The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1873-10-10
THE FUTURE OF OUR COMMERCE.
From the New Orleans Times.]

Should any one ask, who is not con-
versant with the trade of New Orleans,
for an analysis OF the values OF com
merce that seek her shore for a market,
he is generally pointed to Our annual
review of the trade of the city for the
preceding twelve months. On reference
to it, he sees so many bales of cotton, SO
many hOgsheads of tobacco, so much
rice, so much sugar, so many pounds
bacon and green meats, so many barrels
of mess pork specified, and so on alb in
fnitum. How few stop to realise in
their minds the value in dollars and
cents of this vast array OF commodities,
and how much in dollars and cents is
paid as toll to the Queen City that sits.
crowned as it were by commerce, at the
Sippi River. Not the tabled wealth of
the Indies, nor GolcOnda's diamond
mines, ever reached in actuality the vast
value that is annually poured into the
lap of New Orleans in only Il article
of her trade, tO-wit: the t1eecy cotton
which year by year seeks her mart as
the best on the continent. Before the
year 1861 the precious yellow metal
found it's way here from Europe, in SOW
ereigns and other c0inages, to be cx-
changed for the kingly cotton, which
has been the means of giving to the
world an era of invention and increased
commerce, unsurpassed and ~uneQualed
in the history of the past.
Nowadays we only see what represents
golden guineas; the great medium used
in payment for cotton is exchange on
London or Liverpool, curtly called
"sterling," representing specie when
presented for payment across the water.
We dare say that the facility OF hand
ling exchanges is greater than that OF
handling corn, and doubtless is more
satisfactory to the banks and Merchants.
We propose in this article to take up the
cotton trade of this city, and, without
impinging the privacy of those engaged
in the business, endeavOr to show, for a
| period since the close Of the late war to
the present time, the number OF bales
| cotton actually received at this port, the
total value of it when sold, the revenue
derived from it to those engaged in hand
Inns. it, the proportion which the receipts
in that time bear to the whole number
| of bales made, and such other statistics
as will prove interesting.
Upon reference to the able annual
| statements of the prospecting trade of
our city, published on first IF the month,
we find that from the crop Of 1866 up
to the crop of 1878, we have received a
total of 8,310,517 bales, which brought
the sum Of 1885, Ass, 207, at an average
cost of each bale OF $10775.
The amount OF tolls paid by thisnum-
Der of bales, in the period OF time en-
bracing eight years, foot up S57,137,4 400.
distributed as sOllOws:
For freight at average of $1per bales 8,31O,51T
For drayage, storage, labor and weigh
ing at O-E02tc0
For COMPRISING, at zoe 5,817. So
For drayage to vessel, at 25c-.-.-...--. 2,07T, 62t
For fire insurance, at & per cent--.---- 1857 ,96'
For river insurance, average, at ! per
For brokerage, at / per cent.-.-.:... 4,477,29
For commissions, at d per Cent.....-. 22,386,45
In this exhibit we have the secret o.
the future destiny Of our commerce, thu
receipts Of cotton during the period I'm
der consideration being rather more
than four-elevenths of the total crop
made in the country. When it is con
sidered that this immense business j
only in Il article Of the many that find
a market here, it is not a matter TO
wonder, the recuperative qualities O
our city, whose commerce is OF nor
Importance to the Wbote country thar
that of New York, Philadelphia, 0
Boston. Upon this one article of GOttOl
depends q healthy state of the natiOna
finances, for by it exchanges are reg
ulated, as well as the price of gold
The number of persons engaged i
handling thiscotton is OF necessity great
for a bale weighing from four hundre
to five hundred pounds, and in bulk
form until compressed, makes it Difficult
to be moved. The mOstimpOrtant class
and those by far the most in demand
are the cotton factors, among whom til
twenty-five millions and upwards, wer
! distributed. The number is about on
> hundred and thirty, whose business
confined to cotton alone.
q Some OF these absorb the lions shan
+ of the receipts, and of course enjoy
= proportional part of the profits, Il {
more of these factors receive anualI
, not much under IL hundred thQusan
. bales, and the range of receipts by othel
+ is from that number down tOfOur thOu}
and bales. Besides the cotton factor
+ proper, a great deal Of the cotton is SCI
tOparties who deal in other cOmmoditie
i but these latter rarely exceed one or N
thousand bales per annum. AS a elias
our cotton factors are q body of men (
q strict integrity, heightened, honOrab
and enterprising. They are prOverbial
neat in their appearance, suave in ma
q ner, and ever ready to give informatic
. when it is asked for.
= The next in Importance are the cote
brokers, that class SO useful to the bu,
. Ell and seller They occupy the positic
OF Amiddle men, and are in turn
9 much in demand by the seller, as tt
latter il by the planter. They do n
numbernulte so many as might be su
posed there are not more than forty
them III all, but it would be hard to FL
q more wary, well posted, shrewd al
/. gentlemaalIVseb of brokers in any cor
o modify, than these same, who in O
# daily market REPORTS III alluded to,
participating in the business of t
III day. You can tell them On the stree
le in the busy season, by the "long or she
a staple,7 which adheres to their clothin
a and by q certain look, which seems
e "oall for q SMILE" after having j.
Or madea good purchase, and occasional
Ia by seeing them stopped as they wa
Il. along with q brisk air, by well knoy
n cotton factors, who tell them Of "alist
es cotton, on the table" for sale. The ne
re class comprises the p~rofessed buyers
a cotton, they wl.ose business is sole
v that; they do not number more th
twenty nay not SO many; these {
tie generally agents for domestic and fl
eign factories; and there are others w
al purchase on their own account for spet
ne ~lation: but these latter are not class
er with the former. Most OF the purchas
NJ are in good credit, but as O general III
in they are called ON tomakea payment
at account, as soon as the broker repo
he the sale to them. The cotton fac
" expecting partial payment to M
be acquisitions ON him, very often bef
p the cotton can be weighed and deliver
o tt sometimes takes two to four days
th the busy season to resample and wei
IN. up a long list of cottons. The samDli
lst i'd done by the weigher in the first