484 



OLEOMARGARINE . 



Mr. PETERS. The Department's estimate of this year's production is 

 10,100,000 bales. Last year it was 9,142,838. The year before last it 

 was 11,189,205. 



Now, Texas is more interested than any other one State. According 

 to this statement, we raise at least a third of the crop of cotton of the 

 United States. I say Texas; Oklahoma and the Indian Territory are 

 included in that. Last year the amount of cotton actually raised in 

 Oklahoma was 66,555 bales, and in the ludian Territory, 119,939 bales. 

 Now, the crop this year for the Territories and Texas is 3,570,000 bales, 

 representing 1,785,000 tons of seed. That seed, at $15 per ton, which 

 is about the average price that the mills pay, would make about 



Senator MONEY. Oh, you have that too high. 



Mr. PETERS. The price of seed? 



Senator MONEY. Yes. 



Mr. PETERS. No, sir; I think not. 



Senator FOSTER. Someone stated here the other day that it was 

 worth from $8 to $10 a ton. 



Mr. PETERS. Allow me to read you this statement, as bearing on 

 that question : 



Prices of cotton seed (Houston) per ton of 2, 000 pounds, 1898-1900. 

 [From Bradstreet's quotations.] 



Senator FOSTER. Then the prices are going up all the time? 



Mr. PETERS. Yes; they are higher this year than they were last 

 year. 



Senator MONEY. They have been going up. 



Senator FOSTER. For the reason that they are making so much more 

 oleomargarine? 



Mr. PETERS. No; I suppose they are finding more uses for it; there 

 is a larger demand. 



Senator MONEY. The reason cotton has gone up is because every- 

 thing else on earth has gone up on account of the abundance of 

 money. 



The ACTING CHAIRMAN. You are a practical raiser of cotton, are you, 

 Mr. Peters? 



Mr. PETERS. Yes, sir. I did not raise much last year, though. The 

 flood hit us pretty heavily, and we had a pretty bad time this year, 

 although I raised a good deal of cotton. I have raised over 2,000 bales 

 in one year. But it is coming over now. 



Senator FOSTER. Yes; you are all right now. 



The ACTING CHAIRMAN. Go on, Mr. Peters. 



Mr. PETERS. On the basis of these prices of Bradstreet's and the 

 figures I got from the Department of Agriculture, the valuation of the 

 crop of Texas and the Indian Territory, at $15 a ton, would be about 

 $30,000,000. 



