Maricopa Board of Trade

Owned by ChandlerpediaUser4
Apr 12, 2023
2 min read

-Reprinted from the Arizona Republican

Cotton picking troubles will be the subject of the meeting of the Board on May 31st in Phoenix.  They will discuss how to bring in more labor to pick the cotton when the time comes to pick.  (Chandler Arizonan 5/30/1913)

-The Board of Trade met last Saturday evening in Phoenix to discuss various phases of the cotton industry.  Those who attended for Chandler were R.M. Turner, G.L. Gollands, J.R. Loftus, and George T. Peabody.

A committee was organized to come up with ideas to bring in labor.  The following information is from the Gazette.  The people on the committee are Ernest Hall from Phoenix, Lafayette Myers from Glendale, and George T. Peabody from Chandler.  J.R. Loftus was chosen as a member of the committee, but in an advisory position since he had experience bringing in labor to the Imperial Valley.  The cotton organizations of Tempe, Mesa, Scottsdale, and Glendale, will appoint their own members. 

900 cotton pickers are needed with 300 for Chandler, 450 for Mesa, and 150 for Tempe.

Native Americans will help some with labor, but want to import Southerners who want to move here.  Foreign labor is a last resort, since there is no reason to bring in alien workers.

A complete census of the land hasn't been done, but believed 3,500 to 4,000 acres will mature.  Last year only 500 acres, and most of it in cotton experiments.  (Chandler Arizonan 6/6/1913)

-At a meeting held Tuesday, representatives from the various cotton associations met to discuss getting publicity to southern states for labor.

It was decided that every county seat town of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and the Yazoo Peninsula would receive write-ups on the cotton condition, and regular advertisements for labor during picking season.

Charles Knox was appointed the man in charge, but has no experience in the work.  He is secretary of the Mesa Cotton Exchange.

The towns of Glendale, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa, and Chandler were represented at the meeting.  (Chandler Arizonan 6/27/1913)