RISKS OF THE COTTON MARKET 119 



of production may be true in the main. It neglects, how- 

 ever, important social and racial factors and lumps all 

 the human factors in cotton production together in one 

 generalization. The cotton cropper, the permanent ten- 

 ant, the farm owner-operator, and the landlord vary 

 essentially in their reactions toward cotton prices as 

 F. W. Gist points out. 19 The cropper, owning nothing 

 but his labor, is bound to his landlord, and both are 

 wedded to cotton. "The landlord is not interested in 

 making money in cotton, but in getting his rents in 

 cotton. Cotton means cash; the cropper can neither steal 

 it nor feed to stock. The cropper is interested simply in 

 paying his rent and his store bill so that he can eat 

 again next year. It is estimated that this group, Negro 

 and white, produce 25 per cent of the cotton grown. 

 This group is never interested in economic production, 

 or in preventing overproduction except when the price 

 of cotton is too low to cover rent or pay store bills." 

 A step above the cropper, the share renter is estimated 

 to grow about 40 per cent of the cotton crop. He may 

 vary his acreage more than does the cropper, but both 

 southern croppers and share renters, aided and abetted 

 by their landlords and supply merchants, tend to grow 

 cotton without regard to the price. They do not conform 

 to the theory of the "economic man." 



The farm owner-operators in the cotton states are 

 estimated to grow about 35 per cent of the cotton crop. 

 They grow food and possess a cash income beside that 

 from cotton. It is they who restrict acreage when prices 

 are low and chase high prices with increased acreage. 



19 "Practical Crop Diversification in the Cotton States," Com- 

 merce and Finance, Jan. 12, 1927, p. 115. 



20 Loc. cit. 



