The People's vindicator. [volume] (Natchitoches, La.) 1874-1883, 1881-10-22
Charges on the Planter.
Death Of Louis Alfred WIZ
Governor Of Louisiana.
4 Adjournment OfCourt-'Hhe Cits
Council.


labor, rs. engaged in handling it.
strife grew ont Of the fact that the Adj
is too short to Justify the large inves
for the cotton purchased, and the CO.,
station too small to enable the labOrd : q
|subssta family for twelve months on
wages of seven or eight months.
This system of factoring and transftl IL
IN unnatural and unnecessary charge u
On production II the transit tax ut tia
) port is two dollars bale, it ppresent
ten per cent on the average value Of cote
ton. 1t is Encouragement to the plant
er to that extent. The original theory OF
New Orleans was that the city was to b,
supported ly the sale and transfer Of com.
Ioditics exported and imported through
IS agencies. All other scaports expedite
;on1mcrc" Ivy sales, without compuisor.
commissions, and transfer by mechanical
instead Of manual or animal labor.
A bushcl of grain is inspected into elc.
'ator and cl;ssc,l. the holder sells the Ger.
itcatc. The grain thus flows through
Milwaukee, Chicago and New York, anf
paid for by bills on New York CT Liver
'ool. The whca, grower nets the ulti,
nate market price, less only the freight
: md machine transfer. There is no t:,ctcl
II middlenMn needed.
There can be 10 doubt that the drayaGc.
,toragc and delay at our port limini>hes
he receipt of cotton. The commission
md other charges, are, in the aggregate.
greater than the freight across the Allan
ic. The last enumeration will show tina,
he antiquated system of cotton brokers
which survives in this market is neither
advantageous to the planter, the general
merchant, or to the city itself. The only
possible advantage of this compulsory
iactora@e formerly, consisted in the adj
vance of capital for the purchase of Labor
md supplies, and the superior knowledge
Of the growing crop, stock on hand and
market prices acquired by the factors, VIII,
tllen possessed a monopoly of this intorma
ton. Now the variations of price witt
the conditions Of the stock and crop ar,
) Published in q thousand newspapers, ant,
ire as well known to all who choose Il
read, as to those who make these facts .
sub jcct of study, Investment or specula
lion. Fifteen years have passed since tn,
emancipation of the slaves, and it NIGH
Ne supposed that the planter would, Will
! the aid Of the country. merchant, have
commanded the means of paying his labo
bills without paying the merchants
charges which an ancient habitndc ha
Imposed on him.
The advantage Of Il more economical anI
erapid transportation of the cotton crop II
general merchant is equally obvious
These facilities increase the quantiry o.
cotton shipped through New Orleans
srhey thus increase the river and oceal
Stonnagc, the expectation connected will
sthis commerce, and the capital employed
; in moving it. In paying any part ofthi
economy to the planter, the money is CAPT
atalized and kept within reach of his mer
chant. In substituting mechanical means
Iof transfer, the manual and animal force'
] now engaged in that work, will be liber
Z .ted from a toll which adds nothing to TIN
Svalues handled. and sent back to the tielt
lnf production to add to the volume o.
capital and business. Suppose we assume
: that there are 5000 work animals, ant
q IL, 600 men employed in act of transfer be
tween the ocean, river, and railroad
There is here a producing power capable
! of adding u, 600 bales Of cotton to the re
ecipts of the port. If it is economy t.
substitute mechanical devices for muscu
= lar power in the work Of cotton, is it no
equally judicious to apply the same prn
: "iple to the transportation, transfer AM
sale Of the cotton
You will ask how this substitution an,
economy may be effected! III the frs
place there should be Il systcmtof public
inspection OF cotton, established through.
oht the State. Extensive public ware
houses having been established immedi
ately on the river, in the city of New Or
leans, all cotton should he landed fror
rail and river vehicles, and taken by stcar
trucks to the compress, and thence to til
: warehouscs for inspection. Here the cot
ton should be classified and the certiticat
delivered to the owner, who would b
Thereby entitled TO an equal weight of tina
class Types Of all grades having bee
established and deposited in the parishes
local inspection could certify baled q
compressed cotton and the filing Of thes
samples in the public warehouses in Ne,
Orleans would make the certificates as nc
getiable as any other. Cotton compressed
might be thus transferred by floating el.
vators without any expense or delay wha'
ever.
Of course if these suggestions were {
sufficient Importance to attract animat
versions, the practical impossibilty ofca
rying them out would be as with ever
other proposal to adopt some mode Of d
ing business to this system Of free labt
elsewhere. There would he no use
meeting such objections before they sha
I,,yo hean made Inf IL NAV lie remarked