The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1899-09-20
THE ROUND
COTTON BALE.

THE RESULT OF ONE
SEASONS EXPERIENCE.
Pocahontas. Mics p, Correspondence
Meridian Ginner.
Your letter asking me to write you
and .steIl us all you know about the
round bale, whether it be good or
bad,n received. l will write you
what see from the ginner's stand
point, and one who buys cotton at
country points.
In July last, contracted for the
american Cotton CoDpaDy's half bale
press and began the tedious task of
trying to run the round bale system
I found that the cost of freight and
erection incurred by me in the con.
tract was great deal more than |
expected, or had been estimated to
me. The advertised claim of the
company is, that this cotton "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 on: In
fixing contracts for this. cotton, the
freight on square bales TO the point
is considered and the contract based
on the spot quotation of the port. So
when / began to gin, found that my
average price was only 25 points
above square bale values, and that
many times during the season there
was no premium.
The system of buying square cot
ton on contract market, and round
bale on spot market, accounts for
this aud 30 often occurred that l had
no premium to offer the farmers OF to
reimburse myself for having rented
the press This of course forced me
to run the gin without profit,
either in the matter of ginning or
cotton buying, as the farmers de-
manded the premium, 25 points in
lieu of the tare in bagging and ties,
and the 20 points rental on press
took up the ginning profits The
result can be seen. ! ginned the
crop at a loss of this seasons work,
as we'll as the fact that it cost one
considerably more to run than when
uaing square press As far as my
research has extended, the claim |
make holds good, and in larger
town I have visited the premium gen.
orally was 25 points
The trouble with the press and
machinery thereto comes in the mat
ter of having to adjust its many parts
often and making 80 many little
bales, all of which have to be
kept account Of and settled for,
sampled, weighed, etc But the
greatest trouble comes in handling
the public The public has always
been hard ON the ginuer, but no gin
ner can conceive before hand in what
position he places himself
Now the actual fact is, there is no
gain in the system under the con
tract. either to the ginner or farmer,
and all the farmers anywhere have
gained has been lost to the ginbsr
baling the cotton This has been
fully realized by them and man who
ran press last season said to me a
few days ago that "the community
bad gained what be had lost !" Thus
showing had he protected himself
against loss. the community would
not have felt gain but l found the
community demanded more than
equality with square cotton. The
enormous claims of the round baie
people had the public firm in the
belief that there was something in it
for them and they demanded it. |
found that merchants and planters
having customers, would influence
them to gin on the round bale only
when the price named was knock
out to the other side when the BIDS
we're equal though the round bale
had often given him good prices for
cotton, he would gin cn 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 all tempting thing that secures
contracts, therefore becomes 8 myth
and no contracts can pc secured
uharehu this ya.ne can he obtained