The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1890-08-28
THE BAGGING QUESTION.
Talks with Dealers on Jute and Cotton
Bagging.
Macon Telegraph.]

Alacou IcleSloPA.J
p 1t is still very early in the cotton sea-
son, but there are already indications
that cotton bagging will be much less
used than it was last year. At least
1000 yards of jute bagging have been
sold in Macon this month to every ten
yards of cotton bagging that have
found sale.
A number of reasons are given for
this change:
First and foremost, the dealers say,
it is because the farmers, having at
tanned their object of breaking the jute
trust and lowered its price, are return
ing to the jute as matter Of econo-
my.
"Of course some of the farmers still
stick to the cotton bagging for senti-
ment," said prominent cotton factor
yesterday. They look upon it as q
sort of emblem oftheir rights, and they
feel strongly enough about it to Fay a
double price for an inferior article of it
rather than take the jute as gift. But
a large number of them, realizing that
jute is not only cheaper yard for yard,
and in every way superior to cotton as
a bagging material are sacrificing their
sentiment on that point.
"Jute is now cheaper than ever be-
fore. The style known as "Dixie' bag
ging is selling at II toS cents yard.
Last year it was selling at 81 to 8 cents.
1t would be funny if the jute manu-
features were to wait until later in the
season, when the farmers were COM
PEELED to have that or nothing at all,
and then run the price up to Is cents a
yard, as they did when the first jute
trust was formed"
How are the other substitutes for
jute panning out?
"Pine straw bagging would be a
splendid substitute. It has one fault,
however, which is fatal. 1t stains the
cotton, and, although it costs only
about So cents yard, the staining
makes it expensive. When some en-
terprising chemist discovers process
ofremoving this coloring matter from
the straw, or mordant that will fix
the color so that it will not run, his
fortune will be made, and thejute will
have formidable competitor"
Prominent cotton factors in the Alli-
ance warehouse took somewhat diff
ferent view of the matter. They said
they had not and would not handle a
yard Of jute. None of the Alliancemen
wanted it, as far as they could ascer-
tain, not one of them had used yard
of the stuff this year. About $500 yards
of cotton bagging which was used on
cotton last season has been sold this
month by the Macon Alliance ware
house at 5 cents yard. All the new
cotton bagging bought in Georgia this
year has been purchased from the Alli-
ance warehouse in Atlanta.
While the warehousemen were talk
Ing about the matter, q Jones County
.nan who had brought in some cotton
sid that the farmers were still true to
cotton bagging and would never 60
back on it. He said that he was men,
ber of the Etheridge Alliance, and that
his neighbors were solid on the bagging
question. Most of them, he said, had
already sent their orders to Atlanta tor
their favorite bagging. When asked
why the farmers, after having gained
their point, still kept up the fight, he
said:
1--WE claim that cotton ought to be
wrapped in cotton; it's more natural,
and that's the way we are going to have
it, too.'