The Wilson times. [volume] (Wilson, N.C.) 1896-19??, 1899-07-14
The Danger In the Round Bale

'The round bale people do not come
into Texas with machinery to sell.
They propose to operate all the plants
put in themselves. or to exact a per-
petual royalty as rental, if any of their
plants are used by others than the
company. 1t is charged that the pro-
cess of ginning and baling are such
that the company owning the plants
will be compelled to buy the cotton in
the seed and handle it from the field
to the factory-evidently the ulterior
purpose of these round bale people
This consummation will, it can be
seen, when effected, place the handling
of the cotton crop of the United States
in the hands Of one of two round bale
companies, and the consequence to
to the south can be better imagined
than described. With the square bale
run out, the competition in handling
the crop wiped out, and the millions
invested in the old time gins and
presses destroyed, the planters would
be at the mercy ofa monopoly strong
enough to fix whatever price it pleased
on cotton, and then to hold the crop
long enough to exact from the mills its
own figures. In word, the cylindrical
bale company will, after having its
gin accepted and its package enforced
be absolutely masters of the situation.
What will become of the planters in
tereste AS the New Orleans Times
Democrat asks, Will the planter not
be entirely helpless before this huge
corporation, would he not be CON-
PEELED to take whatever the corpora
ton was disposed to offer There
would be no competition, and Senator
McEnery, of Louisiana, declares that
that fostering of the cylindrical bale
means the fostering of one of the larg-
est trust ever conceived by the mind
of men, and the driving out of the cot.
ton factors. exporters and pressmen
The question at once addresses itself
to an intelligent public and lawmakers
whether few present advantages
should permit the destruction of mil
lions of capital already invested in the
old process, and destruction of com.
petition in the purchasing and hand
ling of the 2,ooo,c GOO bales of Ameri-
can cotton, and the building up of a
trust by comparison with which the
Standard Oil and Sugar trusts would
be but pygmies? The trust once su-
preme, these present concessions and
advantages to the planter would newt
ably and at once be withdrawn, and
the south, with all its vast business
interests, which are absolutely depend
ent on cotton, would be in the cold,
vice like grip of a master with an office
in Wall street No more serious situa.
tiou has confronted this section since
the war of the rebellion Not to in some
way scotch this young and growing
giant now is to be helpless later on. If
the benefits of this new invention were
given, as in the old processes, to the
public, by sale of the plants, we
might see step forward-existing
ginning and compressing establish
ments would simply replace present
with improved machinery, though the
cost would be great. To refuse to do
this, however, places the new company
in position where it can ask and ex-
pect few favors from the public. Texas,
the greatest cotton producing state in
the world, should at least he saved
from the clutches of this most ambit-
ious and dangerous all the huge mono
polies.'