RISKS OF THE COTTON MARKET 143 



to the welfare of the cotton grower has led to suggestions 

 that include valorization of cotton, government subsidies 

 to cotton growers, supervision of acreage planted, and 

 suppression of crop reporting. A lack of clear thinking 

 prevails. 



The following resume of bills introduced in the United 

 States Congress during the 1926 crisis shows the varying 

 viewpoints as to what is the matter with cotton, and 

 the remedies that should be adopted: 



1. A bill introduced by Representative Marvin Jones 

 of Texas would limit the reporting and forecasting state- 

 ment of the Bureau of Crop Estimates and Bureau of the 

 Census. The South, it was explained, is turning against 

 the methods of crop reporting, and is growing tired of 

 the government's "arbitrary meddling with cotton grow- 

 ing and cotton prices." 



2. Senator Tom Heflin of Alabama introduced a bill 

 to make every bid and offer on cotton available to every- 

 body on equal terms. This bill embodies the opinion cur- 

 rent among many southern farmers that underhand 

 methods of Wall Street and trading in futures are some- 

 how responsible for the fall in cotton prices. 



3. Another bill introduced by Senator Heflin would 

 provide for a new census of cotton acreage planted in 

 1926 before the Bureau could proceed with the new esti- 

 mates. 



4. Senator Mayfield of Texas proposed making sur- 

 veys of grades and staple lengths of stock carried over 

 in warehouses. 



5. Senator Cameron of Arizona introduced a bill to 

 pay ten cents a pound bounty to the grower of all cotton 

 of 1% inch staple the kind grown in Arizona. This 

 proposal represents the bonus idea in its frankest form. 



