The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1903-09-15
6y HHRviE JORDAN.


coUnt vii rcad as follows
To 100 bales mIddlins cotton IT, 10000
Less tare per cent .......-..... ESQ
Leaving net Int ......... j. GOO
And the spinner pays only for ,r~ ne,
Int OF 1000 pounds throwing ths cover
ing aside a. useless and OF no yalu. lor
spinning purposes. Now the buyer know
lnl that he will get nothing fof - over
ing as a matter OF cour-n So lrrange~
MS prices as TO make the los Iall upon
the farmer who has 10 bear tn. burden
CT putting his product. INTO marketable
condition
While the buyers apparently lay fcr
the baggsng and ties a. n matter % fact.
the price IS arranged as Ia cover only
tie net value of the lint aud each farmer
who puts 80 pounds OF bagsug ana 4c~
On his cotton loses the cg~t Of the bag
gmg and ties Those who put on only SIX
yards Of baggins an9six ties, reducing
the weight to % pounds. les not only
what they paid for the covering. bu( they.
give away ten pounds OF l.nt in each bale
| eoc,yreftagniggafgdty etaIu ehrdllu shrd
so covered The deduction for tare is 30
4 pounds to each 500 pound bale or per
cont on any weight bale, that :. on a
/ bale weighing 40 pounds the deducauon-
for tarc would be - pounds, ard on a
600 pound bale, SO pounds. Farmers
should therefore pack their cotton into
bales weighing 800 pounds gross as near
as possible, and put on 80 pounds Of bag
! ging and ties.
COTTON BUYERS NEW RULE.
Last year the Southern Cotton Buyers
Association undertook to enforce a new
rule adopted by themselves to force farm
crS to use only SIX yards OF bagging and
SIX ties, bringing the weight OF the Gov
ering down to about 20 pounds per bale.
They provided IN that ruling for charge
of 90 cents per bale all cottno that
| had more covering than prescribed IN
| their rule. / understand that similar ef-
forts will be made the coming season to
enforce the same ruling. Now, 1t Is per
fectly clear to the buyers and to every
other man who has studied the situation
that If 80 pounds of tare Is charged by
the spinner against 800 pound bale OF
cotton, and the farmer Is induced or
forced by buyers to put on only 20 or %
pounds, thus falling short eight to ten
pound of the tare deducted, that he
| 9oses he difference in lint, and ans
scheme which promulgates such a con-
clifton of affairs IS a clear case of cheat
ms and swindling. Therefore, any cot
ton buyer who charges a farmer 30 cents
for putting more than 20 to % pounds
OF bagging and ties on a 500 pound bale
OF cotton is guilty of cheating and
sWindling. and can be prosecuted under
the laws of this State No farmer should
submit to such rule, and those who un-
dertake to enforce it ought to be present
ed to the grand juries of the counties
where the transactions occur.
When cotton bales having only yardz
OF baggng and SIX ties bought and
shipped to the compress, and order goes
with each shipment to patch and the
additional allowance of eight or ten
pounds OF tare IS patched on at the com
press and the buyers make what they
have robbed the farmer out Of, an amount
quite sufficient to net 80 or 50 cents per
bale. If the spinner VIII agree upon {
straight deduction of 20 or p pounds pei
bale tare. then 1t would be right tC
restrict the weight of covering to that
amount, but so long as the tare stands
as it does al present every farmer Is jus
tilted in putting nine yards OF bagging
and six ties on each 800 pound bale and
no buyer has the legal right to demand
that 1t be less.
one reason why the FARMERS are trea tee
SO badly by the public is because they
do not post themselves and demand fan
| treatment
Remember that we get nothing for on
bagging and ties, and we always lose just
what 1t costs when we put on every DounC
that IS deducted, or per cent OF the
gross weight of the bale, and when We
put less We lost as many pounds o
lint as the difference amounts TO between
the actual weight put on and the tOta
;, amount deducted. Until we take a pos
tive stand about this matter the pro
!. ducers will annually lose many thousand
OF dollars on that feature Of the cottor
crop.
HARVIE JORDAN