COTTON 243 



to the farmer's interests, whether or not other con- 

 siderations counterbalance them. 



These are: first, the extended activity of the 

 market from a short period to an entire year; and 

 the second, a demand for cotton created by the 

 Cotton Exchanges in their business operations. It 

 is safe to say that the members of the two leading 

 Cotton Exchanges find it necessary to control 

 annually nearly a half million bales of cotton. 

 Here is a specific demand that exists over and above 

 the takings of spinners. While the Cotton Ex- 

 change does not consume this quantity nor with- 

 draw it from circulation, it does advertise the ar- 

 ticle, thereby creating a wider market for the prod- 

 uct than would exist if spinners alone were 

 purchasers. 



But are these influences of sufficient importance 

 to be of any material benefit to the producer? 

 Since the Cotton Exchange was not founded with 

 any such philanthropic design, and since in its 

 tradings it so often operates adversely to the in- 

 terests of the producer, it may readily be seen that 

 the evils more than counterbalance the good. 



So we may say that on the whole this machinery 

 is not helpful to the farmer. 



THE EVILS COME IN 



The evil-in-chief is the speculative spirit in all 

 this trading in contracts. To legitimate trade, spec- 

 ulation in cotton is a disadvantage always a 

 disadvantage. It uses all sorts of tricks and prac- 

 tices to distort real conditions: it endeavors to "get 

 the other fellow on the hip" and to hold him 

 there until he is "good and dead" ; it inflates values 

 part of the time, and part of the time it depresses 



