The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1873-09-19
The Damaging Effect of False Packed
Cotton

The New Orleans Times, thus refers
to careless and negligent picking and
false packing
The great feature of the crop was now
October, 1879 already manifest, an in
creased excess in the supply of the
lower grades, which forced them down
disproportionately compared with the
better qualities. This applies to their
classification, but was equally apparent
in the extraordinary amount of dusty,
sandy, dirty and mixed picking. Later
in the year it was the common opinion
that these bad qualities were more
marked than any previous year on
record. AS the facts became apparent
abroad, there was q general hue and cry
against dusties, which were entirely
neglected, and could not be moved, no
matter how cheap they reallywere when
compared with clean cottons, especially
of the medium and better qualities.
The evil was not confined to New Or
leans. It prevailed to as great an ex-
tent at Mobile, Memphis and other
markets, and was characteristic of the
entire crop. The alleged cause was the
| dry and dusty spell of weather during
the picking season, and carelessness in
picking and handling. 1t seemed as if
the negro labcrers who worked on
shares imagined that more or less of
dust or sand would increase the weight
without diminishing the price. This
was a great mistake. It was impossible
! to sell such cottons in this market or in
Liverpool, unless at a reduction in
prices, equal to double the amount of
grain in weight. Of course this was not
understood in the country at the time of
the early deliveries, but factors soon
| advised country merchants of the facts,
and the planters or their laborers found
for every dollar they gained in weight,
by dust or sand, they lost two dollars
in price. But it has now become too
late to correct the evil, and there can be
no doubt that had the crop been care
| fully picked, cleaned as nearly as posi-
| BILE from dry weather dust, and honest
! ~ packed, it would have melted very
much more than its actual proceeds.
! At one time, when the stock on sale in
this market was estimated at 100, 900
| bales, a careful calculation demonstrated
! that there was loss of 121 per cent in
! price, OF SO per bale, against an appa-
rent gain by the weight of the sand,
etc, of not over 81 per bale. This
shows net loss of SIS per bale, and if
we allow it for our entire receipts it pre-
sents the appalling snm of over seven
millions of dollars So far we have
only considered the effects of careless
and negligent picking and packing.
But the trade has suffered moreover,
from Intentional false packing, filling
! the interior of the bale with worthless
stuff and planting it to a certain thick
ness with low middling and the better
! qualities. III former times this fraudu-
! lent false packing was so rare that it
was never suspected, and no means were
adopted to detect it. But since the wal
it has been otherwise, and the numer-
Gus reclamations for mixed and false
packed cotton have compelled the trade
to adopt more stringent measures
making it extremely difficult to pass q
bale of such fraudulent cotton without
detection at the press. The evil has
been of such magnitude that it has
exciteed general attention abroad, where
more rigid scrutiny is consequently
made. Thus detection at some point on
the line, while the buyer has yet the
means of protecting himself by recla-
nation, is almost certain. These facts
cannot be pressed too emphatically on
all engaged in preparing the staple for
market, including not only the laborer
and the planter, but the country mer-
chant as well, who is brought in direct
contact with the producers, whether
| they be laborers or planters.