The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1899-07-11
The ROUND COTTON BALE.

a Mississippi Ginner Who Has Tried it
Fines That the Company Which Fur
nishes the New Machinery Reaps all
the Beneft---The Result of Che Sea
sons Experience.
A correspondent of the Meridian,
Mississippi, Ginner says:
Your letter asking me to write you
and tell US all you know about the
round bale, whether it be good or bad, J"
| received. will write you what l see
from the sinners standpoint, and n
who buys cotton at country points.
In July last, l contracted for The
American Cotton Oompany's half bale
press and began the tedious task of
trying TO run the round bale system
l found that the cost Of freight and
erection incurred by me in the contract
was a great deal more than l expected,
or had been estimated TO me. The ad-
vertised claim of the company Ia, that
this Gotten shall bring As cents per
hundred pounds more than the square
bales are worth" This last part, or
two words, ARE worth" is the gate at
which all the sheep get out. l. fixing
contracts for this cotton, the freight on
square bales & the point is considered
and the contract based on the ep0' 40
tation OF the port. So when 1 began
to gin, I found that my average price
was only 25 points above square bale
values, and that many tim 9 during
the season there was no premium.
The system of buying square cotton
OF CONTRACT market. and round bale on
spot marke5, tc:ounts for this and SO
often occurred tina l hal no premium
TO offer tie farmers or 10 reimburse
myself for having rented the press.
This of course forced me to run the gin
without g profit, either in the matter
of ginning or cotton buying, as the
tarmera demanded the premium, 25
points in lieu OF the t8re In begging
and ties, and the 20 points rental on
press took up the ginning prof s The
result can be seen. l giuned the crop
at a lose of this seasons work, as well
gs ;he fact that it cost me cor s~iderably
more to run than when using square
press. As far as my research has e1-
tended, the claim l make holds good,
and il a larger town l have visited the
premium generally was % points.
Tee trouble with the press and ma
chinery thereto c3mes in The matter OF
bavlEs 10 sdiuat it's many parts often
and MAKING 40 many lig!le bales, all of
which have 10 be kept account OF and
sat I'D fo-, sampled, Weighed, etc. But
the great g trouble comes in har ding
the pu3lic. TIE public has always
been hard Oh the ginner, but no ginner
can conceive before hand in what a
position he places himself.
Now the actual fact is, there is no
gain in the system under the contract,
either to the ginner or farmer, and all
the farmers anywhere have gained has
been lost to the gianer baling the cot
ton. Tbis has been fully realized by
them and a man who ran a press last
season said to me a few days ago that
"Ghe community had gained what he
had lost" Thus showing had he pro.
tected himself against loss, the com
munity would not have felt a gain; out
1 found the community demanded
more than equality with fq1are cotton.
The enormous claims OF the round bale
people had the public firm in the be
lief tina there was something in it for
them and they demanded it. I found
that merchants and planters having
customers, would Influence them to
gin on the round bale only when the
pri g named was a knock out to the
other side when the bids were equal
though the round bale had often
given him good prices for cotton, he
would gin on the square bale. Thus
the round bale gin has to lose money
before they can possibly satisfy the
public.
The As points premium which is the
n