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some phases of cotton situation Some of the Potent Reasons Why Farmers Should Not Rush Cotton on Market w ' There are some phases of the pres ent cotton situation which I do no' think are generally understood in th< South and which I believe we mus' have a thorough understanding of it order that the coming crop and th< carry over of the last crop may be handled intelligently and advantage ousHy. ^The carry over of the last crop i mostly of low grade cotton of every length produced by the last^crop and ^of high grade cotton of 3-4 inch to 7-5 inch staple. Never in my career as a farmer and cotton handler have 1 seen such an urgent demand for cot ton which would class 1 inch or longer in length. Considerable prem iums have recently been obtained for well classed cotton full 1 inch in staple and very wide premiums for 1 1-1.6 inch, while regular staple cotton ?1 3-16 inch to 1 3-S inch?:.n high grades have brought the highest prices in fifty years.. We have today paid 50c on our local market for 1 1-4 smooth, well handled strict to good middling cotton. The American demand is now almost exclusively for 1 inch and longer cottons of strict low middling to good middling grade. Most of the low grades and short lengths of the new crop as well as the same classes of cotton in the old crop will have to be carried until a market cajn be found for them in Central Europe or elsewhere. The demand by American mills for longer cotton than they formerly used is entirelz*' logical. There has been an unusual demand at high prices for fine yarns and cloths and even the coarser yarns and cloths have recent ly shown an excellent margin -of, pro fit to the mills. The labor cost of manufacturing has greatly increased and the hours of labor have been shortened. Most Southern mills mak ing ccarse yarns formerly used cot ton averaging about 7-8 inch in length. The majority of these mills are now buying or trying to buy about 1 inch cotton as they Can get a much better production and thus in crease their profits and decrease their labor costs per pound. P.e-ides they can pleas?, their help by the work running better all through the mill. If the situation is as I have outlin ed it above, it will be suicidal to force short length or low grade cot ton on the market for some time; it will be extremely important to bend every effort to secure Ih* prompt signing of the peace treaties with the central European powers ' and then must be made the promptest possi ble arrangements to unload there our unmarketable cottons. It wiU be highly important Cor the new crop not to be blocked into the warehous es unclassed and unstapled. for. American mills will need at least six million bales of the better length cot tons besides* the amounts needed for export" "o our allies. _. /- . .. The'1918 crop, owing lo the ex tremely dry season, was in length ] shorter than normal over practically ;the>whole cotton belt. Thisvof course I greatly decreased the supply of cot i tons above one inch and increased the '? supply of cottons below one inch and hvhen the increased demand lor llu j longer .vngths came this sping. the.' I were not enough of the longa ?lengths available to go around '}a month or more <t?0 when the J New York market wasa round 35< 'A-we were actively looking over our ' J territory for cottons of full 1 inch tc I'll'1-16 inch in length and paying se: \\ eral cents premium over New York for them, while at the same time we ! were unable to sell the shorter [lengths at lc a pound below the New I York market. ; I expect full 1 inch and better cot j ton to continue to bring fair prchi j iums for several months although. J as we have had abundant rainfall over most of the belt recently, fhe staple of the new crop should be much better than that of the old and the deficiency in 1 inch and long i er cottons should gradually be filled; j It is . extremely important, therefore, j for every farmer to know the staple jot* the cotton he is going to offer for j sale this fall for ho is entitled to some ! premium if it will pull a full inch or j longer in staple even in normal times, j The Department of Agriculture has t recently gotten out a set of staple type 1 running: 7-8 inch, 1 inch. 1 1-8 inch ! etc. with 1-8 inch intervals up to 1 , 1-2 inch. I think our Agricultural j Department should get out the inter mediate stapie types, i. e., 15-16 inch, ! 1 1-16 inch, 1 3-16 inch, etc., and I that congress should establish thes? ] types as standards and require the ) arbitration of all disputes on staple fas well asvgrade by the Agricultural j Department. > ^ I think that arrangements should ? be made by the Agricultural Depart j ment to staple and grad-e every bale ; of cotton that sgoes into a warehouse j in the South and that properly drawn samples of each bale should be pre served by the warehousemen so the buyers may^check up the government j classers" and be responsible for their j own shipments. I am satisfied that I there is ? considerable quantity of 1 cotton in South Carolina warehouse? ! now which would net the farmer 35 j cents or better if he knew they gra.d i ed 1 1-16 inch and if the buyer I knew how to reach the owner of the cotton. !--??I have discovered by careful-obser : vation of staple for many years ; that during nearly every season there \ is a considerable variation of the i staple of cotton produced in any one ! field at different periods of the_pick ing season. For instance, last fall . iho very longest staple was produced 'at the very top, of the plant and much of the low grade cotton new in r:tcre is full 1 inch to 1 1-16 inch in length while the hierh grade cotton produced in the same fields were only 7-S inch to 1 inch. During one season a few years ago the balk of the cotton marketed in Hartsville up to the 23rd of Scp**m ber was about 1 3-16 Inch :n length.i "Within three days the bulk of th4 cotton; was running .1 1-4 inch and a. rive and < na Machine ffice ? number of buyers who had contracted [to deliver 1 :'>-i<j inch cotton had a ivery hard time gettirifg :t. About i July 20th a farmer brought to our office the .samples of over 100 bales of cotton all of one variety and pro duced on one farm. He was willing! ?; w ?itil tue round lot at s;ic." Our; "i stap4ers went through the lot and paid 'him 37o for 2:', bales. We could not .! have sold the balance of his lot with > i.i sovoral .-en..; per pound oi; this r J ?"vrice r?nd ?*ons.?un*ihtly could not use ? the round lot at 35c. >?? The movement to held, warehouse ? and finance the cotton crop until a :: fair price is offered for if is very im ! portaht, but it is equally important ?j that arrangementsbe perfected by which- the farmer ran sell his cotton when the market decs want it at a j fair price. Tbc time past when j i any farmer can afford to sell his cot-! j ton unsamHcd in the warehouse on! ja basis of middling, for all cotton' j mills must know the staple as well j i as the grade of the cotton they are! j buying and no buyer can intelligently; j estimate the value of a lot of cotton j j without knowing its staple as well as j j its grade.. ' ] .It is vitally important, that every i ! lot of cotton be taerged and sampled I before going into warehouse so that j jthe owner may be able to offer his lot ! I at any time without taking out th^ j cotton; j The big difference in value be- I j tween the shortest .^nd lor.ge.st of so-' j called short staple cotton will very j ; much complicate the matter of fixing j ia fair price for the cro? and should; i be carefully considered? by those, who ! undertake this responsibility. I Should no effective effort be made! ! to secure for the farmer the .prem- I j iums he is entitled to for extra sta- j : pie. it will encourage rather than dis- ; j courage th^ planting of the short es! l and most inferior varieties and put ? i the South more arid more into com- ] I petition with the inferior East Indian ! cottons. Arrangements? should be j made to force the consideration of j the staple as well as the grade or j every bale. The vicious practice, j prevalent in some sections, of buying on averages both as to grade and j staple should be eliminated every- j i where., "When this is done and th?e I I grade and staple of every bale are | j everywhere recognized- as the deter- j i mining factors in estimating the val-j j ue of all cotton, we will see an im- ? l mediate an<l enormous improvement j ! in the value of and net returns from j !vfc? cotton crop of the South. ,: David R. Coker. j iT-art.-n-iU". S. C; . ! SHERMAN ATTACKS PRESIDENT WILSON Denounces Proposal to Hold La hor Conference Washington] Sept. r>.?Senator Sher man today bitterly attacked in the senate President Wilson's statement that the international labor confer ence could :neet here whether th? treaty is ratified or not. ch'iracteriz ing it as a ''contemptuous disregard LABOR, CAPITAL AND PRICES (From the Springfield Republican) Labor Day this year is notable not on;y because n is a reminder of the unprecedented power of labor, organ ized to express itself collectively, but also because all economic classes are undergoing a process of education based en a remarkable economic ex perience. When the economic history of these times comes to be written, A.u?ust. 1219. may apear a turning "point?of what sort only a prophet could now say. But at least high prices then reached their peak, . if present evidences arc to hold good, as the result, of a governmental drive against them, initiated under the spur of labor union representations, yet concurred in very generally by capital as a sound policy. The price level in August has fallen somewhat under the concerted attacks made upon it and this fact has probably done more than anything else to weaken the ten dency toward strikes. The president of the United States, as in his Labor Day ,message, speaks with more influence in labor matters and the more conservative labor lead ers themselves are strengthened in their efforts to restrain the more rad- i ical labor groups. The past week has been conspicuous for such develop ments. The heads of the railroad shop unions have advised a waiting policy rather than walkouts and tie ups. The sporadic railroad strike in southern California was suppressed] by the railroad brotherhoods cooper ating with the government. Mr. Gomp ers* latest utterances indicate that his influence is being thrown on the side of moderation. The disturbing effects upon general business of re cent developments cannot 'be ignor ed, but the securities market late in the week reflected increased, confi dence by a sharp rise in railroad and industrial shares and by a consider able abatement of the selling pres sure in the bond market which has been notable for a month past. The threatened strike in the steel industry remains a dark cloud on the indus trial sky. however, and it is yet to be seen whether an accommodation can he brought about that will not-result in an industrial setback. Capital is getting educated these days as much as labor. It has learned that a high-price movement sooner or lat^r roaches a point where its own security is threatened by social and labor unrest. As Prof. Nicholson, the British economist, recently said in a lecture to London^bankers: "A continuance in the rise of prices is . . . dangerous to capital, because it may bring social revolution into the range of practical politics." This les son was suddenly impressed on Amer ican capital last montri, the lesson being dramatized for capital's benefit by the coincidence of the railroad brotherhoods' demand for railrca^f nationalen tion with their representa tion:- to the presiderrt- concerning wages and the high cost of living. It is no far-fetched conclusion that trio fall iiV prices durinpr August was partly due to the prompt recognition by the most powerful financial, pro ducing and distributing interests that the upward price movement had reached the utmost limit of safety. Capital, in short, sees that a fall in prices is now (o its own. advantage as weil as to society as a Whole, and it now hesitates to raise prices even when technical market conditions might warrant them. As for" labor, its education from current experience should not end with the discovery that it is useless to force higher wages if ,the higher! wages are absorbed in a higher cost' if living. It is more important to j labor to get prices down than to get! wages up. *Ar- a rule, economic his - j tory teaches that wage labor gains; from falling prices and loses by ris-! ing prices, provided that the fall in j prices is not attended by unemploy- j ment. Even before the war prices had j been rising for some years and wages had not risen in proportion to the rise! in the ju ices of the things labor most j needs to live op. During the war and) after, wages in certain strategic line:-? where labor was strongly intrenched for collective bargaining wore forced! up to profiteering levels.but the maso j of unorganized wage-earners and sal - j aried people wore cruelly pinched by j the exitreme cost of living. The real \ causes of the great rise in prices in war-time are now of vital interest to labor, if labor's influence is to be used rightly in hastening the restora tion of normal conditions instead of being used to strengthen the% forces of disintegration. One of the most essential things ahead of us is the increase of the production of the necessaries of life, hence strikes are a calamity because they hinder, production and incroasv prices. The Pennsylvania coal miners won't help the world along or labor in general by demanding at this time a Go per cent increase in wages and a six-hour day. The practice of thrift .??nd saving is today an economic vir tue of the highest value in all class es. Thrift and saving force produc tion our of unessential lines, and thus reduce the prices of tho necessaries by making them more abundant: :irifl and saving also increase the public's capacity to loan real money to the government and reduce the in flation which has attended the gov ernment's financing of the war. The matter of inflation has a direct bear ing on high prices, and labor cannot ? now too much about it for its own sake. There is a real price inflation in this country. ;is there is' in other countries, due to the enormous war : or rowings and expenditures of the govei nment. The government bor rowed heavily by an extension of . i-cdii and ii spont the money thus ! orrowtol at very high price levels for destructive purposes, lit his recent statement on inflation Governor Har ting of the federal reserve board rec ognized the truth in saying th:it the credit expansion, which many identi fy as inflation because of its effect ? ii pries, is measured l.?y "'the differ once between the total of the war ox . .. i m 0f government on one hand, and on the other the total .7,11 1 fi.--<i e> 1 !i<- sLov?.-rnuu*ni through taxation and by the sale of its obligations so far as paid for out of savings." And to remedy "the present situation'' not only must we "produce and distribute the iargest possible volume of commodities'" and "exercise reasonable economies" in consumption, but also, the govern ment's "obligations, so far as they are carried by the banks must be absorb ed" by the people out of actual earn ings. We have also a greatly ex panded currency, directly the result of the rise in prices, yet combining with credit inflation to maintain prices ! at a .high level. Labor ought to see its own advan tage in reducing this inflation, which is more fundamental, by insisting on f all possible curtailment of govern ment expenditures, especially of bor rowed money. In the next place. la bor may fairly ask if a lower price level may not be legitimately forced, gradually, of course, by deflating the curency of the country. If labor does its part in increasing production, as it ought, it may fairly demand that those responsible for our banking and curency policy shall neglect to take no steps by which the volume of money may be reduced without causing a shock to business. ( . Marriage Licenses. Colored: Marion F. Bradford of Sumter and Lucy B. Williams of Sum ter. ' Blliott McElveen of Sh?oh. and Hester Anderson of Shiloh. Death. R. L. Geddings after an illness of about eight months, died at the home of his sister. Mrs. R. J. Kolb, in the Privateer section of Sumter county on the morning of the 28th of August, aged about 52 years. He leaves two brothers, W. W. Geddings of Sumter and P. C. Geddings of Paxvillc. and the one sister besides several half broth ers and sisters and a host of friends to morn his death. He had never married, perhaps, on account of the burden of a widowed mother and younger brothers and a sister assum ed by him upon the death of his fath er thirty years ago. / "LeOrande" or "Uncle LcGrande" was a household word in many homes in Sumter, Clarendon and Richland counties, where his welcome' was al ways as genuine a:: the hospitality be accorded visitors to his farm home in Clarendon. He. was a Mason and his walk in life was that of an upright and per fect man. A,deacon of Calvary Bap tist Church of which since boyhood he was a pillar and Huppert, a gen tleman whose every act and deed pointed men to a nobier life. He was gentle and unassuming but substan tial in business, in religion and as neighbor and friend. He was gen erous to a fault, ever ready for any [sacrifice to render a service to any lone. He was a child in faith in God land his fellowman. a woman in mod ! esty and purity of character, a man when tempted to do a wrong. [ Lake Geneva. Wis.. Sept. 5.?The I Presbyterian New Era conference I went on record as favoring the im I mediate-ratification of the peace I treaty. Paris. Sept. 5.?Thirteen were kill ed and forty injured in a train col iision"today. Mexico jCity. Sept. 5.?The- mili tary authorities of Tampico district have reported the capture of four more bandits accused of complicity in the murder of John Corrcll oC ?Ida. Oklahoma. v When in need of Mai See our line t We have a large si and will be please SUMTER MARBL 107 Manning Ave. KING PLUMBING C , /_ _/_/_/_ /_/_/_/_ Modern Bath 1 V. &. K: Pum Plumbing and Lighting Estimates On All Work 1 KING PLU 7 \V. Hampton Sit The next time you buy calomel ask for The purified and refined calomel tablets that are nausealess, safe and sure. Medicinal virtues retain ed-and improved. Sold only in seated packages. Price 35c n Dwhrht-Trott. i Wcdgefield, Sept. 3?On the after noon of September 2nd a lovely home : wedding ?Was {solemnized at *'Sher i wood" when Miss Mary Carter, daugh |ter of Dr. and Mrs. F. M. Dwight, be j came ,the bride of Mr. Joseph Robert ison Trott of Charleston. The spacious ; front rooms were tastefully decorated ?with potted plants, and evergreens. ! A few minutes before the ceremony !''At Dawning" and "O Promise Me" ? were sweetly sung by Mrs. McKenzie , Moore. To the strains of Mendels^ I sohn's wedding march, played by ! Miss Sarah Moore.' the bride's sister, [ Miss Ida Dwight, entered as maid of. i honor, followed by the bride oh the j arm of her father. They were met I at the improvised altar of ferns and j smilax by the groom and his best j man. Mr. Henry Trott of Greenville. J There beneath an arch similarly dee J orated the impressive ring ceremony I of the Episcopal church was perform ed by the Rev. C. W. Boyd I Following the ceremony, an inform : al reception was held, after which the ! bridal couple left by auto for a short I trip. ! The lovely and attractive bride : wore a becoming traveling suit of blue ! with hat to match and carried a bou ! quet of bride's roses. The groom is j a popular young business man, and j the well known couple have the be3t j wishes of their many friends, j The out-of-town guests present ? wer": Mr. and Mrs. Trapier Jervey. i Mr. Charlie Trott, Misses Anne and I Mabel FitzSimons. and Mr. William iGaUiard. all of Charleston; Mr. Henry j Trott of Greenville. Miss Isabel Chap-. ] pell of Lykesland. Mr. and Mrs. S. J. ! Dwight. and Mrs. Langdon Long of I Eastover. j Rome. Sept. 5.?The chamber of I deputies has adopted the woman sof ! frage bill. ; Monroe. I>a., Sept. 6.?A mob took a negro, charged with assault, from [the sheriff and shot him to detah to-' ! day. The negro was being brought j to jail here. - - itles, Tiles and Grates >efore buying, tock t? select from d to have you call E & MANTLE CO. J. P. COMMANDER, Prop. C_;_i'_jj_L_i_\ \ * \ \ ' ? ? \ ' _T \~ ~~. ~\z ?? . ? . . * v Jooms Installed ping Systems For The Country Home "umished Free of Charge MBING CO. inter, s. C, Phone 7?