The Brookhaven leader., 1889-06-27
THE QUESTION OF TARE.
Farmers, Read, and Govern
Yourselves Accordingly.

It's a question whether the cotton
producers are able to protect their
own interests from the trusts, that
threaten or not. At q time when
they needed the money very badly, the
bagging trust taxed them millions of
dollars. They have always been tax
ed too heavily by the insurance trust,
but at this time we only propose to
refer to the resistance they are max
ing to the bagging trust.
The Alliance, Wheel and Union, it
| will he remembered, recently assem-
bled i'm Birmingham and resolved to
cover cotton with cotton bagging.
| At the same time they passed resolu-
tons asking the cotton exchanges to
rescind their rules discriminating
against cotton covered with cotton.
! In addition to this they recommended
! to cotton producers not to sell to
parties, who would not make the tare
correspond to the covering, that is, to
parties who insist on discriminating
against cotton bagging.
On the publication of these resolu-
tons. the cotton exchanges took them
up, discussed them and promised
fairly about them. The New Orleans
and New York exchanges seemed
particularly anxious to do the fair
thing but pointed out the difficulties,
and waited to hear from Liverpool.
So far Liverpool has done nothing ex-
cept return the taffy she received
from this side of the ocean. In fact
the matter stands just where it did
before the agricultural orders acted
on it. The cotton exchange, who
claim that it is the chief object of
their life to foster the great cotton in
terest, have accomplished just moth
ing at all, and cotton sent in cotton
bagging will be subjected to the same
tare as that sent in jute bagging. In
other words, the buyer will exact con-
siderably more than a just tare, and
will not agree to tare according to
the weight of the covering. Then
the resolution of the agricultural or
ders not to sell to those exactingunjust
tare, comes into prominence. Will
they stand by it?
We say, most emphatically, that
they are only asking what is just,
and they ought not to submit to in
justice. If their agents, the factors
and exchanges, are willing to submit
to a great wrong, simply because it
does not come out of their pockets,
they are not true to the cotton inter-
est as they claim to be.
The exchanges and factors cannot
claim they have not had time and
have not been frankly and explicitly
warned. The matter has not been
suddenly sprung upon them. They
called their exchanges together weeks
ago, but as yet they have not been
able to do the simple act of justice, of
agreeing that the tare on cotton shall
correspond to the weight of the cover
ing. They should do that, and then
after careful investigation, fix stand
ard for cotton bagging, so that cotton
planters will not be robbed when the
new crop begins to be shipped, will
not be subjected to loss for trying to
open new maket for the great South
ern staple, and will not be placed at
a disadvantage by so-called friends,
| III CiltlI hSuC WIN INC .jutC phSS .
trust. AS it is now, it looks more like
the cotton factors and exchanges are
agents of the jute bagging trust, than
agents and friends of cotton pro-
ducers. We state what cannot be de-
MED, when we assert the American
cotton exchanges have no business to
wait on Liverpool in this matter.
The cotton to be covered by cotton
bagging is American cotton and
American producers, handlers, factors,
exchanges and capitalists, should see
that it gets fair play in the markets of
the world. If Liverpool sends an or
der for American cotton, it should be
sent to her in cotton bagging and
only a Just tare permitted. But in all
events, if the factors and cotton ex-
changes are not true enough to the
cotton producers to demand simple
justice, the cotton producers should
be true to themselves. They should
carry out their resolution to the let
ter, and refuse to sell to buyers not
willing to make the tare correspond
with the covering = icksburg Herald.