The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-08-11
COTTON MUST BE COVERED.
The Government Taking More Care in
the enforcement of the Law.

the Enforcement Of the Law.
The Georgia and Florida inland steam
boats and the coastiine steamships viii
have to exercise extra care in complying
with the United States laws as to the car
rying Of improperly baled or insult
| GENTLY covered cotton.
The government officers have been very
| active at New Orleans lately in Selling
cotton arriving there on steamboats, in an
| improperly secured condition. This ac-
ton has led to the issuing of the follow
ing notice to shippers and river steamboat
men.
Recent violations of the laws relative
to properly covering cotton shipped on
passenger steamboats, have led to in
creased activity by United States Off
Gals. The result has been the seizure Of
several lots of cotton received at this
port and the imposition of heavy fines.
The law in question prohibits carrying of
cotton on such steamers unless the bales
are thoroughly covered with bagging, etc.
il provides that every bale of cotton
shipped or carried without conforming to
the law shall be subject to a penalty Of
s. and shall be liable to seizure and sale
to secure payment for such penalty. The
vessel carrying such cotton is liable to a
penalty of-$500 for each Otfense, one-half
to 90 to the informer, and the vessel may
be seized and proceeded against for the
amount.
The above gist of the United States
statutes IS here given as warning TO
shippers of cotton and in order that they
may not incur material losses through
ignorance of important facts.
Recent experiences show that the au-
thorities are disposed to be decidedly
more rigid in their enforccmentof the stat
utes, and as cotton itself is made liable
for penalties, it will readily be seen upon
whom the suffering will fall.
While in many instances there is too
much carelessness in putting up cotton,
much of the difficulty lies in the use of
poor or tiimsy bagging that tears easily
when caught by the cotton hook I'm
proper covering and defective sewing on
heads is also a common cause of COM
plant.
Whatever the cause, however, the
fact exists that if the bales reach this,
or any other port, with bagging torn
or missing, and the contents exposed,
the owner, or owners, will be made losers
thereby.
1t is believed that reasonable care in
selecting bagging and securing cover
ing on the bales will not only prevent
any difficulty with the government,
but repay shippers handsomely by reduc-
ing liability to damage Of cotton while in
transit.
DEPUTY Collector Of Customs ]. Paul
Johnson, who is thoroughly posted on all
matters relating to government regula-
tions of shipping, said yesterday that the
law forbidding the carrying of improp-
erly or insuficiently secured cotton, hay
and other infiammable substances APP
piled to steamboats, and coast line steam
ers carrying passengers and was intended
for the protection of the passengers.
Steamers trading foreign are not affected
by the law. There have been no seis-
ures at this port for violation of the law
for several years, the last seizure being
of some cotton on the Florida steamboats,
about five years ago. Mr.. johnson says it is
always noticeable that cotton received
here from the steamboats, is always more
carefully covered than that coming by
rail