Abbeville press. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1860-1869, 1869-08-27
BY w. A. LEE AND HUGH WILSON.

Wien this cotton is taken up by tho
hand detailed to feed the Gin, it very
often happens that the invctcratc
habits Of laziEcss which cling 10 tho
negro as freedman as strongly as
when lie was slave, causes him &c
throw in the injured cotton along
with the good. This cannot possibly
bc avoided by the most honest plan
ter unless he remains all the time at
the Gin and watches himself cvcl
basket full as it is thrown into the
hopper. The sand and rocks which
may be thrown in the cotton while it
is being picked to increase its weight,
are separated by the Gin from tho
lint and cannot get into the lint room
except III minute particlcs-not enough,
to increase the weight but just
enough to injurc the color Of the lint.
The charge which has been most
frequently madc against planters by
our cotton factors is not that they III
tentionalIy put foreign substances in
the bales, but that they exercise too
little vigilance in preventing different
grades Of cotton being mixed in the
packing process. When this is the
case they call them mi.rea couons.
Under our present system, and with
oYr present facilities for housing and
preparing the crop for market, this
accident is likely TO occur moro or less
frequently, in proportion to the per-
sonal attention the planter gives to
his ginning operations. When the
negro can DC made Industrious, hon
est, faithful and careful, then mired
cottons will no longer be seen in the
market.
Since the war false packed cotton
has been somewhat more common
than previously. This is owing to
two reasons. One is that the high
price of cotton has induced Il class Of
men, not planters, to embark in its cul-
tivation as a temporary cxrcdicnt to
make money rapidly. These people
rent land at high prices, give cxccs-
sive interest TO their factors for the
use of money to make the crop with,
and promise high rates for labor.
They arc not permanently identified
in interest or feeling with planters.
They arc essentially cotton bummcrs,
and care little Or nothing about the
results Of their operations so long as
they make money and make it quick.
Before rcclamttions can be made on
them they arc either noa est ;npeatvs
or il found, havo made fraudulent
convcvanccs to cheat their creditors
and avoid responsibility for their
false packing. The other reason WHY
false packed cotton is now more fire.
qucnt than before the war, is found
III the fact that, owing to impccunios-
ity, many planters have been compel
led TO farm out their lands, oy il ror-
ton Of them 10 negroes. Cthc"s
have been, and arc still working, OH
shares with them. In most instan ccs
where planting has been carried Oh
under these conditions the negroes
have had almost entire control Of the
preparation Of the crop for market.
They have been apt to learn the
trick Of false packing, and have, i'll
many instances, escaped detection
until the crop has been divided and
the planters portion sent forward to
market. In such eases the planters
receive the blame for the misconduct
Of the laborcrs.
But, making due and proper allow
ahces for these occasional frauds, we
deny, and the books Of Southern cot
ton factors will bear us out in the
denial, that anything like the amount
OF false packed cotton mentioned by
Garsed has been sent to market. We
deny TINT there is such a habit, and
more especially that it is a general
one. We have felt bound to enter
this protest, on the part of planters,
against the wholesale charges made
by such men as Garscd and his asso-
ciatcs. The entire body Of planters:
as class, arc quito as honest, upright
and honorable as tho Cotton Manu-.
facturcrs' National Association.
Since writing the above We have
received pamphlet copy of the pro-
cecdings Of the National Association
of Cotton Manufacturers and Plant
crs, held in the st. Nicholas Hotel,
New York, on the 30th Of juno last
We give below some extracts from
the debate on false packed cotton. 1t
will be seen that Garsed asserts that
Of the thousands-we presume very
many-of bales of Cotton he has
handled since 1861, hardly one per
cent. has come up to the quality of
the sample. Every cotton dealer in
the United Seates knows that this
statement is untrue: