The New Orleans daily Democrat., 1878-11-10
OUR COTTON.
AN IMPROVEMENT ON THE OLD WAY
OF HANDLING THE sTAR.LE.
Great Saving Inn Thine and H0Hey aa
Eked Out by 81 EbemUernt Reporter

} Being informed Of great enterprise ON foot
to cheaper and facilitate the storage ana com
pressing of cotton at this port. reporter OF
the DEMOCRAT called ON Capt. s. H. Gilman. at
the corner Of Fourth and Prytania streets.
who was supposed to be the prime mover In
the matter FOR more definite information.
Reporter-Capt. Gilman. the DEMOCRAT would
like to give Its readers full account of tho
new cotton press enterprise about to be inau-
gurated here, which. it is said, will greatly re-
duce the charges ON cotton passing through
this port. 5.-
Answer You take II for granted, then, that |
am engaged in such an enterprise and am
authorized to make it known? Well it Is true
that more advanced plan for handling cotton
was proposed by me to some Northern capital
lists while ut the Centennial. three years ego,
and that details Of the Ulan have been COM
pleted and submitted and approved; and that
some of the parties were here last season in
vestigating the subject. and selected site for
the necessary plant" etc. and that they sent an
eminent engineer to all the cotton ports to in
yestigate the congresses. ties, band pullers.
etc. and have adopted those covered by my
patents and now controlled by the Louisiana
Cotton Tie Company. Yet have no authority
to make any statement, but can give you such
information ms the company would not object
to being made public.
Rep.-T would like to know wherein your plan
differs from the present mode, and how much
New Orleans Is to be benefited by it..
"A site has been selected with about one
half mile of river front, on which will be erect
ed cotton warehouses sufficient to handle
2osO 600 bales Of cotton each season. These
warehouses will be In ten divisions, and will be
built with brick walls and iron roofs; no wood
whatever in any part Of this structure. Each
division will be divided into sections, and each
section will be furnished with storage cribs
made of wroughtg gas pipe perforated with small
holes, and so arranged that every bale Of cotton
rests on the pipe. and not upon any other bale
Every bale will be exposed to view for selections
and any one bale can be taken out without NOV
ing any other one In the tier. The cotton will
be slowed In its crib tiers and taken out by
travelling hydraulic cranes. More cotton can
be slowed by this plan on the same area Of
ground than Is now done. The perforated gas
pipe crib tiers are so connected that current
Of heated air can at any moment be thrown
around every bale of cotton In the press and
dry 1t il received wet, and keep 1t perfect
ly dry In wet weather: and in case of fire
O shower OF water can be at once thrown upon
oil sides of every bale of cotton In the press
and Immediately be followed by shower of
heated atr until 1t Is dry again. The air will be
heated by the escape steam Of the presses. and
thrown in by fan blowers. and the water sup
piled from elevated cisterns, always kept full
by steam pump.
80 that cotton can be classed and weighed in ali
weather. The entire levee. from the warehouses
to the front Of the Wharves. will be covered with
an iron roof. 50 that receiving and shipping
cotton can go on as well in wet as III dry
weather.
The flooring of the whole will be of granite
blocks faced perfectly level The presses will
consist OF eight Of my reversipls duplicates Of
and fastener and grip and globe ties Each Of
these presses using the stsam bale bander is
capable of turning out 2ono bales of compressed
cotton every twepty-four hours, or 1G, 600 bales
altogether Steamboats, will discharge their cot
ION at the press wharyes. and cars from all Of
the railroads will unload under the sheds at the
rear of the press. Ships and steamers will load
at the press wharves.
The main office will be in the business centre
Of the city and connected by telegraph and
telephone with each division of the press, so
that sellers, buyers, brokers. shippers and ship
the condition Of their cotton, or transmit any
!, orders other classers. Weighers. press clerks
Or their ships There will also be pneumatic
tube for the instantaneous transmission of
} written orders. samples Of cotton, ETC., such rs
are now used in many large cities.
/ Rep.-How much viii such press reduce the
charges on d bale OF cOtton?
A-We, to begin with drayages, there will be
storage will b. IS cents the first and 10 cents the
! following months, say an average Of 35 cents
from 60, the present charge. leaves 25 cents
} no risk at all, but say half the present rats 10
cents; eompressing will be 30 cents, from 50 at
present, leayrs 20 cents; duplicate presses Of
/ the Champion, can turn out more profit at 80
, cents a bale than the present presses can at IS
cents. The Champion leads vessels at the rate
of $500 pounds per ton, while no other press
has Or can exceed 2200 pounds whom com press
ing bales with one ct Of bands, which is indis
: pensable to the attainment Of the greatest
speed and economy; this difference In storage
OF 600 pounds per ION Is Is euqal TO ons dollar per
1fe n IN Feg ha fa sses a e eqn
foreign shippers, estimate the saving per bale
on cotton compressed by putting two bales d.
recy together. at fully 40 cents per bale In loss
from damage and waste.
The gain to the distant spinner in loss from
ud oy to Wbo bae are po Wt
be entirely saved when, the cotton is handled in
dry. clean house under cover. and always kept
dry In the warehouse until put on board ship.
This loss to the spinner is now fully twenty
pounds per bale and after the first crop il sent
VIII m east one oar per @
more In distant markets than cotton from other
ports. When cotton is compressed with two
ordinary bales in one package, and the twelve
bands that were or iginally around she two
, bales are now around the one package, as the
> nearly square and SO hard that It's sto wage in
, the ships hold cannot be increased by jack
that vessels crews can stow such cotton and
; save the present ste7edores charge Of seventy
/ FIVE CENTS Here. then, is gain of.four dollars
a bale in reducing the cost of handling cotton
at this port, amounting to the s arting sum Of
sir millions eight hundred housarGtdolars on q
single crop OF 100000 bales. The most of these
figures are mafl8 by spinners Of the largest
experience in the manufacture Of cotton goods,
: and are below the average of that experience.
1t is scarcely neeessarytO say tlet such differ
ence will inevitably draw three-fourths Of the
entire cotton crop to New Orleans.
Rep.-Why have not our present press rnen
adopted these improvements,2-
A.-Invested capital is always. everywhere.
antagonistic TO improved methods and inyen-
tions that iaterfere with it., There is to-day
not single article Of food or clothing, not 6
s. luxury Of domestic life OF travel, that Is not
7 produced by and tributary to some patented
i Invention, which has reduced It's cost unil the
: laborer wish one dollar per day can enjoy iuxu-
ries that we're denied to the millionaire only a
. century back: and it is statistical fast that
! gurated and prosecuted by men who haa.never
J previously been engaged IN similar industries,
q while Investors iu the old raethods have re-
9 mainei in the fancied security of their expe-
: rience antil left entirely in the rear. saw last
D summer OF ne North the plants" Of one CON
y pany shat had cost four millions, now shut up
and idle because refusing TO adopt improve