The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1891-12-02
BAGS FOR WHEAT.


Why BAG manufactures was Happy.
The big Grain Crops sIaxe Prices of
Bags niEher-The Tarin Gets In Its
Work Too.
A bag agnannfacturer in New York re-
Gently set writing at his desk in his fac
tory in New York. He was evidently
very happy over something. just then
the large importer from whom he buys
his burlaps walked in.
"How's trade? Good year, isn't itg-
1T seems SO TO me. We are ON n
boom here. and everything seems to he
running in favor of America. We took
a single order for $4,000 bags one day
last week. If things continue to go like
this we shall make enough to retire from
business in a few years. Hal hal har'
This manufacturer stated that the
enormous wheat crop in'the great west
and northwest had caused an unusual
demand for bags III which to carry wheat
and corn from the farms to the market.
He is now shipping carload of grain
bags every week TO Kansas City.
Here the tariff gets in its work A car
load of bags weighs 24.000 pounds, and
the duty of l I cents pound amounts to
$3.50 on the ecarload. This has, of course,
to be paid by the last man who buys the
bags-the farmer
These bags are made of a jute cloth
known TO the trade us burlaps. The jute
plant grows in India. is somewhat like a
cornstalk. grows from eight to fourteen
feet high, and has fiber running
through the inside pith. This fiber is
separated by keeping the stalks for some
time under water till the pith has partly
rotted away The fiber is woven into
burlap mainly in Calcutta and in Dun
dee. Scotland. the Inter being the great
est burlap manufacturing center in the
world
: No buriaps are made in this country.
A firm in Paterson, n. j., began to
manufacture the stuff several years ago.
when II was selling for seven cents
yard. but as soon as the price fell to five
cents the firm went to making other
lines Of goods So the tax which the
farmers pay ON their grain bags has not
even the excuse of being protection to
American industry.
Under the large demand for bags to
move the grain crop the price of burlaps
has advanced. Says a trade journal:
"Burlaps have advanced fully per Cent.
in price within the past month. The
stock is small and the goods are in de-
mand, for the large crops will require a
great quantity of burlap bags, and con-
seqnently prices are likely to go still
higher
Besides being used for grain these
bags are also largely used for putting up
fertilizers Millions of them are used
every year at Charleston in preparing
acid phosphates for shipment to the
farmers. Large quantities of burlaps
are used, too. in Montana and other cop
per mining states for putting up copper
matte for shipment. Much of this is ex-
ported to Europe. and in this case
30 per cent. of the duty is refunded by
the government. The exporters of cop
per matte, as well as of grain, always
take care TO get back the duty on their
bags
The manufacturer referred to above
said he did not believe 1000 bags are
sent abroad in year in this way on
which this drawback Is not applied for
and received.
Some wheat is also exported in bags
perhaps as much as one-iifth of it-and
in the bags the exporter gets the draw
back, not the farmer who had paid the
duty when he bought them.
Here the farmer will see one OF the
beauties of our tariff system Bags for
foreigners are practically duty free,
while he must pay to the last cent the
duty ON his bags. 1t is a strange and
wonderful thing. this protective system
of 'AmericI for Americans"