The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1875-05-25
MORE ABOUT COTTON CHARGES.
New ORLEANS, May %, 1875

When replied to the article of "Rounda-
bout on the subject of cotton charges, which
appeared in the Times of the 21st inst, did
not suppose for o moment that I would make
him squirm as he does in his column this
morning. really pity him, and if there was
any way to relieve him from the dilemma in
which he has placed himself, would cheer
fully come to his assistance, but as he has
made assertions which he cannot sustain, l
propose to point out one or two Of them and
let the public judge between us.
In the first place he gives the items of
charges on his five bales cotton, but does not
state the length of time it was held here. 1t
might have been three months or three years,
so there is no way of ascertaining whether or
not his charge of four dollars and sixty four
cents for fire insurance is correct. 1t is not GUS
tomary for factors to make an extra charge for
storage, and have never known the charge
made unless cotton was held for very long
times: and carried over from one season to
another.
Roundabout knows very we'll that freight
and shippers charges comprise no part of
the legitimate charges incurred at the place of
sale, and that his extra insurance and
extra storage should not be estimated
on his five bales; he knows, too,
in making up the aggregate charges
that he has been caught in his own trap, and
he has not the manliness to acknowledge it.
1 have myself made out account sales where
the freight and shippers charges consumed
the entire value or gross proceeds OF the cot
ton shipped. Roundabout, had he known
this, might have said that the entire receipts
at New Orleans are yearly eaten up by
" freight and charges. Again, he says, that
before the war, when the general charge for
drayage, labor, ETC., was fixed at fifty cents q
bale, the amount actually expended never
reached that average, and that the factors
paid their own brokerage, and that the bro
kerage was divided between the purchaser
and vendor.
Now, it is wonderful how the astute Mr..
Roundabout discovered this "mare's nest,
or rather how he knows so much more about
the business of the merchants of this city
than they know themselves. Before the war
there was no fixed price for storing cotton,
and some presses took cotton on storage free
buS nearly all the old merchants (nyself
amongst the NUMBER paid Q fair compensa-
ton for taking care of their cotton, and the
fifty cents per bale did not more than COM
pensate them for drayage, 7storage, weighing,
labor and brokerage, for brokerage. as he
says, was then paid by the factor without any
additional charge to the planter. The broker
age then was the same as now, one-fourth per
cent from the factor and one-half per cent
from the purchaser.
Roundabout intimates that the planters are
now thrown upon their own resources, mean
ing that they are independent of the merchant,
and that they intend to watch every dime de-
Quoted from their yearly earnings. 1 pre-
sumo the merchant will be delighted to learn
through such an intelligent source that they
are in such comfortable circumstances, and
that he will now be able to get back the
heavy advances made them. both last year and
this, to make their crops.
I will notice one more of his wonderful dis
coveries, and then bring this communication
to close. He says the planter insists that
AZ, 600 bales of cotton are annually cultivated
upon the square block pavements of this city.
and that every bale which reaches our wharves
contributes its quota to make up this amount.
| 90 Roundabout knows that this is untrue.
The planter does not insist upon anything Of
the kind. It emanates from his own disor-
dered brain. The season ending 3lst of Au-
gust, 1875, showed "a, 500 bales more than the
running count of the receipts. This is the long.
est figure of what is known as "city crop
ever reached. About 1000 bales of it was
made by re-ginning cotton ssed, and is called
"linters :" about 5000 bales were made from
pickings. Much Of it was made from
wrecked cotton, the re-packed bales being
lighter than the original, and some may have
| been added by miscount, and the residue was
from samples of both factors and buyers, OF
at least such should have been the case II
everything was properly done.
I do not pretend to say that there as moi
been much abuse in the handling of cotton in
New Orleans, and I am glad it has been
pretty effectually stopped by the admirable
system of supervision now in vogue, and II
| is pity that this system has not been intro
duced in New York, Galveston and elsewhere.
The amount of cotton thus far from samples,
pickings, linters, etc., this season to the Isl
| inst. is set down at II, 963 bales, as will be
seen by reference to the annexed extract from
the New Orleans Times cotton article Of the
| 9Th instant.
| "The count of stock made by the Exchange
on the first instant, and which we published
on Wednesday,, showed that the total excess
made from waste, damaged, loose and pick
ings on gross receipts of l, 1O5, III bales
amounted to only 1868 bales. Of this W
have reason to believe 1900 bales we're mad
from resinning seed by the various cottol
seed oil factories, leaving say 10000 bale
from other sources. From this last amour
must be deducted considerable percentag
made through retailing heavy weight bales
some of which are equal to one and half
the ordinary average weight bales, and cottol
in seed, much of which is received during tn
busy season, and which can only be- ap
proximated in calculating them into bale
tor adding into the usual daily tables. !
these and other deductions are made for pick
ings, ETC., it will be seen that through tn
supervision system of the Cotton Exchang
more complete protection is now afforded T.
planters cotton in this market than at an.
other point in the United States When tn
official count of stock was taken May 70 o
last year, it showed $4,000 bales ex cess OF
1,28O, 900 gross receipts to about that date
It is useless to comment on the differenc
this year; the figures speak for themselves.
eve have given close attention to thu
matter, and notice unanimous determination
on the part OF the cotton men of New Orleans
Individually and through the Exchange. t
put down with firm hand the abuses whicl
seem to have fastened SO tightly upon all th
great cotton centers of the country.
cit is not proposed to end, we are assured
with the great work that has already been &C
90. rytll ho in