Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1902-05-29

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bale. allowed by the spinners is the
brokerage which they receive and the
only source from which they derive an in
come. This average OF from to 10
pounds TO the bale gives them, on basis
Of s cents cotton, from 81 10 50 cents
per bale, or an average Of $4,000 on every
million bales handled. which comes di-
rectly out OF the farmers pockets. and to
which the farmers are justly entitled.
Kick BY Liverpool Brokers.
IL seems that last season the square
bale congresses in this country undertook
TO patch square bale cotton at the COM
presses thereby increasing the weight of
the average tare allowed and put on by
the producers. and correspOndingly reduc-
ing the brokerage allowed the Liverpool
handlers OF export cotton.
I am I'm receipt OF copies of letters and
afidavits submitted by the Liverpool
Cotton association. Limited" directed TO
the United States Secretary Of agricul-
ture at Washington. and by him referred
TO me. These letters. a portion Of which
publish below call attention 10 the sub
ject OF over-taring cotton recently indulg-
ed I'm and say that unless an immediate
stop Is placed upon IL the planters will
have 10 suffer.
Following Is a copy OF such parts Of
these documents as bear me out in the
charges made:
LIVERPOOL. Feb. l. 1902
To the Secretary of Agriculture, Wash
ington. u. S. A.
Dear Sir: On behalf Of this association.
/ beg 10 bring TO your notice i'm the accom-
panying copies Of documents which have
been sent to the cotton exchanges Of Am
erica. the growing practice Of over-taring
bales Of cotton which unless remedied
will have a material effect upon the value
which the American planter will receive
for his cotton. In submitting these docu-
ments I would respectfully ask that the
influence OF your department should be
used to discountenance the practice and
I'm the interest Of the honest American
trader TO point out the inevitable loss
which in the long run Will follow per-
sistence in it. Yours truly.
''CSigned) A. w. WILMER.
Pres. Liverpool Cotton Assn. Linz"
The following Is an extract from one Of
the documents bearing me out In that
statement that .he usual allowance of
tare on American cotton by the Liverpool
exchange is only 20 pounds per bale al
though the price to Ne farmer is based
on deduction OF 6 per cent or 80 pounds
per bale
LIVERPOOL, Jan. %, 1902.
Il, William Laing, warehouseman to
Messrs. Lee, Sutherland & Co. of LIVER
pool. cotton merchants. make further af-
fidavit and say that previous to the in
spection held by Messrs. Thornburg and
Taylor aforesaid. ] stripped one bale taken
out OF the above mentioned hundred bales
cotton marked -, and found the covering
to consist OF canvas and % small bags
The canvas and bags together weighed
80 pounds. The said bale, before IL was
stripped. weighed $50 pounds. The usual
Liverpool allowance on this bale would be
af--T.s a.
covering and the q bags together amount
ed 70 s. pounds. The allowance on this
bale Of per cent as per American in
voice amounts to "a pounds. showing a loss
TO Messrs. Lee. Sutherland & Co. of "a
pounds on this bale.
CSigned) WILLIAM LAING."
The broker In this instance not only lost
the difference between the usual Liver
pool allowance Of % pounds to the bale.
and the actual tare of "a pounds. but lost
In addition thereto "a pounds. ii is claimed,
for excess tare over the amount allowed
by the spinner. This affidavit is recited to
show that the Liverpool brokers do not
want and VIII not allow more than 20 to %
pounds tare per bale. but they get the
benefit OF 30 pounds tare in delivering the
cotton to the spinner.
Ny attention was called to one impor-
tant cotton market in this state a year
ago. where the farmers were putting from
30 TO 40 pounds of bagging and ties on
their quare cotton. thinking they were
receiving the full market price for their
cotton and doing quite a good speculat ton
on the heavy weight of the covering on
their cotton. Upon investigation, however,
Il was found that their market had been
quietly cut by the buyers S-S Of a cent be-
low what the legitimate market should
have afforded. hence that was an apparent
case Of where when ignorance is bliss it
is folly to be wise"
BY way Of diversion. just here it might
be well to state that I was recently in
formed that one large cotton firm doing
an export business I'm Georgia bought
about S0,Oo0 bales Of square cotton i'm one
OF our principal city markets during the
past season, and that out of the samples
taken from said purchase "a bales of cot
ton were packed. The samples in this in
stance not only largely reduced the ope-
rating expenses Of the firm in question,
but made Of them quite extensive cotton
producers, although they are in no sense
tillers of the soil.
Reducing the Tare.
The new system OF COMPRISING cotton
al the ginnery instead of turning out loose
heavy square bales to be recompressed
at an additional cost OF 80 cents per bale
TO the producer. tends to reduce to a min
imum many OF the evils with which we
have to contend, principally the questions
OF tare, recompression. heavy transpor-
tation and insurance charges, excessive
sampling and stealage. On compressed
cotton at the ginnery the tare is reduced
from per cent TO l 1-2 per cent and the
farmer loses only the actual cost of the
covering. as he receives the full credit
for the weight Of the covering as Il act
ually appears at the ginnery and no ad-
ditional weight is assessed against him to
cover brokerage for future handling by
foreign brokers. On each 1000 bales of
square cotton marketed in every county
the producers sustains a net loss on the
jute bagging and ties. after allowing for
the apparent gain OF ST.. OOO-a little more
than one-half OF which goes into the peck
cts OF the Liverpool brokers. II the farm
ers were allowed TO put 30 pounds of bag
ging and ties on their square cotton they
would In that event only lose the actual
cost OF the covering. But the system
under which square cotton is managed
has been going on so long that there can
be no hope that any such desirable change
will ever be permitted.
Summing up the whole proposition, IL is
highly admissible for the producers to
adopt any system which viii correct the
evils complained Of and reduce the tare
on their cotton to the lowest possible per-
centage. If there were no covering there
would be no tare and We would receive
the spinner's price, less the cost OF hand
ling and transportation, hence the lower
the reduction Of the actual tare, the near