The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1910-08-25
ABOUT THAT COTTON TARE
FARMERS ARE ENTITLED TO SIX
PER CENT. TARE.
ions in Every Cotton State
Should Begin OH at Once.

sive Farmer and Gazette, says some
time last fall, Il saw an article in
your paper advising farmers to put
80 pounds of bagging on their cotton
including ties. The farmers here,
following your advice did so. The
mill men kicked on it and stopped
all local buyers from buying, saying
a farmer had just as we'll put in
plank to make up, as it would be
more honorable" What l want to
know, is it law to put it on? If it
is defend us; if not publish the
amount we can put on it.
In answer the Editor of the Pro-
gressive Farmer and Gazette wrote
as follows:
am glad to get the letter from
&C., but he should remember that
all The Progressive Farmer and Ga
zette can do in a case like this is
to tell what is right. With all the in
formation before us, We said, and
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 disposed to insist on it,
we cannot help it. The Farmer
has right now to get IA to Is 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 important work to do to go
out and fight the battles of man
who won't stand up for himself.
The per cent. tare is right and
farmers from one end of the South
to the other ought to organize with
a view to enforcing this right on all
1910 market.
All that we can do is to tell them
this and then 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 nutshell, our position is
lust this: Europe buys most of our
cotton, and buys it on basis of 6
per cent. tare-fxes prices with a
view to losing per cent. to get net
weight. President J. l.. Lee of the
Georgia Farmers Union publicly as
serted last fall that Wilmington, At
ltnata, Augusta and Savannah export
ers buy cotton on basis of 22
pounds and put on full 80 pounds
before exporting.
If the European manufacturers
allow per cent. for tare, then the
American manufacturers should eth
er allow S per cent. or pay a high
er price for their lint. And If 6
per cent. is right, then it is not the
case that where the farmer puts on
the full 6 per cent, he is acting dis
honorably 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 be accused because he gets
cotton bagging prices. And it is in
getting cotton at bagging prices that
the only unfair action has been 60
ing on, if the information l have is
correct.
Last fall the American Textile
Manufacturer jumped on me for my
fight for the 6 per cent. tare, and
answered them with the letter. AL
though 1 watched their paper care
fully they have never yet published
this reply, so far as l 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 come back at me when l present
ed these arguments, although l made
it plain that l 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 langu-
age of old Marcus Aurelius: IF
any man can show me that l do
not think or act Alright, l will gladly
change for 1 seek only the truth by
which no man was eyer injured. "
The fact that neither the manufac-
turers themselves nor their official
ogran were able to attack or over
turn our arguments is the best COM
mentary on their soundness.
The paramount need, as l see IT,
is for the uniform system. There
ought to be definite understand
ing between the farmers organlza-
tions and the manufacturers organ
izations as to the amount of tare to
be allowed on each bale and the
present double standard system,