Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1913-09-13
COTTON BUYERS
 FIX A PENALTY Will Assess Cotton Produc- CTS Sl a Bale for Oversize
 Bales Sold Them
A GIN BOX RULING
Urge GinnerS to Conform to Steam. ship Companies Gin Box
 Requirement.

buyers of this city held yesterday afternoon at the Cotton Exchange I action was taken by a unanimous vote that all cotton producers who sell cotton ginned from gins with other than regulation size gin box. which measures 27 by 54 inches, will be penalized $1.00 bale by them. This penalty will be assessed by the buyers to protect themselves for the steamship companies are penaizing them one dollar a bale for each bale Of cotton shipped that is not ginned according to the uniform gin box rule.
 The cotton buyers are therefore anxious to impress upon the ginner that all oversize bales would be l penallZed by them and that they are deslrous of them conforming to the gin box requirement.. As result of the action of the cotton men it is 1 predicted that much confusion will result unless the regulation gin box is installed at all gins in this section ! of the state. For every ovesize bale one dollar will be deducted by the buyer from the invoice.
 But if the bales of cotton expand some after reaching this market and the ginner makes an affidavit that they were ginned in 27 by 54 inch gin box, the penalty will not be inn posed, for the steamship companies have contracted to take all cotton ginaed in the regulation gin. The oversize bales will have to be press ed to uniform size at the shipping ports, at the expense of the compan- ies.
 Cotton producers claim that the action of the cotton men in demand ing a dollar penalty on each oversize bale is inconsistent, in that it does not reduce the cotton to the uniform ceived without penalty where affi- davits are made as to the regulation gin box. The cotton buyers how ever, say that they are forced to take this action in order to protect them- selves.
 The cotton producers, who sell cot ton here, are of the opinion that the recent warning sent out by the De- partment of Agriculture, in which they urge ginners to use the 27 by 54 inch gin box, is misleading. They say that the order should have been for . 25 by 50 inch gin box and that if that size box was used in ginning, the bales would not be of oversize.
 A recent special sent out from Washington explains why the cotton buyers were forced to take the action they did on yesterday. It reads:
 The Department of Agriculture, in response to a number of letters and telegrams from cotton producers t1 the effect that they are penalized for shipping bales larger than 27 by 54 inches, has notified these cores poadents that their safest course i: to insist that ginners change theil , gin boxes to the size p by 54 inches This can be done by ginners at { cost of not more than $5 to s10 pel , box.
 "This situation arises from thu . fact that on March 4 1913, traffi , representatives of the South At , lantic and Gulf Steamship Conference agreed that on and after September 1913, that any bale from gin boxe , of greater length or width than 2 : by 54 inches shall pay an evtra freigh , of $1 per bale.
 Many ginners changed their gil
 boxes to meet the requirements, bu : other smaller ginners either did no . receive the notice or else neglected
 to change their boxes. The resul
 was that cotton producers who ha
 their cotton ginned in gins that hay
 boxes over the required size an
 have shipped this cotton have bee i. penalize extra freight of $1 per balt
 "The reason of the adoption 70
 this rule by the steamship companie
 is that it is more difficult to pacl
 and handle bales of irregular size i ] cars or steamship holds"