading in The Celebrated N Blankets This is an extra h< white with blue bor< and 76 inches. $4.01 $2.98 Children's C Mothers,- it's now ply their needs-ou line of New Fall Co one carried over in line. New Smart Co extremely practical Winter Wear-fasio color. Poliare and with beayerette fur in the velvet coats, at. Sizes 3 to 6 year colored polaire And 7 to 14 years ,Boys' Fleeced Un They are the her Jaeger 'Fleece. Mal made full. These will stand hard wea sturdy boy some w~ wear, which will fit t vice. Sizes 6 to 14 79c 7 Sure Thing Ba Random 75c Straightening C1 $2 Work Pants, sale 75c Heavy Fleecec Drawers5 ... $1.75 Hanes' Union 20c Collars, Linen sale price. $1.25 Aeroplane C Shirts --.~ 6 - $2.50 Large Gray ( kets, sale priee PEOT COTTON PRIGES PLANTERS MILLIONS Y(ARLY ver See Staple, and )eal" in Futures. BUTLER "futures," that is, cotton for future delivery. There are four great -cotton-future exchanges in the world, 'the two in America, one in Liverpool and one at 1 Alexandria, Egypt. Cotton-future ex changes have also been established at Havre, France, Sao Paulo, Brazil, Yokohama, Japan, and at New Bed ford, Massachusetts the latter for trading in cotton.ol long staple var iety, such as the fancy varieties grown in the far West and off the coast of the Carolinas. These exchanges are of minor significance as speculative markets when compared to the four first named. Cotton Futures and Market A seat on the New York or New Orleans Cotton Exchange sells as high as $18,000. The New Orleans Cotton Excvhange occupies a magni ficent new structure, a show-place of that city. The New York Cotton Ex change is constructing a two-million dollar building for its future home. Thus ,the official exchanges are pre paring for an expansion of specula tive trading, and are apparently con fident of the future. There is a distinction between a cot ton-future exchange and a regular cotton market where the world buys supplies of cotton. Cotton markets are located principally in the southern states, near the heart of lotton-grow ing sertions, in lities surh as Galves ton and Houston, Savannah, Montgo mery, Memphis, and so on, and are called "spot markets." Great quanti ties of cotton are shipped to these markets, where it is sold to street buyers and merchants, or stored in warehouses to be sold to factors and mills. The lifeblood of the cotton growing world flows through these big spot markets, where transactions ofr actual cotton take place. On the future exchange, however, cotton is never seen. A visitor to one o fthe exchanges has the impression at first, that he is entering bedlam, or perhaps a wild animal show. A dense crowd of 50 or 60 men are hovered over a sunken pit, waving arms and yelling in hoarse voices, loud enough to awaken the Seven Sleepers. Their yelling is wholly un intelligible to the visitor. The uproar continues from 10 a. in. to 3 p. m. They are the brokers of the Exchange and are trading in cotton on paper, that is to say, are auctioning off con tracts, which represent one hundred bales of cotton each, 500 pounds to ai bale, the cotton supposedly to be de hvered at some future date. But Vool Nap savy quality, ler. Size 60 ) value, now oats time to sup r wonderful ats-not but our entire E ats for girls, - for Fall and ned of plain velvet, some 2ollars, sizes 2 to 9 years Our' first - ---$2.98 33 1-3 per c< in the plamn shipments e ------$4.45 of the sale. ------$5.98 our profit a] . need a dress ion Suits choice, for t tvy kind in They corn :le well and Beautifully Union Suits Twill and S< r. Get that arm under nd give ser aiges. FINA rgain at Ladies shou . 200 hats, you w( styles. See ther mnibs .. 35c . will qiot be disar price $1.49 sp~ace to quote ai est-T1he New] I Shirts and come in tan, red . -- --.9.....49c uits ...$1.29 ThecmE i and Rubber, They pin inw -----------10c pink. Don't ovc loth Work --- -89c lAmuIs' I iotton Blan- These are nov ----$198 the regular pric - * $2.50 Spqrt II * Children's B1en LES 3' owing to the elasticity of the contract only a very small portion of it is ever delivered. When a contract is sold over the of ficial trading pit, the price per pound and month of delivery named in the cbntract are immediately marked on the. blackboard of the Exchange, and this quotation is then flashed by wire to all parts of the cotton world, as the latest official price paid for cot ton for future delivery. Contracts thus bought and sol dare called "fu tures." "Futures" excite in man the passion to gamble on the outcome of the fu ture. The majority of traders, and in fact brokers themselves see so little of raw cotton that they lose apprecia tion of. its merits, and do. not seem to know or care whether- thoyr are trading in cotton or chalk-marks. Their consuming purpose is, to grab profits on contracts as quickly as pos sible. The future exchange, as we see, is the gambling side of the cotton busi ness and, therefore, the rotten side. It is more of a sham than an essential cotton narket, a clearing house for gambling in fictitious cotton. It has certain beneficial features which will be shown later. As an illustration of how some bu siness men regard the vocation of broker and speculator ,a story comes to my mind about a cotton broker who went to considerable effort to compile and print an elabovate booklet on cot ton speculation and prices ,endeavor in gto show his clients what he know on the subject. lie mailed several thousand copies to them, and then waited to receive their compliment-.ry remarks. The first reply was from a buisness man in Texas, who return ed the booklet with the following words written acros the title-page: "Why don't you go to work?" Al though the broker would laugh when telling this story ,he confessed that the words aroused in hi mdeip chag rin. Markets, like individuals, cannot move ia an orderly way without a re cognized leader, sonic leading market to guide the smaller markets in quot ing prices. The New York Cotton change, although from 1,000 to 3,000 miles from the eastern and western sections of the cotton belt, and hand ling less than five per cent of the whole crop, holds the distinction of being the all-powerful leader of cot ton prices. Its sway over the south ern spot markets is so far-reaching and inexorable, that cotton merchants in those markets cannot afford to buck this influence and keep solvent. Consequently, when prices at New York decline, prices in the southern spot markets invariably decline. Accept New York Prices Why this power? Because the com mercial world accepts the New York Cotton Exchange as the head of op erations, the official trading center of the cotton world, the index of supply and demand. And the powers be hind the Exchange have the money and organization to hold this recog nition, in spite of the fact that it is (Continued on page Six) WAL Ladies' Silk an sale on these dresses were re nt. off. While we have pJut c very day which places our stc These dresses are bought at e ong to you. We have made c ,now or in the future, it will be prices have never been so.1 e in Silk, Crepe de Chine. an trimmed with beads, frills at ~rge-Combining all the lates SILK DRESSES 6.95 AND UP L CUT ON MIILLINERtY Id you see our latest shipment of uld marvel at their beauty and their .e before they are picked over. You pointed in the prices. We only have fewv prices. This is one of~the lat ?rench Felt Flapper Hlats-Thecy blue, and brown - -....._-_-_....49 'FLEECED P)ET~IvFOATs good( quality Outing in plain bluie, iite, also .in neat stripe of blue and rlook this-_-_-----------.........49c LACK SILK BEAVER HATs andl very popular. $3.00 would be . Final sale price-....__......1.8 sts for Misses and Ladies' --..$1.29 ver Hata ----- -- ------.79c and up [ERCA] SUMTER. So Everybody Smilit N U KATZ U2 U IClean Sv C Get in line! Come arou hard times--Prosperity v goods at the Clean Su are the lowest. IFRIDAY,, U * For One Hour, 9 t w give you with a $5.1 U Bag of best grade - FLOUR U U* Look for the l Katzoff's I MANNI] U SMASHING ,LOP OW ON! d Wool Dresses duced from regular pr'ices 20 p~er cent to ut hundreds of them-we are receiving ek nearly to where it was in the beginning pecial pri'ce concessions, and we wviii pass ur final reduction on this line and if you be to your advantage to pick out your ow and won't he again soon. d Taffeta, Russian Crepp, and Taffeta. d ornaments-Wool Tricotine, Poi ret t styles with first class tailoring. WOOL DRESSES $7.95 AND) UP L4A)IEs' COATiS, S2.98 These are brand new Coats. Aftade from heavy wool novelty cloaking material. They come in dark fancy patterns. Some have inlay velvet collars, some jli Bainks are l ltin anid soi i belt. Thw in o-- ------ ---------------------------..$2.98 LAl)IES' SUITS, $8.'E This lot of suits which we adIvertisedl in our open ing sale bill for $9.95, and we only have a few left - Suit in' this lot formerly as high as $40.00. To clear our racks ---- ----- ---- ----------- -- -- 8. F'INALI CUTI ON MI JlLIN ERY cO$5. in b utiful sha<de of br n and ay loi novet shapSes. Mny to hoose from nail pri-e while they last ------------ - ----.--.-$2.98 NTILE CO uth Carolina. Page Three Afer Attendinq M OFF'S. | veep Sale I rid and Smile! Forget the rill soon arrive--Buy your eep Sale, as the prices U NOV. 17th 1 S10 A. M., we will 90 purchase, a 12 lb. I FREE! I U 3ig BLUE Sign! Dept. Store, I VG, S.C. *EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.......j Men's Cotton Sweaters These are good heavy quality long fiber cotton sweaters, large turn up collar. Now is the sea son for them---This is the place to get them at a low price .-..95c Ladies' Semi and Dress Shoes Semi-dress in velour in black and tan, medium heel, rubber. Dress Shoes in fine kid skin, black and tan, low and medium heel. A stylish shoe. $4.00 value, sale price --__-_..--_-__-_...$2.95 Ladies' black and tan $5.00 Ox fords, also some p)atent leather in lot-a snappy andl comfo rtable oxford, military and walking heels, rubber-..______ 2.98 Ladies' Bed Room Slippers, every imaginable color .95c We have gone through our stock and replenished our barrel of Ladies' Slippers. Better values now -- __.- - -$1.00) pair Ladies' Wool Hose Are selling fast. We have on. spceially good numbler' in Silk and Wool Mixed in two tone col or. It is a regular $1.25 value', sale price --___.....------89c L adies' Heavy Fleecedl G~owns Theyl( Come in plain colors andl fancy strip~es. Neatly trimmed with braids. Some self trimmed. Thlese gowvns are well worth $1.50. All out in one bin for choice --- ----- --- --- --..-98c IMPANY.