Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-05-16

ed attention, and investigations into the
same are still being pursued for
the purpose of ascertaining if pos
sible the true cause, and whether
or not Intentional fraud has been
committed by the Southern planter
A Philadelphia dispatch states that the
Textile Record of that city has been en-
gagged in this work of investigation, and
to that end interrogations and letters
have been addressed to leading cotton
firms in Norfolk. Savannah, Charleston,
New Orleans, Galveston and other South
ern cities. The result of this investiga-
ton will be published this week. and
the following is a synopsis of the con-
illusions derived therefrom
"None of the Southern brokers deny
the existence of authorizations, primer
pally sand. in cotton. but all declared
that there is no fraud about it, except
perhaps in few exceptional instances.
They say there has always been sand in
some portions of the cotton crop, but it
was present in larger proportion in the
crop of 1881, because the dry weather
prevented the full growth of the y ant,
the bOlls were borne near the ground,
and when they opened some of the cot
ton fell out, while the rest hung so low
that every shower splashed sand and
dirt into it. LsbOr, they say, is so
scarce in the cotton districts that all the
crop cannot be gathered as fast as it ma
lures, the wind fills the bOlls with dust,
and planters gather up the fallen cotton,
dirty as it is, prefer ting to sell it at a low
price to letting it go entirely to waste.
Much of the dirt could be removed from
the cotton by good ginning, but
most of the Southern gins are old, inef-
fective ard carelessly handled, the lint
and sweepings of the floor being some
times gathered up and packed with the
cleaned cotton, while in other cases the
cotton is damp when ginned. and gath
ers a great deal of the dust which is con-
stantly flying about the gin house. All
these authorities, however declare that
few frauds are attempted and still fewer
successfully practiced. The tests to
which the cotton is subjected are severe,
and few dirty bales can escape detec-
ton. They say that great deal of sandy
at a prOpOrtIOnate price, and that the
Oldham spinners, who are complain
ing of adulterated cotton, bought that
kind, knowing it to be such. sim.
ply because it was cheap; the mar
#et price for low grade cotton sometimes
running as low as two or TIL ee cents a
pound, as compared with twe'vesc tnts a
pound for clean, first qualify staples
They say that large stones, pieces of
iron, blocks of wood, and other heavy
articles are not packed in the bales
except, possibly, in rare cases, such as
might occur in any business: certainly
rot often enough to let the work of an
occasional rogue prejudice the business
of all the honest men engaged in the
trade. In a word, they admit that the
planters are guilty of carelessness and
inefficiency in letting their cotton be-
come dirty, but deny that the dirt is in
tentiOnally added or that dirty cotton is
solo for clean.
"Some of the Northern mill owners
coincide in these views, but others either
deny them or only approve them in part.
A firm of spinners at COnshOhOcken,
near this city, who have been engaged in
spinning cotton for the past forty years,
saw they do not remember ever having
encountered any case of very gross
| adulteratiOn, such as the packing of
large stones in the bales, but they have
frequently found small stones and SINH
lar articles. and have sometimes, though
rarely, found sand in such quantities
that it must have been shoveled in to
weight the bale. These people say there
is often more reason to complain of mud
and sand that has gathered on the out
side of the bale during 'r deportation
than of anything cOntainc" inside Of it.
Another ConshohOcken firm say
they have frequently found sand
in their cotton bales, and sometimes in
| large quantities, but it seems to have
got in by accident, and there is seldom
enough of it to affect the weight seri-
Ously. Gen. Robert Patterson, however
who is a very large cotton spinner, spoke
very emphatically on the subject He
| said: of course, the cotton is often
| filed with sand, and all adulteratiOn is
| not fraudulent but l have seen bricks,
large stones. iron, fence rails, and all
sorts of substances packed up IN the
| bales These do not get there by any
accident Such bales do not come from
any particular locality, nor is the fraudu-
| lent adulteratiOn confined to any one
State or section. The planters are in
nearly all cases unknown, as it happens
in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred
that the mark on the bale, if one ever
was put there, is entirely obliterated be-
fore it reaches the consumer. The men
who engage in these dishonest operations
come originally from all parts of the
country, and broken down Chicago grain
spectators are fair samples of what
kind of men they are. They never send
samples to correspond with their cotton,
and people who purchase in that way
must expect to suffer believe, said
General Patterson, in conclusion, that
pretty much everything but a dead
niger has been found within cotton
bales. General Patterson, however, was
the only man who was found to talk so
decidedly as this. and as he has been
buying for several years directly from
the planters. through his own agents, the
Terrific Record thinks his views are ex-
aggera.ed and founded upon reminis-
cences rather than upon recent expert
ence. 1t is disposed to accept the asser-
tions of the Southern houses as true and
their explanation as the correct one.
It is a matter of very general know