Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-08-13
THE COTTON TRADE.
New York Merchants Propose 20 Re
form the System Of Handling.
New York Herald.

form the system OF hauuAAuS'
New York Herald.
The severe drawbacks and many dis
advantages from which the cotton
trade of this city has of late suffered
have given rise 10 a great many COM
plants. The present system OF storage
is attended with such enormous waste
of money that the most prominent
members Of the Cotton Exchange have
cast about for a new plan OF central
izing the trade at some favorably STU
ated point on the water front.
One of the most prominent cotton
merchants of the city, who requested
that his name might not be betrayed,
said that the object Of the movement
was to establish large cotton ware
houses at some point on the water
| front, to be used
BY ALL THE RECEIVERS OF COTTON
in the city. At present the storehouses
were all over thecity, and If a merchant
had hundred bales of cotton to dellv-
er it might have to be taken from ten
different storehouses. which would &C.
cupy no less than two days, while 1t
could be done in twenty minutes If, for
instance, all the cotton coming to this
city were stored at Bostwick's Amerl-
| can Docks at Staten Island, where
enormous warehouses are now IN the
course of construction. 1t was claimed
by the friends of this plan, which was
gaining ground every day, that by its
adoption all loss by theft could be eff
fectually prevented, and the expense Of
handling the cotton could be greatly
reduced. All carriage to the stores
would be saved, as the transportation
lines would probably deliver at the Gen.
trail warehouses free Of charge. At
present the bulk of the cotton which
was shipped for Europe was recon-
pressed at an expense of fifty cents for
COMPRISING and fifty cents for carriage
to and from the presses. 1t was also
claimed that even large saving would
be effected in the employment of mend
| ers, weighmasters, carmen, welghers,
and delivery clerks. An enormous saw
ing in time would also be accomplished
by weighing and COMPRISING the cot
ton while it was on Its way from the
docks to the warehouses, and the trans
fer
COULD BE MADE VERY QUICKLY ON
TRAMwAYs
or railway tracks run between them,
more especially if the presses are prop
erly located. 1t was intended to have
large yards covered with glass, SO that
cotton could be mended, picked and ex-
amined in all weathers. The entire
place was to be enclosed by brick walls,
and 20 be only accessible by water
through a gate which was always to be
carefully guarded, so that the cotton
thief would be effectually kept out.
The merchant who gave this inter
esting statement reckoned that the
new plan, if once adopted by the ma
iority of the receivers Of cotton, would
reduce the monthly storage from
twenty cents to twenty-five cents per
bale to from twelve and half cents to
fifteen cents per bale. 1t would also
give a great impetus to the trade, IN
creasing the receipts of cotton to a
considerable extent. 1t was estimated
and there is probably no better
authority in the city than the report
er's interlOcutor-thatth the receivers lost
from three TO five pounds per bale by
an unblushing system of petty thieying
going on openly IN the streets while
the cotton was being mended, picked
and weighed. Three pounds of cotton
are worth about forty-five cents, and
as six humid: ed thousand bales-this is
a low fgure-pass through the city
every year, the saving, according to
this estimate, would be $500, 900 on this
item alone. Quite number of lead
inc cotton dealers estimate the entire
saving by way of carriage, loss by theft,
etc, at no less than 81 per bale, so that
the receivers of cotton would gam
] about 100000 year.