The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1899-07-27
James Boyle, u, S.Consul. Writes
Interestingly.
DISCUSSES THE ROUND BALE
The Most Energetic Efforts to Intro
duce a New System of Baling Be-
ing Made By the Planters
Compress Company


published a letter from James Boyle, Unit
ed States consul at Liverpool. 1t is an ar
tcle of great interest to the cotton trade.
Especially will his remarks on the "round
bale" interest the jobber, as well as the
farmer.
1t is as follows:
There have been some misstatements in
both American and English newspapers as
to the adoption of new rules by the Liver
pool cotton association. For a long time,
there has been an agitation on the part of
the association for revision of the rules
of the trade in the Lancashire district,
many of the old rules being thought out of
date and considered to interfere with the
easy and natural course of trade, particu-
larry with the United States, which pro-
duces most of the cotton handled here. 1t
has, however, been found impossible for
agreement to be reached on most of the
points favored by the Liverpool cotton as
ISOLATION, there being much opposition
among the Manchester cotton men, and
particularly on the part of the spinners of
Lancashire. After a number of confer
enees and long consideration, the Liverpool
association has decided to make only one
Ol the pTOpOSeu TeNlSlOHS ODiBdtOIy-dnu
that is a requirement that the weighing and
invoicing of cotton shall be in pounds, in
stead of hundredweights, quarters and
pounds, as at present. This new rule is to
go into effect on October l. The associa-
ton has also agreed to recognize the fol-
lowing optional rules: "a That the allow
ance for tare on American cotton shall be
four pounds per 100 pounds, instead of liz
pounds, and that the allowance for double
draft" be abolished; (2) that the allowance
of ~ per cent. in invoices be abolished.
The prospect is that with the first arrivals
of the new seasons crop in October, there
will commence an active competition in
this market between the new and the old
systems of baling. Up to within the last
few months there was but small interest
taken here in the new systems of baling,
although the present system is universally
condemned as being wasteful and antlquat-
ed. The cotton men of this market, while
expressing disgust at the present system,
have not felt called upon to take any active
steps in the direction of reform. They are
ell on an equal footing, and by insurance
and by the customs of the trade they pro-
tect themselves against financial loss arts
system of balng. Indeed, mlddlemen ac-
tualIy make a profit out OF the imperfec-
lions and wastes of the present system. OF
course, somebody ultimately has to pay for
these gains made by those who handle the
cotton here as intermediates. The bulk of
the loss caused by the present system I'M
doubtedly falls in the end on the original
producers of the cotton in America, and
most of the remainder of the final loss falls
on the spinners.
During the past two years, there have
been number of different systems for the
baling of cotton presented before the Liver
pool trade, all of them being of American
invention. Eighteen months ago the cylin-
drical "rolI' bale, introduced by the Ameri-
can Cotton company, attracted some atten-
ton here. few small shipments were
made, but no more was heard of the bale
in this market. One sample of the
Churchill square bale was sent here
about six months ago. This bale is of great
er density than the ordinary square bale
and Is held together by wire instead of
steel bands. 1t was highly commended here
ian system of baling, but no more has been
It.
information has come of another square
bale, manufactured by the American Cot
ton-Baling company, of Providence, r. I.
BY this system the cotton is tightly COM
pressed and is incased by thin steel sheets
fastened together by metallic strips. There
is great curiosity as to this bale. 1t is
conceded that the cotton will be preserved
nexcellent condition, but the seeming diff
hculty of sampling is urged against the
bale. 1t is said that shipments under this
system will be made at the commencement
of the next cotton season.
The most thorough and energetic at
tempts that have yet been made to intro
duce into the Liverpool market an improv-
ed system of baling is that now being made
by the Planters Compress company, own
ers of the Lowry" system of cylindrical
baling, already described in consular re-
port No. 219 December, 1888. 1 find a
marked change of opinion in regard to this
bale since the above report was written.
The two chief objections urged against 1t
were that it could not be sampled, and that
the cotton around the core was hard to a
degree, which made 1t difficult for the
spinner to work. 1t now seems that the
matter of sampling is practically not so
difficult as was at first thought. 1 have
seen Lowry bale go through a cotton
mill. The superintendent was enthusiastic,
not only as to the clean condition of the
cotton, but as to the facility with which 1t
went through the mill. The hardness of
the cotton at the center of each disk disap-
peared in the second breaking" and the
superintendent said that one great advant-
age this cylindrically baled cotton had over
the old-style square-baled cotton was that
the fiber ran in one direction in the former,
thus greatly facilitating the spinning The
superintendent also claimed that the spin
ner got more net cotton by the new cylin-
drical bale than by the old square bale,
there being no loss represented by the alb
sorption of dampness as in the old bale, nor
loss by dirt in the cotton, nor did he have
to pay for bagging patched on by those
from whom he bought the cotton. So far
there have been only a few thousand bales
shipped here. but those that have come
T..