The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1889-06-04
COTTON BAGGING FOR THE
Z SOUTH.
Address Of the Committee.

To the members of the Alliance, the, Vince
and the Union:
The undersigned were appointed a COM
mittee at the meeting recently held at
Birmingham, Ala, to present the advan-
tages and necessity of using cotton bag
ging by cotton producers, and the same
convention, composed of delegates repre-
senting- the organizations above men
toned, adopted the following resolutions
and urged their endorsement by everyone
interested: ~rnsE
ResoEved, That we, from all the lights
before us, recommend to this body the
permanent use of cotton bagging as a
covering for cotton.
We further recommend the appoint
ment of a committee of three, their actual
expenses to be paid by the organizations
here represented, whose duty it shall be
to secure from purchasers and manufac-
turerS of cotton covered in cotton bag
/ ging, an allowance of at least eight pounds
on each bale, to be settled for at market
price when sold. =,
l. And we still further recommend that
in the event of any cotton buyer refusing
to grant said premium on such cotton,
then we advise the members of the Alli-
ance, Wheel and Union not to sell until
such concession is made"
This may be thought by many to be
not only a bold step, but one of doubtful
~expediency. Your committee are aware
of the serious difficulty in presenting
these determinations of the National ALI
ance to a people used altogether to a diff
ferent covering for cotton, and a very
different method in the securing of that
1 oauorio~ Not 0n1u ca hrf VIZ onnro-
bend that an earnest effort will be made
by those whose interests lie in a different
direction, to persuade our people that this
much ado" about cotton bagging, is
simply a sentiment ground. d in opposition
to an imaginary bagging trust and as SEN
sible men they should "stick to business
methods and the most economic covering
for their cotton jute bagging." If no
bagging combine existed and jute bagging
could be bought at one-half the present
price, the same reasons would exist then
as now, for the exclusive and permanent
use of cotton bagging. It is a saying
that it is an i'll wind that blows no one
some good" and "that all is we'll that
ends WELL" So the bagging combine of
1888,may yet prove a "God send" to cotton
producers. The abuse of power or priv
ilege always works its own cure. If those
controlling jute bagging and its manufac-
ture had displayed the least wisdom or
tact in 1888, they could have gradually
increased the price of the same for a
series of years, and not one single effort,
perhaps, wouldh nave been made to supplya
substitute, but such an u~ncalled-for and
determined effort to force upon the cotton
producer, jute bagging, at an increase Of
from six to eight cents per yard in n
season, and that in the face of an organi-
cation that was increasing rapidly, with
the open and avowed purpose of resisting
such monopolies, was simply suicidal on
on their part and has worked, in our opin-
ion, vastly to the benefit of those whom
they intended to Cypress. This is but an
additional demonstration that over all
men and their actions there is One that is
just and doeth His will in the armies of
of the committee, doubtless, that we pre-
sent the economic question involved in
this revolution as to bagging for cotton
Seven yards of jnte bagging weighing
Il lbs. per yard will cost at factory 9 cts.
per yard, making 60 cts. Seven yards of
cotton bagging weighing three-fourths of
a pound will COSTLY cts. per yard at fac
tory, making 871 cts, or 244 cts. more for
the covering than jute. In addition to-
this there is a loss or difference of weight
between cotton covered in cotton and
jute per bale, of seven pounds, and this at
9 cts. per pound is 60 cts. Now this
added to the difference in cost-244,
makes 874 cts. per bale apparent loss.
Under the determinations of the National
Alliance, and justly so, the producer Oiu
get a n allowance of eight pounds per bale
on cotton covered bags this, at nine cts.
per pound, is u cts. This taken from
the loss of 871 cts. by the use of cotton,
leaves only Isl cts. yet to be overcome.
Now no sane man will dare deny that if
$4,000 bales of the lowest grade cotton
just the cotton that all manufacturers
do not want, and is always accounted for
as comparatively worthless in the fixing
of the price for d given seasons
consumed in the manufacture of bag
ging, that the price will not DO
increased on the remainder of the
crop and for two reasons First. the
demand for the better classes of cot
ton is constantly increasing and that mum
Der of bales, 125,000, will lessen the
supply, for the reason that it takes the
same labor and expense 20 produce the
lower grades that it does the better
grades; or, in other words, as the lower
grades increase in a given crop, the bet
ter grades decrease, The lowest estimate
possible for this diversion of125, 900 bales
of cotton, is an increase of one-fourth of
q cent per pound, or $1.25 per bale. Take
the loss of Isl cents from this and we
have a gain of $l.094 in favor of cotton
oagging as compared with jute at present
prices. But still there is another source
OF gain in favor of cotton bagging. We
are assured by those who control the in
snranee of cotton that they viii not
} charge more than one-half present rates
| OF insurance on cotton covered in cotton
bagg1ng, such as is manufactured by the
Lane Mills of New Orleans. This gives
cotton bagging % cents per bale increase
~ "hTnh a. -