The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1910-08-16
THAT COTTON ! Ar \ ]
FARMERS ARE ENTITLED %: re i SIX: SIX:
S3s& PER CENT :3sARE. e d ii
Here is, Much Work farmers Un,

ions in Every Cotton State Should
Begin on at Once. - 3s; a
i "a farmer writing. :tosthe Progress.
i've Farmer and Gazette says some
\ tine last ian, s"l saw5an article in
= your. paper advising farmers to put
4 30pounds Of bagging on their cotton
Including ties, The farmers here,
a following your advice did so.I: The
| mill men kicked on it and stopped
lal1SIocal buyers from buying, saying
ia farmer. had just as well put in
plank. to make up, as. it would be
more honorable. y" What ! want to
know, ,is. 1t law,sto put it on II II
| is 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: i.:2 si..
! ram glad to get the letter from
|"C," but he should remember that
| all The Progressive Farmer and Ca
zette can do in 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 6 per cent tare on his cotton
bales. This is his right, but if the
farmer is not disposed to insist on 1t,
we cannot help 1t. The Farmer
has a right now to get 4 to Is cents
for good cotton, but If he is will
ing to be run over and let a 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 S 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 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
| just this: Europe buys most of our
cotton, and buys it on basis of 9
per cent tare-flxes prices with a
view to losing 6 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 6 per cent for tare, then the
American manufacturers should eth
er allow 6 per cent or pay high
er price for their lit. And If s
per cent is right, then it is not the
case that where the farmer puts on
the full 6 per cent, lie 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 be 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 I have is
correct.
Last fall the American Textile
Manufacturer jumped Joname for my
fight for the per cent tare, and I
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 present.
ed these arguments, although I made
it plain that ! 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 said to them in the Ian
guage of old Marcus Aurelius: IF
any man can show me that I do
not think or act Alright, l 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 organiza-
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 it's 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