The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-03-19

COTTON MEN JLBILANT.
The Bay was in a fiutter of excitemsut
yesterday afternoon and last night. Mai.
James T. Stewart was one of the happiest
men in town over the fact that the million
mark had been crossed. He is one of the
oldest cotton buyers in Savannah, having
been in the business since ante-bsIlum
times.
81 have anxiously watched and fondly
hoped for it, ;" said he, for the last thirty
six years, and am st last rewarded The
receipts won't stop at the million mark,
though, and viii reach 10000 bales
more, and viii possibly go beyond
that Whistler or not Savannah
will have an equal record next season is a
question which can't be answered Just yet
The planting began late and the weather
has been against the crop, but il from April
on the weather Is reasonably good we may
have chance to keep the record up.
'Savannah's steady increase In receipts is
due to her railroad facilities, and TO the in
creasing acreage of cotton. Fertilizers have
been judiciously used. and what were once
wheat fields are now devoted to the Guilt
walton OF the white staple. The railroads
have reached out and gathered cotton from
points almost as far as Memphis, Tenn.
Apalachicola, Fla. was once great cotton
port, but now she is practically tied up, aad
the cotton which once went there comes to
Savannah.
IN ANTE-BELLUM DAYS.
Before the war" continued Mai. Stew-
art. ''Our warehousing facilities were moth
ing to what they are now, and have seen
bales strewn all over the streets for want
of storage. In those days we never thought
OF getting cotton until the middle of Octo-
Der. The classification has changed con-
siderably. too. remember once,
long before, the war. when cotton
pound for middling, and in 1865 the
same grade was quoted at 511k cents. Sail
tng vessels were the only means of direct
transportation to Liverpool in those times,
and many of them were owned and oper-
ated by Savannahians One line was run
by the Mills and another by the Wilders.
IF the Richmond Terminal deal with the
Central is contaminated. Savannah will
nave her cotton receipts increased to great
extent, for then the staple will be brought
from all through Mississippi"
FACTORS IN HIGH GLEE.
Col w. w. Gordon was in ths cotton
business before the war, and is happy over
the big receipts, for which he has long been
watching. Before the war, Col. Gordon
said, there were no warehouses, and
cotton was stored all along under
the offices of the factors. He
remembers once when it was stretched
along South Broad street. on both sides
guarded by watchmen, and Bay and West
Broad streets were occupied in like manner.
The bagging at that time, however, was
such that the cotton was able to stand the
weather better than with its present cover
ing, and no anxiety was experienced on
that score.
WILL BE BIGGER YET.
Capt. Flannery said he has been looking
tor the receipts to reach 1 ,0OO, 900 bales for
the last three years, and while he is highly
pleased, he does not think Savannah
has received more than her proportion Of
the crop when it is taken into consideration
that the increase is IL per cent. over last
year.
Capt Flannery has been engaged in the
cotton business since 1883, and he said that
the staple, comparatively speaking, was
handled in those times in as equally q sat-
isfactory manner as now, considering the
facilities, and the fact that nearly all for
eign shipments were made by sailing YES
sells. Only once in his recollection was
there any trouble in regard to handling it,
and that was in 1858, when there was a
mild epidemic of yellow fever in the city
and the crop was unusually large.
The price for middling cotton went lower
this year, Capt Flannery said. than at any
time since since 1858.
The increase of the sea island crop this
season has been wonderful, the receipts be-
ing now from 40 to Do per cent. over last
year, with a probability that they will
reach so per cent
well be proud of, she being the only city in
the world, with the exception of New Or
leans, which has ever reached the million
mark in oNff0n rarafntS