The Green Forest tribune., 1910-09-30
LETTER ON COTTON BAGGlNG
Mississippi Man Makes Interesting Argument In Favor of Agreement
 for Benefit of Farmers.

Now that the season for ginning is coming. it is time for all parties who are interested in baling cottons to come to a perfect understanding about cotton bagging for the coming season. l have had a good many years ex- perience, but always at the mercy of the jute bagging manufacturers, as well as the mercantile companies, who were the distributors for the jute fac tories, and 1 can truthfully say that when there was big crop to gin the jute bagging always went up as high as II and 121a cents, writes D. N. Hearn of Madison, Miss, in Union Advocate. We had to pay their price even when the ginning competition was so sharp that the price of jute took all the profit, and with this con- dition of things existing, it looks to me as if every ginner would be anx- ious to unite on cotton bagging, whether they are friendly to the union or not
 Every farmer, whether union or nonunion, should demand that all bag ging should be made of cotton. That would consume eight million pounds of cotton for twelve million bale crop, and there are six or seven fac tories that have promised to add nine pounds to the weight of every bale of cotton that We sell them with cotton bagging on it. That would compen- sate for the difference in weight, and if all or nearly all cotton was wrapped in cotton, the 30-pounds tare would be l taken off.
 Away back in the Alliance times the jute bagging went so high it was al most prohibited and thousands of bales were wrapped in old gunny sacks, oat sacks and osenburg, and 1t was at this time that Odenheimer came to the farmers rescue and made good cotton bagging which run the price of jute bagging as low as four and five cents. Just think Of the farm CTS having to wrap four-cent cotton in | fourteen-cent bagging. Now, MT. Oden' heimer is offering to furnish cotton bagging again, and l for one believe that cotton should be used for cotton as well as for corn and oat sacks. By doing this we would only be making use of our bad cotton. If we do any thing to increase the price of cotton and cotton goods, the cotton growers are the ones who are benefited. The wage earner Is benefited, and that has
 price lifting effect; in other words. increases the capacity to consume as
 we increase prices.
 To get back to the subject of cotton
 bagging, I hope that the farmers,
 ginners, in fact, everyone who really
 wants to do something to better the condition of cotton prices, and the country generally, will take up this
 bagging question and decide it, and stand by the decision We make, though the heavens fall. l had per feet understanding last year and got the bagging for my own customers and arranged with MT. Peet of Jack son to supply those of my community that ginned their cotton at Madison station. I do not think there was more than six or seven bales wrapped with cotton in this vicinity. There should be an arrangement made that
 would be binding legally, that carries
 or fixes a penalty so that everyone
 who signs it would have to stand to the rack, fodder. I see that some say that the cotton bagging will not hold. 1 Neither will jute bagging, the way cot ton is handled. As an evidence, just
 go to the compress where cotton Is
 handled and see the condition of the
 bales wrapped in jute bagging and
 you will be convinced.