The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1899-07-11
IMPOR FAINT IMPORTATION FOR
GGN>ExS AND PLANTERS
A mississippi GinDer Finds That
Company which Furnishes the NeE
Machinery s<eaps all the Beneft-The
Result Of one seasons Experience.

Cempany which Furnishes the New
Machinery xeaps all ahe Beneft-The
Result of one seasons Experience.
(Pocahontas, Miss, Correspondence
Meridian Ginner.)
Your letter asking me 10 write you
and tell us all you know about the
round bale, whether it be good or bad
received. l will write you what / see
from the ginner's standpoint and 4
who buys cotton at country points
In July last, 1 contracted for The
American Cotton Company'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 I expected,
or had been estimated to me. The ad-
vertised claim Of the company is. that
| this cotton shall bring 45 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. In fixing
| contracts for this cotton, the freight
on square bales to the point is con-
SluCICo oA0 LAX NohN NV SA -
| spot quotation Of the port. So when /
| began to gin, l found that my average
| price was only 25 points above square
| bale values, and that many times dur
ing the season there was no premium.
The system of buying quare cotton
on contract market, and rcIrd bale on
spot market, accounts fCc his and SO
often occurred that | had no premium
to offer the farmers or to reimburse
myself for having rented the press.
This Of course forced ms to run the gin
without a profit, either in the matter
| of ginning Or cotton buying, as the
| farmers demanded the premium, %
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. l ginned the crop
at a loss of this seasons work, as well
as the fact that it cost mt considerable
more to run than when using square
press. AS far as my research has eX-
| tended, the claim l make holds goods,
and in a larger town l have visited the
premium generally was % points.
The trouble with the press and ma
chinery thereto comes in the matter OF
having to adjust its many parts often
and making so many little bales, all OF
which have to be kept account of and
settled for, sampled, weighed, etc. But
the greatest trouble in handling
the public. The public has always been
hard on the ginner, but no ginner can
conceive before hand in what a posi-
tic he places himself.
Now the actual fact is, there is nc
gain in the system under the contract.
either to the ginner or farmer, and al
the farmers anywhere have gained has
been lost to the ginner bailing the cot
ton. This has been fully realized by
them and a man who ran a press last
season said to me a few days ago that
1.-The 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; but
/ found the community demanded more
than equality with square cotton. The
enormous claims of the round bale peo-
pie had the public firm in the belief
that there was something in it for them
and they demanded it. I found tina
merchants and planters having Gus
toners, would influence them to gin OF
the round bale only when the pric.
named was a Knockout to the Othe'
side; when the bids were equal though
the round bale had often given min
good prices for cotton, he would gin OF
the square bale. Thus the round bal.
gin has to lose money before they car
possibly satisfy the public.
The As points premium which is the
attempting thing that secures con
tracts, therefore becomes a myth ant
no contracts can be secured whereof,
this value can be obtained in actua
ryoofioo x,nf I %1or1 -o11ysrr oN-f~o1 MI
have relied on the statements of thu
agents of the company that your cot
ton contract will be sent you fully GOV
ering all the claims"
l have been in the ginning business
ever since when l sat on the lever AM
drove the teams around in the old hors,
ginneries, and every single improve
ment in ginning or baling or the meth
DDS of handling cotton has brought in
creased value to the cotton and addi
tional profits to the ginner at a lowe
take-out than was common, but her
comes the round bale press and doe
none of these things, but makes al
actual loss On the ginning business Of
top of the fact that it proposes to ad
vance the take-out from the custom
airy charges, and yet the claims for i
are larger than all the claims com
bined ever made for a single improve
ment My experience would say tina
it all appears to me a lot of talk, fos
tered and pushed by those ~intereste,
in b new venture.
The president of the American Cot
ton Company, after visiting the soutl
in the interest of the round bale, CAV
an interview in Baltimore in which b
went right off talking and elaborate
on the advantages of the method O
bailing, the lap, the savings Of insur
ance, freight, storage, ETC., but he di
not show his lessees while south hoy
they were going to get their none
back, or show any new people how the
were going to make money out of tn
contract offered.
1 also notice in Cotton Facts tina
Mr.. d. G. Ball has quite a lot to sa
concerning the uniform bale adopte
by the square bale people last season
and says that the interior folks ar
now beginning to receive returns fror
this bale and that the little so cent
expected on this cotton has not mate
| rialiZpd. It is a had thing for him I