The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1914-05-07
AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE
LOSING GREAT SUMS
Mishandling of Cotton in the Southern States
Means Loss of Seventy-Five Million
Dollars Annually


ed for storage purposes, but is a
purely industrial Or commercial pro-
duct. A food crop remains part of
the life of the agricultural commun-
ity where it is produced, only the
surplus passing into the general chan
nels of commerce. In former days,
when the weaving of cloth and the
manufacture of garments were do
mestic arts, both producers and con-
sumers we're more familiar with cot
ton and more able to apprehend the
better or poorer quality of the fiber.
But to-day cotton is no longer part
of the domestic life; it is raised on
the farm to be shipped to city
thousand miles away to be manufac-
tured into goods.
improvements in textile machinery
and the factory system of labor have
led in the last so years to an enor-
nous expansion in production and
use of cotton, yet there has been no
corresponding improvement in quail
ity or intrinsic value of the fiber, nor
in the methods of growing and mar
keting the crop. The industrial su-
periority of cotton is usually suppos-
ed to lie merely in its cheapness. but
cotton of good quality can compete
with any other fiber in strength, fine
ness and durability. Though the con-
sumption Of cotton has vastly out
grown that of any other textile ma
terial, the true possibilities of the
fiber are still very lnadequately ap-
spreciated by the general public. A
lack that education alone can re-
medy.
The popular conception of gen
Grafton ago that fine fabrics were
stronger and more durable than
course fabrics was based on mechan-
ical limitations which modern invent
ors have thoroughly overcome. With
strong long staple cotton can to-day
be made from much shorter and
weaker fiber. The decline in the
wearing qualities of cotton fabrics is
often ascribed in cities to the use of
destructive chemicals in public laun-
dries, vet the same deterioration is
recognized in rural districts, where
household washing is still practiced.
Fully s25,O0O,OO0 worth of cotton
cloth is thrown away by the con-
sumer each year, which represents
loss from which no value has been
appreciated. This loss has been made
a. fact because the textile manufac-
turers are producing a poor quality
of material in cotton cloth.
Millions of dollars are being lost
annually in cotton by the farmers
who endeavor to hold their crop until
the markets raise sufficiently to war
rant sale of the product. The ma
jority of the planters who are follow
ing this pastime have insufficient
means for the storage of their crop.
1t means leaving the bales out in the
weather, sometimes on platforms or
boards, but often also fiat on the
ground without any protection what
soever. The saving of this cotton
each year would make such a mate
rial difference in the cost per yard
of cotton cloth to- the consumer that
all buyers would Immediately notice
the saving.
Under the present system, the gin
box, plantation, fiat, or uncompressec
bale, as it is variously termed, has
density of about y to Is pounds to
the cubic foot. It's usual dimensions
are 54x27X43 inches. An average OF
25 fiat bales are loaded in cars OF
ordinary size and shipped to the near
est compress, usually as a recon-
press or railroad compress. AS the
usual commercial lot consists of 100
fat bales, four ordinary cars are re-
quired for the haul. The compress
collects it's fee for service, amounting
to ten cents per 100 pounds, or about
SO cents per bale, direct from the
railroad company, the latter having
included this amount in the freight
bill. This the producer pays, as we'll
as insurance, freight and other
charges, all of which are deducted
before the price has been fixed
Upon arrival at the compress plat
form, which often has insufficient
roof protection for more than one
quarter of the total shipments on
hand, the 100 bales are unloaded,
weighed, put on range, which means
lined up side by side with faces out,
and sampled They are now classed,
compressed, and patched while in the
press, and then are ready for reload
ing for shipment to port or domestic
ro,,rroeejDr thiolyn &C