Year: 1859

Ihe Philauelphla American has an article headed


"Sandcd Cotton,' in which it takes occasion to
slash away at the cotton men of New Orleans for


carclessness or fraud in shipping falsely packed
cotton-a matter already so sufficiently canvassed
that we shall not renew its discussion. The Amer
ican thinks that these abuses always will exist and


consumers must defend themselves by getting their
supplies of cotton through other agency than that
OF New Orleans-that cotton for Liverpool, New
England and all foreign markets, should have its
transhipment at Philadelphia, New York and other
Northern ports, the eminently upright, honorable,
honest and generally excellent merchants of which
will annhilate the chances of successful fraud in
false packing, make no exactng charges against
producer or consumer for their services, and, in
short, do the cotton business Of the South in the
most satisfactory and gratifying manner to all par
ties This is, indeed, generous of the North that,
not content with transactng nearly all our import
ing operations, wishes to burden itself with the
charge of our exporting business also.


The plan which the American relies upon for ac-
complishing this, is to open the cotton country to
the Northern ports by sufIiciency of railroads,
which will transport the product at a charge
which, added to the decreased freights by the
shorter sea voyages rendered necessary shall be
even less amount Of expenses than attach to a
bale of cotton sent out to the world via the Gulf of
Mexico. The American instances hopeful indica-
tions of the future growth of the cotton trade of
the North, and states that at least fifty thousand
bales of the crop of 1859 will be received in Phila-
delphia over the Pennsylvania Central Railroad,
which will be brought to Louisville by rail for ship
ment eastward by the new route opened for it, and
that new port near Cairo now receives cotton
from as far down as lower Tennessee for the North
ern market. There need be- however no occasion
for alarm that the North will do much of the cotton
business of lower Tennessee, any more than that
Mobile will be robbed of the cotton trade of Ala
bama, though it was announced in Richmond
Va.) paper some month or two since, that shin.
ment of cotton from Huntsville, Ala, had passed
through that city for the North, all the way from
the latter town by rail.


Some cotton always will seek the Northern mar.
ket by rail, and the quantity will increase, but not
in the same ratio that the product will. These
trade anomalies will occur in all channels of bust
ness, and we happen to have paragraph before
us which illustrates the fact in striking manner
1t is furnished by the -four trade of the Northern
lakes. A cross tide Of flour sets across Lake On.
tario. vessel will come into Rochester from
Canada with a load of four and will leave that
port laden with flour for Canada. The up trains
on the Grand Trunk Railroad and the down trains
pass each other, both freighted with -four The up
trains and down trains of the railroads penetrating
the cotton region will each have cotton on freight
but with vast difference as to amount. Still the
roads with which the North is tapping the cotton
region will take off some of the product-that por-
ton grown in sections from which access to means
of transportation to Southern ports is difficult and
expensive.


The means of the South's defence then are the
same as those of the North's oifence-railroads-
and Southern cities must have them penetrating
the upper line Of the cotton belt in all directions.
Uninterrupted through lines from North to South
can only be for our benefit; for, when it has the
choice, the volume of the cotton tide will set
South for the nearest market The greedy com
merce Of Philadelphia and New York may get a
mouthful of through cotton now and then, but we
are inclined to think there is not room enough on
the face of the country to lay railroads sufficient to
bring them quantity which will make New
Orleans cotton mart of either the one or the other
of those enterprising cities.


few of our big river boats will do more work
than all the roads they can build and if they want
to ruin New Orleans and cure the fearful frauds in
cotton for which they say our dealers are respon-
sbe, they will have to seriously consider the
scheme of twisting the Mississippi round and turn
ing its mouth into the Atlantic ocean somewhere
in their neighborhood. When they accomplish this
they will deserve and have the results, but mean
while New Orleans must exercise the privilege of
attending to the cotton business-whch is her bust.
ness and not theirs. We shall mind our own busi-
ness-an excellent example for others to follow.
We can look after our sanded cotton, too, and see
that the evil is corrected without any assistance
and without making over the cotton trade to Phila-
delpha-much obliged to her for kindly volunteer
ing to take charge of it.