The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1889-11-20
Story Ola Cotton Bale in Two Chap.
terS,
TIC Rural Curoliniaa, Sept, 1874.

IHc IclLrdt CuTOtlnLIn, Sept, 1874.
Important truths cannotbe too cften re-
peated; and to attract attention to them and
deepen their impression, they should be pre-
slble. The poverty Of tho cotton grower; the
imrOvcrishment of the soil the runous eff
lects of the credit system; the coStiess of the
process BY means OF which the
great Southern staple Is sold, transported to
the North or 10 Europe, manufactured. and H.
nally brought back, in the shape OF cloth, 10
clothe the original producer, are by no means
novel facts. They have been set forth In these
mas not been produced. They must be reiter-
ated, and we shall continue to repeat: "Di.
versify your crops; avoid debt and liens; buy
for cash and, by cooperation In Oranges or
first hand purchases ; sell your produce with
the Intervention of as few intermediates as
possible, so rs to get as large IL share rs you
can of what the consumer finally must pay
Tor it," At present, however, our purpose is
simply to introduce paper in which the les
son we desire TO jnculcale Is thrown into mar
ative form and may therefore get read, re-
iccted on and talked about, when plain
statement Of the same facts would command
but little attention. This story Of y cotton
bale Is said 10 nave been written by Mr.. John
il. Ncathcry, OF Raleigh, N! G. We find 1t
credited to The Raleigh Crescent:
CHAPTER I.
ma, by farmer Of moderate means. At an
early age l learned from q conversation be.
tween the farmer and neighbor, that the land
on which l was raised was mortSaged to Bal
timore firm, who had furnished fertilizers for
the soil, and also to the Raleigh merchant
who had sold supplies Of Western bacon and
and corn for the support OF the field hands,
and Northern hay and oats for the mules.
The farmer complained that the necessity had
forced him to pay heavy fee for drawing and
the mortgage securing the commits.
sion merchants.
I noticed that the mules on the farm were
poorly fed, and that as they passed the lot
gate they eagerly npped few lunches OF
luxuriant clover which had sprung up from
seeds dropped out Of the Nothern oats. The
farmer said as the mules passed on, Il would
SOW an ucre in clover, but need all my best
land for cotton"
have nothing very remarkable TO tell you
my youthful days. observed
that the hands employed in the field were
poorly clad. Most OF them wore coarse,
cheap, Northern made clothes, shoes and hats.
and from their rude talk found that they had
very little education. The wives and children
Of these farm laborers frequently came 10 the
field, and saw that the women wore North
ern calico dresses, and that the children were
After being picked and packed l Iva was taken ken
to the farmer: "Cotton Is flat to-day, but
i viii gV up sGon The wea nto
large new brick store, and accidentally heard
the merchant say to the clerk: "Insure this
bale OF cotton and charge MIR. A. with insur-
ance and storage" / remained shut up for
some time, when Inc farmer came one auy
and the merchant said to him: "Cotton Is no
better, but am compelled 10 have some mon
ey. 1 will ship your bale TO Baltimore and do
the best can with Ii"
A dray soon came up and was hoisted INTO
II. the merchant said "Have this bale insur.
ed and directed to w. & A., Baltimore.
they viii pay the freight and insurance"
I was hurried over the railroad TO Norfolk,
and thence by steamer to Baltimore. l was
then stored for some time, when I was sold to
an agent of O Rhode Island manufacturer.
AS passed out heard the merchant calcu.
lating how much was due him as storage and
on my SALE. My purchaser was
also busy in getting out bis insurance on me,
and arranging to pay freight on me 70 Fhode
Island. ,
Nothing occurred on the route to my desti-
nation worthy of remark. When arrived at
the factory found several thousand friends,
men and children seemed cheerful, but none
OF them wore Southern made boots, or South
eru made clothes, or are Southern bacon.
The dray horses were well kept, but did not
eat Southern hay or oats. The owner Of the
factory, they said, was very. rich, and hal
made his fortune manufacturing cotton cloth
for the New York market. l was hurried
through the factory. and came out a bolt OF
nice. ST0OOLl ClOGu. 1 Was q
of cloth for New York wholesale house, and
as / went out overheard conversation OF
the mill He said he was realizing handsome
profits from his factory and besides, he was
Giving employment to hundred families,
and was one Of the largest Taxpayers In the
State.
ment of one of the merchant princes, and
was delighted to hear him say to clerk,
sSend this bale to Messrs. Tucker, Raleigh
T nod nUn 4
not new to me, and arrived safely In Raleigh
in less than week. By chance was put on
the bottom Of q large pile of cloth, and hav'
ing nothing to do, entered into little calcu
lation. 1t was as follows:
have changed hands often. First, the Ra-
leigh merchant realized his profit and stor'
age. Then the insurance agent. Then the
railroads got their freights. Then the steam.
ers got their freight Then the Baltimore
Then the Northern insurance agent got his
per cent. Then the manufacturer got his pro.
fits. The New York wholesale merchant got
his per cent. Then the railroads and steam.
man got another per cent. Messrs. Tucker
must have per cent, and
Here q clerk reached down and pulled me
out with jerk, and, 10 and behold! my old
master, the man who raised me. said he
would take me, "that he wanted some mar
rad homespun," >" and was bundled, and am
now at my old home, in Wake, expecting
shortly TO be cut up.
CHAPTER II.
believe when Mr. fuckers clerk broke the
thread OF my discourse, was making calcu'
lation. I had told how the following persons
realized profits on me:
/. The Raleigh cotton factor. Q. The rail-
roads and steam lines. 3. The insurance
Northern railroads. Q. The Northern insur-
ance companies. 7. The manufactures. s.
The Wholesale merchant. 8. The railroads on
return freight. 10. The insurance men on re-
turn risks. II. The retail dealer.
These parties all show deep interest In me
and wish to say entertain no unkind feel
ings toward any Of them. The prohts they
realized from me were legitimate and proper;
me, and when considered that he paid all
these accumulated profits added to the orig,
inal cost, did not wonder that he dressed
poorly and was hard pressed to support his
family. have travelled around and Listened
to calculating men talk. and intend to Whis.
per word to him through the Crescent
What want TO say Is:
Raise your own hogs; Don't BUY western
be at low price! Sow an acre or Two IN clo,
ver 1t will save corn and enable you to feed
your teams, better, and will cost you less than
Northern oats and hay. VIII enable you 10
more and better milk. Your calves Will grow
larger and make finer cattle. Raise your
own corn and wheat. Don't plant all cotton.
If your land Is poor. SOW peas and improve IL.
Save all your barn-yard manure, compost
your vegetable mould, and don't buy worth
less fertilizers.
Smith e. Son have the best so cents jersey
Jackets you eyer saw.
We have some very fine black diagonal
goods for those who want their pants made
ut home. p. Rosenberg & Co.
1t is time to think Of sowing turnip seed
nnd ,rn q ra nrnnared to furnish BuiStS pure