Competitors of Cotton 



GREENWOOD, MISSISSIPPI, is the headquarters of 

 W. M. Garrard, a quiet, dapper man whose knowledge 

 of the cotton business is rather awe-inspiring. He sim- 

 ply must be good. He is manager of one of the oldest, 

 largest farm cooperatives in the United States, the 

 Staple Cotton Cooperative Association. He works for 

 his friends and neighbors in the famous Delta country, 

 the biggest planters in the richest cotton area. They 

 pay him $54,000 a year to sell their crop. 



Whether they like it or not, Garrard does not hesi- 

 tate to tell his members the truth as he sees it. Mostly 

 they like it, because generally he is right. In the autumn 

 of 1944 he laid before them three unpalatable proposi- 

 tions: 



First, in spite of all war demands, there is an enor- 

 mous surplus of cotton: some twelve million bales, a 

 full year's supply. 



Second, at six cents above the world* market, the 

 price of American cotton has reached an unsound 



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