Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1915-05-06
The Need For Cotton Warehouses

Washington. u. g.. MAY a. The cot.
ton warehouses already in existence are
ample ia aggregate storage capacity. 49,.
curlin. To- "a recent survey made IN the
4. :. department of agriculture. To store
~ much uf the crop 80 there j. amy need
for. but the, are poorly distributed.
The hest are not available Ia the farmer
and the charges Of others are higher
than he T. ,i>p">cI 60 pay. These facts
complicatc the financing uf The crop and
are largely responsible for keeping 80
MANY cotton Farmers under the blight ut
the "rclit system. \ better system uf
Warehouses would 10 much t. help The
situation.
Cotton according To- governmental
specialists H. considered the very best
collateral. and bankers and business
men ia general are willing IA lend mon
~ on ID ia lower interest than on real
estate. An essential condition j. how
ever. that the cotton Ice properly stored
aud insured. Al the present. however
this IL yer, rarely done. The farmers
are accustomed a. dispose of their crop
al the earliest uoS>ihIc moment and ~
the nearest town. Much Of the crop If
MOI all of IL. H. frequently pledged IN
advance. iu order tn obtain supplies for
the farmer Even when the price drops
aS low ~ II did IN The fall of 1911. the
n,-d for immediate cash induces the far
mrr to lrprr>> the market still further
bv throwing all Of his cotton upon il.
II this : not done much of Re crop ,cfi
in>ufirirntly prtrctcd and suffers what
j. known IL the trade ~ country Gam
age
A a. .fl.. LAr..r a. - ta.trt TIL mn
IA \ nru publication uf the Il. :. depart
ment of agriculture. bulletin 2lG. cot
ton Warehouses" that an adequate >N>-
TEN would enable the farmers 1" store
their cotton AT prices lower than those
charged for the same service now he
cause the insurance rates nn cotton
stored i'm "A standard warehouse would
be- much lower that at the present time.
Since cotton ~ regarded a. such a safe
collateral the merchant would IT, willing
L. extend Time 10 the farmer il warchou
Se> receipts were deposited with him aS
collateral. The local bank would take
these receipts from the merchant aS fur
Their accommodation. and the larger bank
from which the local bank has IN all
probability obtained the loan would Al
50 extend time. I'm this WAY the crop
va w fitA wv 'AhsAhA HAh' ~
established IA consequence.
Moreover. such a system would tend
H. free The farmer. c>Irciall, those of
the tenant class from the cndcl>S chain
If debt. II would not. Of course. end a.
once or completely the credit system hN
which the supply merchant sometimes
obtains interest at from - Ia - cents on
q dullar>'> worth nf supplies. III however.
such cotton ~ MAS not absolutely nrrr>
Sar, To- settle accounts was stored and
economy ia living practiced MANY Of the
more determined growers should ~ the
course of two or three wears Ice able To-
place themselves on Il cash basis.
AZ the present time the best warchou.
SeS have been put NJ hy factories and
mills for their own uses. and are Of no
service to the farmer. The owners If
small Warehouses in which the farmer
can store his cotton are usually losing
money on the investment largely bcrau>,
of poor construction and c~orreSondingly
high rates of insurance. The government
Investigators present = number Of in
tereSting statistics To- show that in many
eases il il actually more expensive To
put up and opcratc an inferior ware
house than of standard design. For
example ia Georgia and North Carroll
ma the insurance rate il reduced about
~ per cent by the use of SprinklerS. Tn.
questionable. saws the report. a great
saving could be affected by the erection
and proper equipment Of modern ware
houses. Assuming the annual crop "a
be Ii NM. OuO bales n sufficient lumber
Of such could be- constructed and equipp