The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1912-08-24
FARMERS
UNION NEWS
f'aetical Thoughts for Practical
Farmers.
CO. nducted by K. w. Dabbs. Pres.
ident ). c. Farmers UnionD
Some Random Thoughts.

Kind of covering put on the cotton
from different countries. Next 20
seeing the actual bales and the con-
trast, these pictures are the strongest
kind Of argument for improved baling
processes in the South.
My readers will picture in their
minds the appearance Of some of the
bales Of cotton on the Sumter mar
ket when it comes direct from the
gin, in shreds of bagging. and cal
culate the waste that must necessar-
| lily accumulate before such cotton can
be delivered at the mills Of Europe.
they Will see what a tremendous tax
our people pay in their penny wise,
pound foolish" policy of buying old
and rotten bagging. If on top of this
the farmers who use good bagging
could once be brought to see that in
| fixing the price which can be paid for
his properly covered bales, the buyer
takes into account the losses on his
neighbOrs scare crow bales. he
would not long stand for present
| methods. but would invoke the strong
hand of the law to prevent his cotton
from being brought into disrepute
abroad" Every farmer who has CIV
enn any thought to the matter knows
| that on his local market these un-
slightly bales bring just as much as
the neat bales.
In these reports it is shown that
somewhere in transit, presumably at
first compress, odds and ends Of bag
ging, absolutely worthless, are added
to the bales to make up the tare to
per cent, the foreign rate. One
statement was that if this per cent
were reduced the importer would
simply calculate the difference and
deduct it from the price which he
would pay for the cotton. 1t is stat
| ed that occasional shipments from
Texas are the only ones under-tared.
that is that have less tare than 6 per
| cent.
N.'- "~
/ The constant complaints with re-
gard to American baling appear to
| arise from the Inconvenience which is
] thereby caused lin handling the bales
| as we'll as from the damage to the
cotton and consequent loss from inse-
curity Of the packing The inconven-
ience, so referred to for want of a
letter word, arises by reason of the
marking being so damaged or torn
away at times as to make it difficult
10 determine all the particular bales
which are due to a particular con-
signee, and delay and difficulty are the
outcome. The writer saw at times
bales on the quay which had been
practically denuded of covering"
The steam ship and insurance COM
panies are probably the most inter-
ested parties as regards this phase of
the subject" Thus writes the consul
at Liverpool.
Upon whom do the losses above re-
ferred to fall? Not on the foreign
spinner, for he buys net cotton. Not
on the insurance company, for in
one Of these reports it is shown that
l. charges a higher rate Of insur-
ance on loosely packed American cot
ton. than on closely baled Egyptian
cotton. Not on the steamship COM
Iany, for his freight rate is fixed to
cover all such losses. Not on the i'm
porter, or American exporter, or in
terror buyer. for the price is fixed to
cover this as We'll as other losses. Not
even on the farmer who uses rags to
cover his cotton, for he gets the same
price per pound that his neighbor
does for neatly baled cotton.
Then upon whom does it fall? Up
on the honest farmers whose cotton Is
brought into disrepute 10y such care
less practices. How long will the
great mass Of the farmers who are
honest. and who want TO put on the
market honest cotton. and get for il
living price. stand for such slip-shod
- proctiaoSo
But | must close. This little docu-
ment will furnish the text for many
an article f.. w. II.
Wednesday in Random Thoughts
the type had $22OS.0O 1t should be
$2,203. 10000. Two million two hun