The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1879-02-08
THE GUANO WAR.
DIFFERENT YTEWS TAKEN TIIRO'
DIFFERENT !SPECTICLES.
>----O---

the Guano Sicle of the Question Tho
Cost Of Manufacturing and the Small
Profits Manufacturers Uncertain
tics Of Cotton Option.
Editors Chrouicle a,e1 Constitu-
tionalist: I can hardly persuade
that if the planters thoroughly un-
derstood the guano question they
would speak and feel rs they do to-
ward the manufacturers and general
agents. It would occupy too much
space to enter fully into tho discus
sion of this Cat prcscnt) important
subject The raw material that it
takes to manufacture ton of guano
to sack it, and transport it to the
ports in the South, at tho present
price--leaves but a small profit, and
wore it not for the great quantity of
1T that is sold, would not be worth
tho trouble. If any ono will put
themselves to the trouble of calcu
lating the cost they will be satisfied
that unless the manufacturer gets
noar thirty dollars per ton for it at
the coast, he could not make any,
thing on it, and to do this, it would
be necessary that they should carry
no surplus stock over. This can
hardly be expected, however. Thoro
is always moro or less stock carried
carried over from one year to anoth-
er, which has to be cared for at con,
siderable expense, snd then to be
handled and re- sacked the next
season, storage to. be paid, large
quantities lost in waste. and many
other minor things, which, in aggre
gate, foot up heavily. :,.
When the guano comes into tho
hands of the general agents, there,
ore other and formi table charges
which are necessary before 1T reach
es the farmer. The general agent
himself is entitled to some comDen-
satlon Tor the risk of guaranteeing,
pre-paying freight, paying travelling
agents, who .es tablish interior agen,
cles-his own time and that of his
office clerks-for there is immense
labor connected with his business.
lie is also entitled to the interest
on the money advanced in paying
trelghts to the farmers no lrost
depot And after it arrives he has
his interior agents to pay, and has
heretofore had to pay in many in
stances storage on guano, and also
drayage, and also to pay even for
weighing tho cotton that was paid
IN exchange for the guano. The
general agent or tho manufacturer
has also to pay for mending sacks,
and loss in weight from wasteage;
they have to pay freight on cotton
from place Of delivery to tho coast,
and they have to receive cotton at
interior woights-and in this they
lose about five pounds to ovory bale.
About ton dollars per ton is added
to manufacturers prices to cover all
the numerous incidental expenses,
which includes another very impor-
tant item, that Of guaranteeing the
sales of their interior agents. 1t is
truo that tho intorior agents guar
antee their sales to tho general
agent, but only to the extent of
their aggregate commissions they
can only lose their labor, while q
general agent in many instances
may not only lose his commissions
but much moro. There is sometimes
large quantities carried ovor at inte~
rior points, which entails additional
expense. 1t also frequently hap>
pens that ono point is too heavily
supplied, md thon comes another
expense Of transportation Of from
one to two dollars per ton. All
of these little amounts in tho end
make large sums, which 60 to reS
duce the profits. In, some in
stances general agents accept q
more forwarding com mission rather
than incur the risk to which they
are subject 1t is hardly necessary
to add, that wo have now and then a
loss in the way of a bad. debt. The
writer has heard OF instances where
there were bad debts enough to con-
sumo the entire years p:ofits.
Our farmer friends complain that
while everything else has declined,
the eprico of guano has advanced.
rs this in fact true? Last year the
currency price at he coast was S44