The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1913-04-12

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/ instead of bale by bale on the street
/ corners, this expense could be reduc-
ed one-half, and make rs cents a bale
or $3,5OO,OOO. These items aggre-
gate $42,OO0.0OO. or SO a bale on the
present crop of 100000.
A careful study extending over sev-
eral months, during which time I
have taken the pains to verify all nv
Investigations and reduce them to the
most conservative basis. convince mo
that a proper warehouse system will
| reduce the total expense TO 81 a bale
or less, and that would make a saw.
ing on the current crop Of the differ
ence between $14,OOO,OOO ana $42.-
/ ooo,0oO, or net gain of $28,OOO.O
L make no allowance in this calcula-
ton for misgrading or unjust classi
hcation Of cotton which is now class
ed entirely by the spinners or their
agents. Many men believe that in
classlilcation alone the farmers lose
as much as 81 bale on the average.
L make no calculation either of the
result to ensue from the be ter Sc
curity which cotton in storage would
orer for loans or for the profit TO
come to the farmer by reason of he-
ing able to handle his product more
lntelllgently and sell it to the best
advantage.
The reform to be accomplished un-
DER proper warehouse system, regu-
lated by State warehouse commits
sion, should begin at the gin. The
ginner should be under bond to take
from the cotton a true sample before
the bale Is packed. That samnle
should go to the warehouse in a pock-
ct or package attached to the bale or
identified by corresponding numer-
al, and there graded by q compe-
tent person authorized by the State to
certify the grade. There Is no earth
" reason why by a process, the cot
ton crop should not be sold and de-
liVered to the spinner without cut
ting the bale. Grain is sold upon a
certificate of inspection. and cotton
can be sold in like manner. The
warehouse Inspector should be put
under bond or the warehouse corpor-
alton handling the cotton should be
required to guarantee the weight and
grade, because nobody should EXPECT
the spinner to pay for what he does
not receive or upon a basis of a high
er grade than the actual grade.
Save Loss by Sampling.
1t VIII readily be seen that if the
bale were not cut for sampling we
would at once eliminate all the loss
of the so-called "city crop" all the
expense and waste OF patching and
would present to the spinner a bale
of cotton 50 free from dirt and injury
that he would readily agree to accept
1t at the actual weight of the baeging
and ties and thereby eliminate the
present excess Of tare There would
remain then two other items of
waste, the country damage and the
expense of buying, which l am con-
hdent would disappear as soon as the
warehouse system became thorough
ly established and producers and con-
sumers alike came to understand the
economy and simplicity Of its oper-
alton.
There should be a State Warehouse
Commission of three men, and the
commission should have the dignity
and even greater powers than the
railroad Commission so as to abso-
lutely regulate the business. If the
commission would in this manner
certify to weights and grades, prac-
tically the entire crop of the South
would go through the warehouses to
| obtain the benefit OF official certifica-
| ton.
anticipate that opposition will be
made to these proposals because they
are paternalistic. They are not pa
ternalistic, because the States does
nothing for the individual; it takes
from no individual to bestow on an
other. The State is now regulating
the rates of fire insurance, it is re-
! 1ulrlng banks to guarantee their de-
! posits it is providing for drainage and
| irrigation, and, as a matter of fact. it
is now providing for the official
weighing of cotton. 1t is a perfectly
simple and perfectly logical extern
ton of these powers of recognized au-
thority to extend them in the manner
indicated ON the other hand. If this
system is paternalistic, then l have
only to say that it is high time for
the State to exhibit some paternalism
toward its largest industry. The fact
! is, the state is now exercising natpr-