Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-03-16

when they read what follows, and realize the
fact what they should have done long ago, that
as estimated by Hon. Edward Atkinson, of Bos-
ton, not less than ten per cent, aggregating
SIS, coo, 900 annually, the greater part of which
can be saved to the grower which now goes TO
the middle men. Let us follow a bale of cotton
from the cotton grower in Alabama to the cotton
spinner in England, and see what few of the
charges are the farmer pays.
First comes the band iron bale tie ring, which
is represented by stock companies, with millions
of capital, which enormous dividends are
paid. They furnish the farmers with heavy, ex-
pensiYe patent hoop iron ties at q cost, one
fourth of which would furnish material of wire
bands, which would be equally secure. Then
follows the coarse woven jute bagging, which
pays an enormous profit to the manufacturer.
Then the cotton factor requires the planter to
bale his cotton in loose, unganly bales, In order
as they say, 10 sample 1t easy but really TO per-
nit some who handles 1t to steal immense guam
titles from the bales. So that it is common talk
that some parties make from 81 500 10 SlO, OOO an
nually from samples of cotton which they never
bought The farmers deliver the bales at the
deDot or warehouse, where they are unprotected
from rains and he suffers deduction, which is
guess-work, by the weighmaster.
From the warehouse, after heavy sampling, it
goes to the compress, which imposes a tax of al
most sixty cents bale, amounting to five or six
millions the crop annually. From the COM
press II passes on through-lt may be another
ring which fatten on 1t until 1t finally reaches
the hands of the distributing merchant IN some
of the Eastern cities.
BY this time the bales are well soiled by dirt,
mud and rain by reason of their ungainly size
Careless handling and storage, and maybe they
are treated to a bath by rolling them through the
slush and mud that usually covers the wharves
in our large cities. From the wharf they are
carted to some dirty back street for storage,
when they are again dumped into the street
sluSh and rolled through II into the warehouse,
bv which time they are ready for the inspector,
who now takes the bale in hand, cuts the cover
ings so that he can and does pick the solIed cot
ton from the entire outside OF the bale, untl! 1t
is as white and clean as the lint from the gin,
and he generally picks deep enough so that the
trimmings look really as white and clean as the
bale. These plcklngs are the inspectors spolls
The bale is now resampled, which means an
other steal of cotton, then re-weighed, the
weight Of the covering and bands deducted and
the net weight of the cotton marked upon it,
and the consumer buys this weight.
Now all these middlemen knowing the shrink
ages ana loss IN various ways, pay enough less
for cotton to count and leave them profit.
whereby they get rich at the expense of the
planter How DO you like this recital? Il the
cotton grower don't pay for the untold mllIlons
of dollars, which are poCketed by the cotton
band ring, the jute ring, the compress ring and
the middle man. who does? Please tell us.
Now all this immense less to the planter should
be stopped, and only by the concerted actions of
the Alliances and farmer, can it be done. This
that they nave grown poorer year AFTER year,
while those who have handled the crop after it
left the farmers hands have become wealthy.
The farmers can gain Immensely IN another
way, which is by diScarding all other material
for covering of cotton, the consumption OF
which would BY this means alone be increased
from one to three thousand bales annually, be-
side to which be added the use OF cotton
sacks for grain, ETC., instead OF burlaps or
The money for jute bagging goes
ont of the country. making others rich
whereas the covering can be grown
by ourselves and made of cotton own
doors Now that we have seen the great eI-
pense and waste to which the large bales of cot
ton are subject to, let US see whether the small
bale has any advantage, and whether we cannot
by united effort, save to the cotton states the
immense loss topwhich they have, for the past
fifty years or more, suffered by the present mode
of baling cotton.
Growing as we do IN the nine cotton states
from two-thirds to three fourths OF the entire
cotton crop OF the world, we have in our hands
the power to control its growth and consump-
ton.
While the power welded by the immense
trusts and combinations, formed already, and
now forming to control the agricul turaI pro-
duets of the country is unjust 10 the farmer, the
Alliances and farmers are compelled by the force
of circumstances, 70 unite and break the power
OF these extortioners.
better circumstances than for years before when
he can control his own affairs, and dictate to
others what he viii take for his products, rather
than be compelled 70 sell at others prices.
We have already shown the leaks of the large
cotton bales, now let US follow the small bale
from the producer to the spinner and see
whether it has any advantage TO the farmer.
The first thought is the expense OF the press.
The same presses used for baling hay viii pre-
pare the cotton for market, and are sold from
one hundred dollars to two hundred dollars, and
manufactured IN many places, and wln COM
press bale into such size that 1t loads IN