New-York tribune., 1922-11-26
VI. s. Slow to Reform
Cotton Baling Method
By William Whitsan,

wv HEN a bale of American
WW cotton leaves the compress
after being patched with
reasonable care and recompressed it
lis fairly decent looking package
and far from being the disreputable
object it almost invariably is on ar
rival at the spinning mill. Remedy
ing this latter condition has been the
subject of discussion for a genera
tion and more. All sections of the
trade here and abroad are agreed
upon the need of reformation, as all
are in favor of improvement, except,
perhaps, that division of the trade
engaged as middlemen between
grower and user, which profits from
the sanplings and pickings described
in a previous article.
There are also members Of the group
which owns the machinery of the exist
ing system who would find their equip
ment on the junk pile If superior
method were adopted. They can hardly
be expected to become enthusiastic over
reform. Indeed, if such q contingency
seemed imminent it would not be eur
prising to find the passive resistance
OF that aggregation changed into active
opposition.
In the face Of this almost universal
condemnatory verdict little progress
was made even in the direction of
greater density and more economical
size of the bale for transportation
purposes until the acute shortage Of
Cargo space became Of such vital mill
tary Importance shortly after the out
break of the World War that some
shipowners recompressed bales to
greater density at their own expense
to save precious space. 1t is regret
able, but true, that even under the
urgency thus created nothing more
than makeshifts were called into serv-
ice. Attachments Of one sort and am
other were devised with the sole aim
occupy less space. Nothing In the ma
ture of the real reform so long urged
came out of the emergency.
To understand the situation as it is
to-day, let it be said that the American
bale before the practice of recompres-
sion for high density was begun, had
density of between 20 and "a pounds
TO the cubic foot, while cotton from
Egypt was packed to density of from
35 pounds to 40 pounds to the cubic
foot. and Indian cotton came to the
mills at an even higher density, some
times approaching so pounds.
1t must not be overlooked that the
present system is go thoroughly in
trenched that to change it radically
will necessarily be difficult and cost
ly process. The bale is shaped at. the
gin, next compressed at the concentra-
tion points in the cotton belt, and
then, if intended for overseas, recon-
pressed at the port. 1t is plain that
the costly fault Of this arrangement is
that the cotton is not put into the
necessary size and shape at the first
operation, /. e., at the gin house. Eff
forts are under way to correct this
error.
1t will be best, however, to take up
first theJmethod Of decomposition for
export, since the high density bale has
almost entirely superseded the bulky
package in this trade. This obviously
compels third pressing operation with
the inevitable expenditure Of time and
labor, piling on one expense to save
slightly more than the cost in another
way. The device in general use for
obtaining the desired. high density is
known ss the Webb attachment, which
was best described by the inventor be-
fore the tenth international congress