The Montgomery Advertiser
- MONTGOMERY ASKS SOUTHERN COTTON CONFERENCE MEET
- FLORIDA OFFICIALS HINDER RED CROSS WORK PAYNE CLAIMS
- ARMY TAKES STEPS TO REDUCE FORCE AND AVOID DEFICIT
The Advertiser's front page of October 2, 1926 carried a home-grown effort to answer the cotton slump. The Alabama Farm Bureau Federation and the Montgomery Chamber of Commerce sought to merge several proposed cotton-state meetings into one conference at Montgomery, immediately after a regional agricultural conference ending on October 12, and Farm Bureau president Edward A. O'Neal wired Secretaries Jardine and Hoover to join in. An AP dispatch from Washington reported Red Cross chairman John Barton Payne's charge that Florida officials and real estate men had "practically destroyed" the hurricane relief drive by belittling the damage; amid the dispute, Richmond's mayor held up a $10,000 check. A second AP report said the War Department had stopped recruiting to cut nearly 8,000 enlisted men and avoid a deficit, even as President Coolidge promised no material reduction in defense appropriations.
Translation
MONTGOMERY ASKS SOUTHERN COTTON CONFERENCE MEET
Independent VOLUME XCVIII-NO. 275
MONTGOMERY ASKS SOUTHERN COTTON CONFERENCE MEET
Jardine and Hoover Invited to Attend Chamber of Commerce Meeting on October 12
PROPOSES TO CONSOLIDATE INTERESTS TO CHECK DROP
Business and Agricultural Leaders From Five States Expected at Meet
A movement seeking the holding of a conference of representatives of all cotton growing states at Montgomery immediately following the regional agricultural conference which concludes here at noon on October 12, was started in Montgomery Friday. The Alabama Farm Bureau Federation and the Montgomery Chamber of Commerce are cooperating in the movement to hold the big cotton conference at Montgomery for discussion of the critical situation facing the farmers.
Edward A. O'Neal, president of the Alabama Farm Bureau Federation, has wired Secretary of Agriculture Jardine and Secretary of Commerce Hoover inviting them to attend the regional agricultural conference here at which five southern states will be represented and asking them to join in calling interested parties to Montgomery on October 12 for special discussion of the cotton situation. In his message to Secretary Jardine, Mr. O'Neal took occasion to express appreciation of the cooperation manifested in the telegram from the secretary of agriculture Thursday in regard to the cotton situation.
It is pointed out by Mr. O'Neal in his telegram that the chamber of commerce of the United States, the farm bureau, business men and bankers of five southern states will be in Montgomery to attend the regional agricultural conference. This conference will be held here October 11, and until noon October 12 and will deal with phases of various agricultural problems.
The movement on foot is to consolidate the several proposed conferences in cotton growing states into one big conference at Montgomery at a time when agricultural and business leaders of the South will be assembled here, it was stated. [?]
FLORIDA OFFICIALS HINDER RED CROSS WORK PAYNE CLAIMS
[?] WASHINGTON, Oct. 1. — (AP) — Whisperings of discord which have accompanied the effort to raise a $5,000,000 relief fund for Florida storm sufferers culminated today in a flat charge by John Barton Payne, chairman of the American Red Cross, that Florida officials and real estate men had "practically destroyed" the campaign by repeated attempts to belittle reports of damage and suffering.
Despite these efforts, which were attributed to Governor John W. Martin, Mayor E. C. Romfh of Miami, and others, Chairman Payne said he felt duty bound to carry on the drive for funds and appealed to the country to continue to help. A little more than $3,000,000 has been collected in the face of the efforts to minimize the storm losses.
Mr. Payne added that Red Cross officials in Florida had reported the greatest need for relief since the San Francisco earthquake and fire, listing five thousand homes as totally destroyed and 18,000 families poverty stricken.
The Red Cross chairman's views were given in an exchange of telegrams with C. C. Pinckney, chairman of the Richmond, Va., Red Cross chapter, and in telegrams and correspondence between himself and Mayor Romfh. In addition, James L. Fieser, vice chairman of the Red Cross, in a report to headquarters, declared that relief work had been greatly retarded by "persistent reports that the need as set forth by the Red Cross does not exist."
Wiring Chairman Pickney, Mr. Payne asserted that the "poor people who suffered are regarded as of less consequence than the hotel and tourist business in Florida."
The message was in reply to one which said that Mayor Bright of Richmond was considering the recall of a $10,000 check sent to Miami by Richmond donors on the strength of a circular letter signed by Mayor Romfh declaring he was convinced a "very exaggerated idea" of conditions had been created.
Delivery of this check was held up today by Mayor Bright pending word from Red Cross officials. Mr. Bright declared in Richmond today that in view of conflicting statements as to relief needs, he felt an investigation should be made to learn "who is right, [?]
ARMY TAKES STEPS TO REDUCE FORCE AND AVOID DEFICIT
[?] WASHINGTON, Oct. 1. — (AP) — Assurances from President Coolidge that there would be no material reduction in national defense appropriation for the next fiscal year synchronized today with disclosure that the war department already has taken steps to lop nearly 8,000 enlisted men off the regular army this year to avoid a deficit under current appropriations.
The white house statement was volunteered with the added explanation that definite signs had been detected of a movement to seek larger appropriations for the army and navy next year. Warning was given that the anticipated raid on the treasury in connection with national defense appropriations at the next session of congress would not be sanctioned by the president. The nature of white house information as to such raid was not disclosed.
At the war department, however, it was admitted under repeated inquiries that stop orders on recruiting had been issued September 15, to remain in effect until the end of the present fiscal year. They are designed, it was explained, to reduce the enlisted strength of the army to an average of 110,900 men for the remainder of the present fiscal year as compared with an average strength of 118,750 for which current appropriations were expected to provide. The action was taken as the only means by which serious deficits could be avoided.
Army officials are under a complete silence ban as to all questions involved in preparation of the budget for the next fiscal year. The budget law itself restricts them and this has been amplified this year by Secretary Davis of the war department in specific "muzzle" orders.
In view of the fact that the present total available for military purposes of $265,000,000 has not been sufficient to maintain the 118,000 men strength even for half of the current fiscal year, however, the construction put on the white house statement in some quarters was that it foreshadowed a continued reduction in strength although no reduction in appropriations might be contemplated. [?]
Context
Why cotton growers were in crisis in autumn 1926
The Montgomery movement was a response to a price collapse caused by abundance, not by crop failure. In its October 25, 1926 issue, TIME reported that the year's crop promised 16,627,000 bales, that cotton had fallen below 14 cents a pound, and that growers were 'in a knot of nervous anxiety'. The front page has O'Neal thanking Jardine for a Thursday telegram on the cotton situation. The same TIME report printed a Jardine letter to O'Neal (spelled 'O'Neil'). It said the country had the facilities to store the crop for months or years and ample credit to carry it, and hoped 'the present stampede' of selling could be checked while most of the crop was still in farmers' hands. The front-page article does not quote Jardine's telegram, so it cannot be shown to be the same message, but the policy line matches: hold the cotton rather than dump it. By mid-October President Coolidge had appointed a commission to survey how far European countries and domestic spinners could be brought to make long-term purchases, and to restrict 1927 acreage. The Montgomery plan to fold several state meetings into one regional conference was one of many parallel Southern efforts. The same TIME report noted, for example, that the South Carolina State Bankers Association moved to take 3,000,000 bales off the market and keep them in warehouses.
Cotton and the Coolidge administration's farm politics
O'Neal's telegram went to two cabinet officers. One was William M. Jardine, whom Coolidge had made Secretary of Agriculture after his 1924 re-election. The other was Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover, a strong proponent of cooperation between government and business who organized numerous conferences of intellectuals and businessmen. Inviting both fitted an administration that resisted direct federal price support. Coolidge opposed the McNary–Haugen bill, which would have set up a federal farm board to buy surplus production in high-yield years, insisting that agriculture must stand 'on an independent business basis'. After the 1924 elections his administration instead offered a plan built on agricultural cooperatives, which found 'little favor among farmers'. Cotton carried political weight in this fight: a decline in cotton prices in 1925 had already raised the possibility that Southern congressmen would join Western congressmen behind a major farm bill. By asking the two secretaries to help call the cotton meeting, the Montgomery organizers looked to the administration's own officials rather than to Congress. The legislative fight went on. In February 1927 Congress narrowly passed McNary–Haugen, and Coolidge vetoed it.
The hurricane, the land boom and the fight over relief figures
The storm behind Payne's appeal made landfall near Miami on September 18, 1926. The Red Cross counted 372 deaths in the United States, and about 43,000 people were left homeless, mostly in the Miami area. Payne's figures of 5,000 homes destroyed and 18,000 destitute families measure different things and cannot be checked directly against those totals, but both describe destruction on a large scale. The dispute recorded in the article was over how that damage was portrayed. Payne said the poor were being treated as of less consequence than the hotel and tourist business, and Mayor Romfh's circular said a 'very exaggerated idea' of conditions had been created. The stakes for South Florida were high. Later accounts credit the storm with ending Florida's land boom, and thousands of newcomers left the state and cleared out their bank accounts, pushing many banks to the brink of bankruptcy. Governor John W. Martin, one of those Payne accused, had himself made the urgent appeals that brought National Guard companies to the disaster areas. Donors, meanwhile, were caught between conflicting official statements, as the held-up Richmond check shows. The motives Payne attributed to Martin, Romfh and others remain his charge, not an established finding.
Why the army cut recruits while the White House promised steady funding
The recruiting freeze reflects the Coolidge administration's budget policy. Federal spending remained flat through his presidency, contributing to the retirement of about a quarter of the federal debt. In his first address to the reconvened Congress in December 1923, Coolidge had also backed Harding's formal budgeting process, and the dispatch notes that 'the budget law itself' restricted what army officers could say about preparing the next budget. As the report shows, holding appropriations steady did not mean holding the army's size steady. According to the dispatch, the $265,000,000 available for military purposes had not been enough to keep 118,000 men even for half the fiscal year. War Department officials called the recruiting stop the only means of avoiding serious deficits, and it was meant to bring average enlisted strength down to 110,900. The White House warning against a 'raid on the treasury' was aimed at an anticipated push in Congress for larger army and navy appropriations. As the dispatch reported, some quarters read the statement as foreshadowing further cuts in manpower even without any cut in dollars.
Original
MONTGOMERY ASKS SOUTHERN COTTON CONFERENCE MEET
Independent VOLUME XCVIII-NO. 275 MONTGOMERY ASKS SOUTHERN COTTON CONFERENCE MEET Jardine and Hoover Invited to Attend Chamber of Commerce Meeting on October 12 PROPOSES TO CONSOLIDATE INTERESTS TO CHECK DROP Business and Agricultural Leaders From Five States Expected at Meet A movement seeking the holding of a conference of representatives of all cotton growing states at Montgomery immediately following the regional agricultural conference which concludes here at noon on October 12, was started in Montgomery Friday. The Alabama Farm Bureau Federation and the Montgomery Chamber of Commerce are cooperating in the movement to hold the big cotton conference at Montgomery for discussion of the critical situation facing the farmers. Edward A. O'Neal, president of the Alabama Farm Bureau Federation, has wired Secretary of Agriculture Jardine and Secretary of Commerce Hoover inviting them to attend the regional agricultural conference here at which five southern states will be represented and asking them to join in calling interested parties to Montgomery on October 12 for special discussion of the cotton situation. In his message to Secretary Jardine, Mr. O'Neal took occasion to express appreciation of the cooperation manifested in the telegram from the secretary of agriculture Thursday in regard to the cotton situation. It is pointed out by Mr. O'Neal in his telegram that the chamber of commerce of the United States, the farm bureau, business men and bankers of five southern states will be in Montgomery to attend the regional agricultural conference. This conference will be held here October 11, and until noon October 12 and will deal with phases of various agricultural problems. The movement on foot is to consolidate the several proposed conferences in cotton growing states into one big conference at Montgomery at a time when agricultural and business leaders of the South will be assembled here, it was stated. [?]
FLORIDA OFFICIALS HINDER RED CROSS WORK PAYNE CLAIMS
[?] WASHINGTON, OCT. 1. - (AP) - Whisperings of discord which have accompanied the effort to raise a $ 5, 000, - 000 relief fund for Florida storm sufferers culminated today in a flat charge by John Barton Payne, chairman of the American Red Cross, that Florida officials and real estates men had " practically destroyed " the campaign by repeated attempts to belittle reports of damage and suffering. Despite these efforts, which were attributed to Governor John W. Martin, Mayor E. C. Romfh of Miami, and others, Chairman Payne said he felt duty bound to carry on the drive for funds and appealed to the country to continue to help. A little more than $ 3, 000, 000 has been collected in the face of the efforts to minimize the storm losses. Mr. Payne added that Red Cross officials in Florida had reported the greatest need for relief since the San Francisco earthquake and fire, listing five thousand homes as totally destroyed and 18, 000 families poverty stricken. The Red Cross chairman's views were given in an exchange of telegrams with C. C. Pinckney, chairman of the Richmond, Va., Red Cross chapter, and in telegrams and correspondence between himself and Mayor Romfh. In addition, James L. Fieser, vice chairman of the Red Cross, in a report to headquarters, declared that relief work had been greatly retarded by " persistent reports that the need as set forth by the Red Cross does not exist. " Wiring Chairman Pickney, Mr. Payne asserted that the " poor people who suffered are regarded as of less consequence than the hotel and tourist business in Florida. " The message was in reply to one which said that Mayor Bright of Richmond was considering the recall of a $ 10, 000 check sent to Miami by Richmond donors on the strength of a circular letter signed by Mayor Romfh declaring he was convinced a " very exaggerated idea " of conditions had been created. Delivery of this check was held up today by Mayor Bright pending word from Red Cross officials. Mr. Bright declared in Richmond today that in view of conflicting statements as to relief needs, he felt an investigation should be made to learn " who is right, [?]
ARMY TAKES STEPS TO REDUCE FORCE AND AVOID DEFICIT
[?] WASHINGTON, Oct. 1. - (AP) - Assurances from President Coolidge that there would be no material reduction in national defense appropriation for the next fiscal year syncronized today with disclosure that the war department already has taken steps to lop nearly 8, 000 enlisted men off the regular army this year to avoid a deficit under current appropriations. The white house statement was volunteered with the added explanation that definite signs had been detected of a movement to seek larger appropriations for the army and navy next year. Warning was given that the anticipated raid on the treasury in connection with national defense appropriations at the next session of congress would not be sanctioned-by the president. The nature of white house information as to such raid was not disclosed. At the war department, however, it was admitted under repeated inquiries that stop orders on recruiting had been issued September 15, to remain in effect until the end of the present fiscal year. They are designed, it was explained, to reduce the enlisted strength of the army to an average of 110, 900 men for the remainder of the present fiscal year as compared with an average strength of 118, 750 for which current appropriations were expected to provide. The action was taken as the only means by which serious deficits could be avoided. Army officials are under a complete silence ban as to all questions involved in preparation of the budget for the next fiscal year. The budget law itself restricts them and this has been amplified this year by Secretary Davis of the war department in specific " muzzle " orders. In view of the fact that the present total available for military purposes of $ 265, 000, 000 nas not been sufficient to maintain the 118, 000 men strength even for half of the current fiscal year, however, the construction put on the white house statement in some quarters was that it foreshadowed a continued reduction in strength although no reduction in appropriations might be contemplated. [?]
Source: Holding institution