Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1920-11-02

A series of experiments to deter
mine the extent to which, under va
rious conditions, baled cotton Is DE-
stroyed bv weather was recently
United States department of agricul-
ture, at Jefferson, Ga. The results
are striking. In one instance bale
of cotton placed out in the open,
fiat on the ground with no covering;
was damaged to the. extent Of $40
pounds at the end of eight months.
Another bale PLACED on edge with no
further attention lost 167, pounds. A
bale on edge and turned over once
a week lost ITO pounds. A bale
placed on timbers off the ground and
turned once a week lost forty-nine
pounds. and a bale placed on tim
bers and covered with tarpaul1n lost
but fourteen pounds. A Warehoused
Rod lost only one pound. Other
tests have been conducted from time
to time that corroborate these re-
suits and prove that the ideal con-
ditions under which cotton may be
held by growers, before marketing
are afforded by properly constructed
efficiently operated. bonded ware
houses.
Need for Protection Greater
With an enormous over-supply of
1ow-grade cotton in the south at the
present time, the necessity for pro-
tecting the crop from weather, fire
and other loss is greater than ever
before. say SPECIALISTS of the bureau
damage and other risks to which ex-
posed cotton is subject increase in
direct proportions as the. time that
cotton remains in the hands of the
growers lengthens, and If the cot
ton growers are not to lose millions
of \ dollars every safeguard against
hazard of loss must be employed.
In the matter of weather damage
alone it has been estimated that in
normal times s7).000.0O0 worth of
suit of permitting cotton to remain
exposed to the elements months at
a time without covering or attention
Of any kind.
many instances the total cost of
| warehoustng cotton. includingj in
surance, is no greater than the fire
insurance rate alone on exposed
cotton, it would appear to be the
utmost folly for a grower not to
vantage. say the bureaus special
lists. The insurance rate on exposed
cotton is about 81 A. hundred per
annum. Every 800 worth of cotton
protected warehouse can be insured
ferential of $3.75 would in many
cases pay all other warehouse
| charges.
Of fifty bales of cotton that cot
| ton grower of Maysville, Ga, sold
| to local buyer a short time ago,
| ty-five pounds in each bale was
| found to have been destroyed be-
| cause Of exposure to the weather.
| At 80 cents a pound the grower lost
nearly $1,000. If this grower in
sured his exposed cotton it, cost him
at the rate of $500 year for fire
| insurance alone. He neither had
protection from weather damage or
| theft nor was he in a favorable po-
sit1on to negotiate a loan upon his
product. To have secured these ad-
| vantages would have cost him at
the maximum but a little more than
the cost of the fire insurance alone.
BY diverting his investment into a
channel that would have given him
| the fullest value for his money, he
would have saved the $1,000 that he
lost through neglecting his product.
Growers Depend Upon Banks
From a financial viewpoint, ability
to make loans upon his crop Is of
| paramount Importance to the cotton
grower. Almost all cotton growers
must depend upon the banks to
finance them. No banker is anxious
to lend money for even a short pc.
tected;. he emphaticallv will not dc
so under such conditions On. long
term loans. To be, able to furnish
gilt-edged security to the banks fol
loans it is necessary not only tc