The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 35, July 1931 - April, 1932 Page: 140
348 p. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
tered in St. Louis and spread out all over the Southwest, is an-
other case. The Cincinnati Southern Railway, which connected
Cincinnati with the very heart of the cotton-belt, affords still an-
other example.
An interesting factor that contributed directly to the overland
movement was the change in direction of cotton from the rich
cotton fields near Vicksburg, "The Bends." At one time all of
this cotton went down the river to New Orleans, but in the
eighties marked changes occurred, both in the transportation of
this cotton and the market for it. Cincinnati steamers carried
a considerable quantity of it north to Cincinnati, and Memphis
railroads and steamers carried much of the cotton to Memphis for
distribution. Some of the cotton went to St. Louis. Some of
the Yazoo Valley cotton, all of which formerly went down the
river to New Orleans, now went North by rail. Formerly, cot-
ton that was assembled at Helena and Grenada was shipped
south to New Orleans, but during the eighties much of it was
diverted to Memphis and Cincinnati.'6
The growing importance of the country merchant as a local
buyer of cotton had a great deal to do with the shift of trans-
portation to the railroads for direct delivery to northern fac-
tories. The crop lien system enabled the local merchant to ad-
vance supplies, which made it possible for him to buy the cotton
in the fall.17 At first the country merchant acted mainly as a
medium for gathering large quantities of cotton for later con-
signment to a city factor for sale. But better transportation
facilities, improved means of communication, and increasing com-
petition, brought the buyer to the inland towns. Consequently,
the local merchant ceased to ship his cotton to the city factor and
sold directly to the local representatives of northern and foreign
brokers.
Inland villages of 1,500 to 2,000 inhabitants built compresses
and warehouses, and developed all the features and incidents of
the business of handling cotton as conducted in the seaboard
cities. . . . The city factor no longer constituted the sole
refuge of the cotton grower in the time of need. The country
banker, merchant, and factor, not only handled the grower's busi-
ness to just as good advantage, but the relations between the two
'"Report on Internal Commerce, 1886, 146-147.
1Hammond, M. B., The Cotton Culture, 144.140
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 35, July 1931 - April, 1932, periodical, 1932; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101092/m1/144/: accessed April 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.