The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1882-04-06
AN HOURS IMPORTANT WORK
FOR THE LEGISLATURE.

Il AkAJA(AA ~ AsAAN 80 49,
AN HOURS IMPORTANT WORK
FOR THE LEGIsLATURE.
Our cotton planters must elevate
the standard of American cotton or
suffer serious consequences. Com
plant after complaint comes from
English manufactures as TO fraudu-
lent practices in packing cotton, and
every once in a while loud COM
plants reach us from the New Eng
land factories. Lately there has
been very constant complaint, and
the Investigations of English spin
ners have been made public
through the press, while an
array of damaging facts
are made known through our con-
sui at Liverpool. 1t is asserted, and
the assertion is supported by the
experience of large number OF
manufacturers, that water, sand,
iron and stones are used to give
weight to the cotton when in bales.
That is to say these foreign materials
are placed in the cotton when it is
being baled, and the whole is sold
as pure cotton. At times, as much
as one hundred pounds of sand
have been found in single bale /;
while il is common thing to find in
the bales stones of large dimensions.
These fraudulent practices seem
TO prevail among those who
send their cotton to New
Orleans and Galveston to a greater
degree than among those whose
point of shipment is Mobile, Sayan-
nah and Charleston, though cotton
coming from these latter places is
by no means free from these defects.
SO widespread has the Imposition
become that it is now assumed
purchaser will lose from 10 to 20
per cent. on the weight of his Amer
lean cotton, and hence, unless he
can make Q corresponding saving
in price, when compared with the
price of other cotton, he will pur-
chase in preference the fiber grown
in Egypt or India The Boston
Herald, in discussing this question,
asserts that having built up rep
utation, "the southern planters, the
blacks, perhaps, more than the
whites, are doing their best to put
1t down." and thus way is being
opened to competition which may
prove highly disastrous to
the cotton growing interest.
The boards of trade and cot
ton exchanges in the south should
take steps needed to repress these
practices. There might be an Of
fetal inspection; but, it Is suggested,
much better way would be to
have the cotton in each district
graded aud baled by some reliable
person who would guarantee the ac-
curacy of his grading and the free
dom of the cotton from foreign adj
mixtures. Another plan suggested
is, that in each bale shall be placed
the name of the planter who grew
the cotton and the person who
packed it. In this way the buyer
who has been defrauded can trace
the deception back to its proper
source, and, as the sample list would
contain the names of those through
whom the cotton had passed on its
way to the consumer, those who
make 1t a rule to defraud would
soon become notorious and lose
their trade. Honest cotton planters
and dealers owe il to themselves,
no less than to the public, to organ
lie system by which these abuses
may be prevented, and it is matter
of such Importance as not to admit
of postponement. Texas is the
greatest cotton growing state, and
ats crop of this year, it is anticipated
will be worth seventy-five millions
of dollars. The injury done by one
evil practice in packing extends to
all, and the state is injured. The
manufacturers already complain
especially of Texas cotton, and the
remedy should be applied without
delay. Along with other correctives
the penal code might be amended,
and thus, with the aid OF suggestions
above made, the fraudulent packer
might know ~ advance that he
would be consigned in due course
of time to such quarters as may be
provided in one of the Texas peni-
tentiaries.