The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1910-08-16
THAT COTTON .'TARE|'. !. !.
FARMERS ARE ENTITLED TO SIX
PER CENT TARE. I,.3sa
Here is Much Work farmers en-

ions in Every Cotton State Should
Begin on at Once -;
| A farmer writing to the Progress
| i've Farmer and Gazette says some
time last fail, ""I saw an article in
4 your. paper, advising farmers to put
80 pounds of bagglng on their cotton
Including ties. The farmers here,
4 following your advice did so. The
mill men kicked on it and stopped
lall@local buyers from buying, saying
Ia farmer had just as we'll put IN
plank to make up, as it would be
more honorable" What want to
know, is it law to put it on? If it
lis defend us; If not publish the
amount we can put on it."
In answer the Editor of the
Progressive Farmer and Gazette
wrote as follows:
| lam glad to get the letter from
&c" but he should remember that
all The Progressive Farmer and Ga
zette can do in case like this is
to tell what is right. With all the in
formation before us, we said, anu
still say, that the farmer is entitled
to put per cent tare on his cotton
bales. This is his right, but If the
farmer is not disnosed to insist on IT,
we cannot help 1t. The Farmer
has a right now to get "A to l5 cents
for good cotton, but if he is will
ing to be run over and let buyer
take it for 10 cents, we have TOO
much importat work to do to go
out and fight the battles of a man
who won stand up for himself.
The percent tare ia right and
farmers from one end of the South
to the other ought to organize with
| view to enforcing this right on all
1910 market.
All that we can do is TO tell them
| this and them it is up to them
through the Farmers Unions and
other ways to do the rest.
But why do we say the 6 per cent
tare is right?
Put in a nutshell, our position Is
Just this: Europe buys most OF our
cotton, and buys it on basis OF b
per cent tare-fxes prices with
view to losing per cent to get net
weight. President ]. L. Lee OF the
Geoogia Farmers Union publicly as
serted last fall that Wilmington, At
latina, Augusta, and Savannah export
ers buy cotton on basis OF ~
pounds and put on full 80 pounds
before exporting.
If the European manufacturers
allow per cent for tare, then me.
American manufacturers should eth
er allow 6 per cent or pay a high
er price for their it, And If 6
per cent is right, then it is not the
case that where the farmer puts on
the full per cent, he is acting dis
honorabiy and selling bagging and
ties at cotton prices; the real truth
is, that where less than 6 per cent
is used the buyer might more rea-
sonably he accused because he gets
cotton at bagging. prices. Ad it is in
gettig cotton at bagging prices that
the only unfair action has been 60
ing on, if the informatin l have IS
correct.
Last fall the American Textile
Manufacturer jumped jon:me for my
fight for the per cent tare, and l
answered them with the letter. Al
though I watched their paper care
fully they have never yet published
this reply, so far as can learn, nor
have they ever refuted my position
by private correspondence. One or
two leading cotton manufacturers
also attacked my position but could
not coue back at me when l present.
ed these arguments, although made
it plain that I wrote with no feel
| ing toward either cotton buyer or
cotton manufacturer and with an
earnest desire not only to be abso-
lutely fair, but to get any informa-
ton that might show me in error.
For as I said to them in the lam
guage of old Marcus Aurelins: IF
any man can show me that I do
not think or act Alright, will gladly
change for l seek only the truth by
which no man was ever Injured. .
The fact that neither the manufac-
turers themselves nor their official
organ were able to attack or over
turn our arguments is the best COM
mentary on their soundneSs.
The paramount need, as see it,,
is for the uniform system. There
ought to be definite understand
ing between the farmers 0rganiza-
tions and the manufacturers organ
izations as to the amount Of tare to
be allowed on each bale and the
present double standard system.
with all of its irregularities and
losses forever done away with.
If the tare were less than 6 per
cent, but uniform and unvarying,
prices would soon be adjusted
through natural law to compensate
for the increased percentage of lint
in a bale, but with the present dou-
ble-standard system the farmer gets
caught between the upper and meth
or mjllctonos and has lost thousands