Cotton's Week

When cotton was selling for 10, per Ib. early in April. William Wrigley Jr., Chicago gum tycoon, thought it looked like a good investment. He announced he would buy 200,000 bales with the proceeds of his gum sales in the South (TIME, April 13). Last week cotton hovered just above 6-c- per Ib., which meant that Gum Man Wrigley had so far sustained a 40% paper loss. But 6-c- cotton looked like a good investment to another Chicagoan. Edward Aloysius Cudahy Jr., president of Cudahy Packing Co. More cautious than Gum Man Wrigley, Meat Packer Cudahy announced that he would invest 10% of his company's Southern sales in cotton until $1,000,000 has thus been spent. At current prices a purchase of some 33,000 bales was involved.

Declared Mr. Cudahy: "We feel that this period of stress is an opportune time for us to express our esteem for our Southern friends in a tangible way and to extend whatever assistance is in our power to alleviate the effects of the depression."

Mr. Cudahy added that his cotton would be held for one year or until the price reached 10-c- per Ib. At that level a $660,000 profit would be shown for the Cudahy Packing Co.

Recent developments in the South made these Chicago tycoons interest in cotton shrewder than it had seemed. Fortnight ago Louisiana passed a law. sponsored by Governor Huey Pierce Long, outlawing cotton planting for 1932. This statute designed to up this year's crop price, would take effect only when States producing 75% of the total U. S. cotton crop enacted similar laws. Governors throughout the South turned to see what would be done in Texas which produces approximately 30% of all U. S. cotton and without which no cotton plan could succeed.

Last week Governor Sterling called a special session of the Texas Legislature to consider a no-planting law. Governor Russell of Georgia said he would do the same. In South Carolina, Governor Blackwood promised a special cotton session. These three States, with Louisiana, produced about 7,500,000 bales out of last year's 14,000,000 bale crop. If all four voted no-planting-in-1932, the plan would still be some 3,000,000 bales short of the required 75% of total production. Alabama and Mississippi, however, could put it over.

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