The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-07-17
REVOLUTION IN THE COTTON TRADE.

y REVOLUTION in the cotton trade is threat
\ ened by the new process of putting the cotton
into shipping shape in round bales instead
of the old method OF square The Philadelphia
Public Ledger that OF the largest capital
lists in Boston, together with well-known sugar
trust OF New York, actively interested in the
enterprise This indicates that very effective efforts
may be made to introduce the round bang system
which is claimed to be superior.
Nearly all improvements in industrial art work u-
timatey for the general good, but Of them bring
about very large amount of temporary loss during
the transition stage from the old order to the new
and in this effect the change from the square to the
round bales likely to be unusually severe and
far reaching
There two ways in which such evil will be
risked in this purposed innovation. One is the
monty experienced disasters that result from many
men being thrown out of employment and OF much
capital invested in existing plants being practically
destroyed The other is the possibility OF the for
nation OF gigantic for the control OF the cot
ton trade which would exceed in any other Of
the big trusts OF the country.
The magnitude of the first evil may be gathered
from the fact that there scattered through the
South 10000 ginning plants with the old outfit for
making square bales These worth about $50 ooo-
600, and are mostly held by small owners They fur
nsh work to about 10000 day aborers and bring in
an income to them and the owners of some $4,000
900 year. Added to this must be the value of the
large compress plants used for concentrating the
square bales. There are 900 of these, worth on an
average $4,000 each which makes $4,000 900 to be
destroyed by the bang that throws them out of
date The income OF these presses is 100000. AL
together it is estimated that by the present method
there is yearly earned by the aborers and
small owners in the South.
1t is supposed that by the new process only 1850
gins would be required to handle the entire cotton
crop. These would be located, oil mills now are
along the railway, and the presses would not be sold
but be worked royalty.
This concentration of the ginning and bang under
the control OF few large capitalists would naturally
be followed by control of the buying and compe
tition in buying would be greatly restricted and per-
haps altogether prevented and the price regulated
arbitrarily by board of the combine. This state Of
affairs might come about just as other great trusts
have grown to power, and Just the cattle trade
came under the domination OF few in Chicago
Cotton, moreover. would afford much larger field
Tor trust than either sugar, oil, cattle, Not
only the immense value of the lint, but the oil and
the meal made from the cotton seed would likely be
controlled by the round bale ginneries.
However great these threatened evils may be, if
the round bale is really decided improvement the
square bale the innovation will and it ought to
come Though may be difficult to do away with the
evils Of trusts it is against the trusts and not against
the round bale that opposition should be reused AS
for the loss of capital and employment this seems
inevitable in all forward industrial movement
-
Powder mill explosions have queer habit of hap
pening in pairs. This fact has tendency to make
them look less like strokes of Providence than evil
dence that all OF SPANS friends have gone to the
front to do their fighting