The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-09-24
HEAVY LOSSES ARE DISCUSSED Cotton Seed Exporters
 in Convention. coMBATs FOREIGN TARIFFS Albert G. Perkins Gets Position of
 Expert Abroad. 2. L. Denton, of Georgia, TeiIs the Convention Many Interesting Facts Concerning cotton Seed Pro-
 ducts In Europe.
coMBATs FOREIGN TARIFFS

New Orleans, Sept. 23.--Facts from both sides in the controversy as to why Southern cotton seed products ex- porters lose thousands of dollars monthly, from negligent handling of their goods in steamships. were pre- sented at today's extraordinary session of the Interstate Cotton Seed Crush CTS Association.
 Action was taken to combat foreign tariffs which are claimed to have cut down Southern business in these pro- ducts by $2,000,000 annually.
 The convention nominated Albert c. Perkins, of Memphis. Tenn, for the po- sition of United States expert abroad on the subject of cotton seed products This nomination Is tantamount to ap- pointment, which will be made by Sec- retary Straus, of the Department of Commerce and Labor. Professor J. H. Connell, of Dallas. Tex, was the only other candidate for nomination. Mr. Perkins succeeds J L. Benton. of Mon ticello, Ga, resigned.
 MT. Benton today reported to the conyention his observations upon causes of the losses of Southern ship pers.
 MT. Benton told of the enormous waste in cotton seed products due to caraIess handling by steamship lines and of the loss to American shippers
 
 As an example of how this waste oc- cured. he said:
 we find in New Orleans today walt lng for export 5000 tons of meal from Ave different firms. This meal includes five different brands. Of the total amount, 1000 tons is of choice meal The remaining 1000 tons is dark. badly ground and with an excess of lint and hulls. All this meal Is loaded into n vessel at New Orleans without regard to the classification shown on the marks indicating the brands.
 eAs result it is pretty we'll scat tered over the ship. Since this car- go does not fill the ahip's capacity D few thousand barrels Of cotton seed oil is rolled in on top of the meal. A gew of the barrels break, few of the sacks are torn. and both cargoes, oil and meal, are more ors less damag-
 upon unloading, the meal sacks are hoisted by Q single rope from tho hold the floors until they. reach the ware house, by which time several more bags are broken. Having been loaded with out regard to brands. the meal is un- loaded in the same manner. So many bags have been ruined, moreover, that it is useless to attempt to collect the cargo according to its classification. 1n- stead, the meal is piled indiscriminately in heaps of 8 ton each of meal for weighing and sampling. The loose meal from the broken bags Is appor- tioned to those piles which may be short in weight. At this stage, a car go which left the United States consist lng of 4.oo0 tons of choice meal and l.O0A tons of off meal is now reduced ko all one grade and that the worst. Therc is just enough lint and hulls In 1t to cause reclamation.
 '"rhe importer, therefore, does not get The grade he has bought. If we could get guarantee him the grade W ecould get more for Southern cotton seed cake than Is paid for any other cake in the worlds
 Mr. Benton said 1t would be a diff hcult task to extend Southern cotton seed products trade abroad until the delivery is improved.
 He recommended sending a perma- nent representative of the Crushers' As sociation abroad to watch the condi% tions of goods on arrival. He warned exporters to insist that cotton seed oil be not loaded near the boiler room.
 He said that at the Trifolium dairy in Europe, 15,000 head of cattle are fed on cotton seed cake, that ther milk sells according to the better fat in it and that 1t Is richer than any other milk in Europe.
 Mir. Bentop's work abroad was con hned to Holland and Denmark, neither of which countries produces an article to compete with the Southern cotton seed commodities.
 Olive oil. he declared. is the only ed ible oil which competes with cotton seed oil and will always be an important factor in the European price of cotton seed oil.
 "A short olive crop" he said me ressitates more cotton seed oil for blending, and it is said that some al aSya mo 1ra
 If 1t requires so per cent of cotton oil to make the requisite number of barrels. In 1906. MT Benton said the United States exported to Europe $13,- 67s000 worth of cotton sweed oil and s13,703100 in cotton cake. against s2s5. 500 in cotton oil and S2s5. 100 in cotton cake from all other countries.
 A reply to Mir. Benton was made by M. J. Sanders, agent at New Orleans for the Leyland steamship line. He held shippers partly responsible for the waste for putting up their products in inferior wrappings. He said shippers will not be able to hold the steamship companies liable for losses, until the strength of these packages is improved Then. he said, thousands of dollars can be saved.
 The convention provided for the ap- pointment of a committee of three members of the Crushers' Association to confer with steamship lines on handling of cotton seed products and to report to President L. A. Ransom of the Association.
 To remedy the almost prohibitive tar if of Austra-Hungary. resolution was adopted asking members of the Asso- citation to use their influence with Con gressmen and Senators. The resolu- tion also called upon Secretary of State Root to instruct the United States Am bassador at Vienna. to use his good of fees In the same direction.
 Provision was made for appointing a committee of five to attend the Inter national Spinners' Convention at At Ianta next month. All the committees will be appointed by President Ransom in Atlanta The convention adjourned today.