The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-11-02
FAV0RS BONDED WAREHOUSES;
hut NOT Az AN ADJUNCT TO THE
ROUND BALE SYSTEM.

ROUND BALE SYSTEM.
Mr.. ). p. williams Says There Is
NothinE Original In the Idea OF
President John &c. searIes of the
American Cotton COmpany-BOnd-
ed warehouses Were Advocated
by the Farmers Alliance Fifteen
Years AEO-WIth Uniform CIassi-
fieatiOn of Cotton Provided for He
Relieves Bonded Warehouses;
WouId Prove "a valuable Ala to the
Southern Farmer.
your editorial on me subject of round /
bales and bonded warehouses for cotton
IS on the right line" said Mr.. J. p. Will |
.ama I'm referring to the editorial upon |
warehouse certificates in yesterdays Mora |
ing News
Il must positively disagree. however, |
with the writer in the New York Press |
quoted by you, who gives Mr.. John e.
searles of the American Cotton Company
the credit for originating the bonded ware
house idea. SO far from being new. 1t is
practically the same idea which was so
strenuously advocated by the Farmers
Alliance about fifteen years since. AS &
matter of fact my claim to the Idea ante
dates that of Mr.. Searles, as 1 advocated
bonded warehouses for the storage CT cot
ton in my letter to the Commissioner of
Agriculture upon the subject of uniform
classification of cotton some time since"
Mr.. Searles is undoubtedly right in adj
yocating bonded warehouses, where the
farmer can store his cotton and receive
a certificate therefor, which would be ne
gouable at almost any bank at which he
might choose to present it. II it is his in
tention. however, TO operate the bonded
warehouses in conjunction with his round
bale presses, of which his company has
the monopoly, he will meet with strong
opposition from Southern planters and cot
ton men generally. AS a more economical
method of baling cotton the round bale
is a step in the right direction. but SO long
as the companies which control the round
bale presses retain the ownership of these
presses and exact a royalty for each bale
ginned, any move on their part can be
| counted upon to meet with opposition in
| this section The round bale people seek
| 10 obtain entire control of the cotton turn
ed out by their presses and thus to build
! up a monopoly. SuOuIu lney succeed III
| driving out all the smaller presses aud
| obtaining this monopoly the cotton plant
ers of the South would be at their mer-
| cy."
"As a general proposition" said MIR.
| Williams, II am heartily in favor of
| bonded warehouses. Taken in connection
with the uniform classification of cotton,
vast benefits would result to the planters.
| With the increase in the number of coun>
| try banks and the strong demand from
| the Southern mills, tfle position of the
| planters this year is a stronger one than
| for many years past. This is due almost
| entirely, however, to two things, the de-
| creased crop, and the fine quality of the
| staple Knowing that there are no large
stocks in the hands of the European spin
| ners 10 depress prices, mat the crop is
| short and the quality so good that they
| can almost buy with their eyes shut the
| Southern mills are piiing up their stocks
| to the full limit of their capacity. In like
| manner the interior country bankers, be-
! ing also acquainted with the situation, are
| readily lending money to planters and
merchants upon cotton stored in the local
| warehouses. With the reverse conditions,
however, such as prevailed last year. with
| large stocks brought over by the mills,
and with a large crop of very uncertain
| grade neither the mills nor the banks could
afford to pursue their present tactics.
| With a uniform classification of cotton
| supplemented by bonded warehouse sys-
| tenn it would be possible for the farmer
20 deposit his cotton in q warehouse, and
obtain certificate which would be accept
ed as collateral anywhere"
THE uniform classification is the mere
| important of the two. / do not believe that
the low prices of cotton in recent years
| has been due to overproduction. All the
| cotton produced each year has been con-
| sumed and the cotton mills received high
| er prices for goods than they did when
! their cotton cost them more. The low
| prices have been due to the lack of conf
| dence on the part of buyers, due to the
| uncertain and unreliable classification of
cotton which has driven many responsible
| houses out of the market and kept capital
| out of the business. If the cotton growing
| states viii act In accordance with the res
| olutons adopted by their State Agricultu-
| raj Commissioners at their recent session
| at Atlanta, and provide for uniform CLASH
! fcatlon of cotton, a revolution will be eff
| fected in the cotton business. If to this
| bonded warehouses, also provided for and
| regulated by law by the several states
are added the South viii soon obtain ex-
! elusive control of its great crop"
Mr.. Williams was asked If he did not
think the desired results could best be OBJ
tanned by means of national legslat
| providing both for uniform classification
and bonded warehouses, but replied that
| he was opposed to national control in such
| matters and that he saw no reason why
| the several cotton growing states could not
enact uniform legislation on these sub
| jects.