Newspaper Page Text
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4
IIIL. t L-WWH
VOLUME XLIII—NUMBER FOUR.
Atlanta, Ga., Week Ending March 25, 1905.
50c PZff YEAR—SINGLE COPY 5c.
8
| Wilming'ton, N. C., Fourth American Cotton Port; j
I i? ^ ^ How tHe Staple Is Handled for Export ^ f ^ j
By G. W. BRUNSON, JR.
Written for 6/7ff Sunny South
HE average American has
has some Idea of the
amount of cotton that is
shipped to foreign countries
each year. He knows that
V# the south raises enough
-JlL. cotton to supply the
€9B iia» world’s demand. He knows
’Sr that cotton is shipped from
/ j{ a number at American
yak ports, chiefly in the south.
.if on freight or “tramp”
steamers, as they are call
ed. Those of us living in
the south know the full process of culti
vating cotton, from the time the seed is
planted until it is packed in bales ready
for market. We are familiar with the
bursting of the sprout through the earth,
the cream and pink blooms, the form, the
boll and the open cotton are all famihai.
The picking process is known to aTT, as is
the ginning, pressing and hauling to mar
ket. But how many people are there who
know anything about the preparation of
cotton for foreign export, except in a
limited and vague way? Comparatively
few. To those who have never seen a bale
of cotton compressed and hauled oyer the
side of a ship and lowered into the great
hold this article is intended to be of in
terest. and perhaps Instructive.
Wilmington ranks fourth among Amer
ican ports in exporting cotton, Galveston,
New Orleans and Savannah ranking this
port in the order, named. In Wilmington
i wo distinct compress plants are located—
the Champion Compresses and Ware
House Company and the Wilmington
Compress and White House Company, The
former is the most important and com
plete in its equipment of any in the
world. It was founded in 1866 by the
well-known lirm of Alexander Sprunt &
Son, who owns and operates it to the
present day. The senior member of the
firm died in 1884. but the enterprise Has
been ever since continued by his sons.
James and William H. Sprunt. without -
change of title. The firm is among the
largest exporters in the w’orld, shipping
cotton from this port to Liverpool,
Bremen, Ghent and other European cities.
They have agencies in various places
abroad, and their own offices and staff
at Liverpool, Ghent and Bremen, in this
country they have an army of buyers
scattered all over the Carolinas. Georgia
and, in fact, throughout the cotton grow
ing belt. All tho staple bought by the
firm is shipped to Wilmington and ex
ported from here. Last year the firm
bought over 320,000 bales, and the whole
of that amount was shipped to f Europe.
Already this cotton year they have .bought
more than a quarter of a million bales,
and most of it has been sent across the
Atlantic to England and the continent.
The value of the cotton exported by the
Sprunts during the year ending. August
31. 1904. approximated S20.000.000.
STEAMSHIP PIONEERS.
Alexander Sprunt & Son W’ere the
pioneers of the steam foreign trade of
Wilmington, having chartered. Hie first
steamer, the Barnesmore. in 1881. Prev
ious to that time all cotton exported from
tiiis port was shipped in sailing vessels.
The Barnesmore's draft was 13 feet and
her cargo consisted of 3.458 bales. In
November of this year the same firm
cleared the marnmo.th British steamship
Anglo-Saxon, for Liverpool, with 17,300
bales, and the vessel went to sea drawing
more than 22 feet of water.. The develop
ment and growth of Wilmington as a cot
ton port may be judged front this lone
comparison. The firm frequently load at
their compress five steamers simultaneous
ly. and the present class at boats employ
ed by them average a.capacity of 12,000
bales. During tiie past twenty-five years
the firm has compressed several million
bales of cotton.
g.0-*’ 0 0 0 0 ••• 0 0 0 ••• 0 0 ••• 0 -m- 0 ■ 0 •«.9m.0u,.0 0'M-00...0.a .-o Q 0 0.«•••*.• OC#
k:;
Vyr-
Bale of Cotton Just Before Being Placed in the Press.
British Steamship Tolosa, with a Half Million Dollar Cotton Cargo, Just As She Is Leaving Port.
The Messrs. Sprunt are necessarily busi
ness men of gigantic proportions. They
are complete masters of. their business,
and every part of it is worked with won-
lerful system and precision. The pro
prietors are at the helm from the first to
the last part of the season, and the men
employed by them have only the minor
parts to perform. It is an acknowledge!
fact that their system of loading vessels
is not equaled anywhere, and through It
they have gained the reputation of storing
more cotton in a given amount of space in
a ship's hold than any other concern in
tiie cotton exporting business. This is an
important factor in their success, the util
ization of every inch of space in a vessel.
All that has gone before is simply in
troductory to what I started out to say.
The compressing plant of the firm of
whom we have been speaking is the most
comipieite and convenient of its kind in
the United States. The ware house
buildings cover two city blocks, the
whole property giving 420,000 feet of
floor and dock space. The storage ca
pacity permits of the storing and han
dling of 25,000 bales of cotton at one
time. There are in operation three pow
erful and most efficient compresses.
They are the latest Improved character,
viz.: one 2,000-ton hydraulic compress
,and two 2,000-ton direct steam - com
presses. The docking and loading faciiL
' ties could not be improved upon. As
has already been stated, the docks can
accommodate five steamers at one time,
and all five may be loaded with as much
ease as one. The whole establishment is
perfectly systematized, and even in times
of pressure, in the height of the ship
ping season, the work is carried on, as
it were, automatically. No one is al-
(CONTINUED ON LAST PAGE.)
Wards of Fortune f
East of a Series of Humorous Stories by aCO
Gelett Burgess and Will Irwin
• ..'•-•••-a. O'** *'*'*'*'*'***'*'*'*'***'*'*'9 **'*'"'* "
jjj
r l^OOTHED by the drone of the
Retired Car Conductor’s
** I narrative, and wearied out
I with the continuous per-
— ■ formance of the night’s ad
ventures, the Harvard
Freshman fell asleep on
the wooden bench in his
cell at the Tanks; and it
was not until a heavy hand
was laid on his shoulder
that he awoke. A bluff
policeman was standing
over him.
“Your order for release has come, and
you can go now! You and your pardner
was asleep, and I clean forgot you.”
The officer had a similar word for the
Conductor, and led the two prisoners out
into the corridor. While they were wait
ing for their property to be taken from
the boxes in which it had been stored, Eli
Cook felt idly in his pocket and drew out
a torn scrap of red paper marked with
Chinese writing.
“That's all they left on me when I was
searched.” he said with a feeble grin.
“Want it for a sourvenir of a happy
evenin'? It dropped out of a Chinaman’s
pocket yesterday up to Dupont street, and
I picked it up.”
The Freshman took it. In the same spirit
of mockery, and stuffed it into his own
pocket to keep company with several
pawn tickets. As they went together into
the street the city bells were striking 2
o’clock.
The youngster mused. “I shall now en
deavor to give the correct imitation of a
thousand-dollar sport in the act of starv
ing to death. I am wondering, in my
simple Japanese way, whether that gentle
Ivlondyke with my prize money in tow
will ever swim into my ken again. It’s
a good deal like trying to find a pet
oyster in a mud flat, but TO try niy best.
Angels, they say, can do no more. Selan!”
With that be walked up to Gunschke’s
cigar store and found the young man who
had assisted at the smoking orgy of the
riight before. The clerk, however, knew
nothing of the IClondyker’s whereabouts,
having never seen the father of the
Kutakoolanat previous to the debauch.
The Freshman was in a quandary.
"Say, has your luclt changed yet?” the
salesman asked. **Last time I heard, the
curve was still rising.”
”By Jove! I had forgotten all about
that.” cried Coffin. “Let’s see. I won my
hundred at the wager, then I lost my
thousand, more or less. In the Chinese
lottery, but then I was pulled, and dropped
the hundred at the Tanks. The grand
psychological query is, Do I get that
thou’? If I had a nickel to my name I’d
put the delicate question to tiie Oracle of
tiie slot and find out how 1 stand on
Fortune’s Golden Rolls.”
“Oh, I’ll stake you; here you are.” the
salesman answered, tossing out a nickel.
“I’d like to know myself. Tf you’re still
winning I’ll take you out to the race track
and let you do my betting.”
The Freshman pushed the coin down
the slot of the poker machine and jerked
tiie handle. Three treys appeared behind
the wire. “Bully!” cried the salesman.
“Here, you draw four cigars!”
“Nay, nay, Pauline!” Coffin exclaimed
in disgust. “I wouldn’t eat another cigar
to be crowned King of the Barbary coast!
I can never endure the smell of tobacco
again without being as seasick as a cat
in a swing. Much obliged for your
charity, but I’ll call it square for the
good omen.”
Irrationally cheered by the portent,
James Wiswell Coffin, 3d. wandered out
aimlessly and floated with the throng
down toward the cheaper end of Kearney
street. The cool, green, grassy square
at the Old Plaza attracted him, and he
entered the little park.
Meanwhile, 'the plot hatched by the hero
of Pago Bridge, and the deserter of the
Philippines had gone forward without a
•hitch. Drake and Maldslow had met
Maxie at the Biograph theater and she
had consented to visit Colonel ICnowlton
and represent Drake as her missing hus
band, that Maldslow might be safe from
being recognized and apprehended by the
secret service men as a deserter. Both
husband and wife were affected at this
meeting after so many years, and it was
evident to the hero that a reconciliation
would be easily arranged. Both were
lonely. Maxie had worked so hard and
Maldslow had lived so adventurously that
the prospect of settling down to a peace
ful married life attracted them equally.
This was now possible if the legacy of old
Max could be collected safely from the
colonel. Their scheme was nothing less
than conspiracy; but, after all, Maidslow,
her real husband, would he the one
profited, for he would receive the money.
Maxie’s conscience was assuaged by this
consideration.
At 10:30 o’clock that morning Maxie and
Drake called upon the colonel at the
army headquarters and passed the ordeal
successfully. The officer was too busy
to spend much time in investigation, and.
knowing Maxie as well as he did. it did
not occur to him to suspect fraud. At
any rate, the check for SI5.000, which
he passed over to Admeh, made payable
to Harry Maidslow, would not be cashed
with:#*! proper identification, and the
bank would relieve the colonel of this
necessity.
How Maidlslow was to cash the check
was now the question. It was easily
solved, at a meeting of the three-princi
pals in tiie plot, by the decision that old
Dietrich, the proprietor of the Biograph
Theater, could identify the payee. He
would undoubtedly believe Maxie's intro
duction of Maidslow as her husband, at
this time, at least, she would be speaking
the truth. They left Admeh Drake on the
sidewalk while they proceeded to this next
step.
The old Dutriaman was canny, how
ever. “How do I know dat dis man is
your huspant?” he said. “You say so,
Maxie, put I nefter seen him before! See
here, didn’t you say Harry Maidslow hat
a tattoo mark on his arm alreatty? He
hat a girl’s name, ‘Dotty,* you .tole me
once. Lemme see dat mark, and I vill
identify him, sure. Den I know It’s all
right!”
This was easily proved. Maidslow
stripped up his sleeve and exhibited the
tattoo mark, and old Dietrich was con
vinced. He put on his hat to accompany
them to the bank. Excusing himself for
a moment, Maldslow slipped out and
spoke to Admen Drake.
“It’s all right, Drake, we’re going
right down to cash the check. You get
away before Dietrich sees you and gets
suspicious, and I’ll meet you with the
thousand dollars at Lotta’s fountain in
half an hour!”
Drake walked down Market street. In
a few minutes he saw Maxie, Maidslow
and the old Dutchman approaching. He
kept out of sight while they passed him,
on their way to Montgomery street,
where the bank was located. Then he
commenced his vigil at 'Lotta’s fountain.
When Admen Drake looked up .to the
clock tower above his 'head he was sur
prised to see that it was already a- quar
ter to 12. He had waited nearly an
hour. He began to be impatient, nerv
ous suspicious. Maidslow. should have
returned with Maxie long before this.
Something must have happened, or else—
he grew frightened at the thought—they
had given him the slip, and would avoid
•paying him the thousand dollars as his
share of the plot. He waited now with
less hope. Surely, if they were coming
at all, they would have returned before
this. He lost interest in the passers by
and watched only for the two who were
to bring him his reward.
Thie clock struck noon, and the throng
was swelled by clerks and business men
released for their lunch hour. One
o’clock and the tide poured back again.
Two and he grew weary with standing
and sat upon the pedestal of the foun
tain. Three, and he gave up all hope.
The excitement which had kept him up
all night relaxed. He was faint and
limp from lack of food and sleep.
So he. too, joined the human current
and drifted along Kearney street with no
set plan at action.
He turned into the Old Plaza, at Ports
mouth square, his eyes caught by a spar
kle of light from the gilded sails of the
little bronze ship on the Stevensov me
morial. He walked nearer to see what It
was, and as he approached he perceived
a young man In a red sweater reading
the inscription on the marble shaft. It
was the Harvard freshman.
“To be honest, to be kind.” Coffffin was
reading, “to earn a little and to spend a
little less, to make upon the whole a
family happier for his presence”—and
then he turned away with a bitter pro
test in his throat, to see the hero of
Pago bridge looking over his shoulder.
“Pretty, ain’t it!” said Admeh Drake,
and he, too, looked at the immortal quo
tation from the Christmas sermon. Had
It been written for him alone it could
not have stung him more fiercely.
“—To renounce, when that shall be nec
essary, and not be embittered, to keep a
few friends, but these without capitula
tion-above all, on the same grim condi
tion, to -keep friends with himself—here Is
a task for all that a man has of fortitude
and delicacy.”
He turned to Coffin with despair in his
eye, all that was best in him writhing a t
these graven words, “Say, what the hell
did that, man stick that up .here for,
right where: every man that has fallen
can read and eat otlt his heart?”
Coffin slapped him on’the back in sym
pathy, for even the- irrepressible fresh
man seemed for the moment to he touch
ed by the admonitory legend. But he
was not one to be serious for long, and
after that one swift glance into his soul,
his customary spirit asserted itself.
“See here,” he said, “this is the way I
look at it. You can’t have good luck
with your consciencce all the time, any
more'n you can with your purse. Moral:
cultivate your forgettery! We meet un
der the shadow of the good ship Bona-
venture, aforesaid ship being full of buc
caneers, and sailing over a Sublime Moral
Precept, by R. L. S. I doubt if he would
claim he was always such an angel him
self if anybody should drive up in a
chariot and ask him. Lastly, my breth
ren, why be phazed at a dozen lines of
type? Discard your doubts and draw
to the glorious flush of hope. Amen.
Let’s have a drink.”
They pledged each other somewhat for
lornly in Spring Valley water, and then
Coffin remarked: "By the way, what
did you do with the dime Coffee John
gave you? Made a fortune yet?”
"I made a thousand dollars, but I’ve
got it to get. I’ve roped her, but I can't
throw her yet.”
“A thou’?” Coffin exclaimed, "the
devil you have! Jupiter, but that’s
queer! Why, that’s my fix, precisely. I
got it on the hook all right, but I could
n't haul it into the boat.”
Exchanging confifidences over the
night's adventures, the two wandered up
to the top of the sloping plaza, where
the back of the Woey Sen Low restaur
ant arose, three stories high, an Iron
balcony projecting from each tier of
windows.
“Let’s come up to the chink’s Delmoni-
co,” suggested the freshman. “You can
get a great view of the city from up
there and you don’t have to spend mon
ey if you don't want to.”
They wenl* round to the front entrance,
ascended the stairs and filed past empty
tables, gaining the balcony. As they stood
gazing over San Francisco they heard
steps approaching from behind and .two
persons came into the nearest room.
Coffin, who was standing with Drake, out
of sight of the new arrivals, peeped round
the corner of a porcelain lantern
“It’s a woman,” he whispered. "And a
peacheriooloo of the first degree, too, by
Jove! Nigger or Kanacker blood, though.
Let’s go through and have a look at her.”
Drake assented. They entered the open
doorway and passed carelessly through
the r.jom. A man at the table looked up
and noddfd.
“Whittaker!”'said the Freshman, when
they were out of sight, “the medium, as
I exist! I wonder how he ever got into a
friendly mix-up with that chocolate-color
ed fairy. There was no heroine with raven
looks in mine.”
At this moment Vango appeared and
stuck a dirty finger in Coffin's bottonhole.
The medium’s hair was ma*»gd and
stringy, his clothes wrinkled and spotted
in a shocking disorder. “Come.in here,”
he said. “I want to make you acquaint
ed with a lady friend,” and he escorted
the adventurers where the Quadroon sat,
already clad in widow’s weeds.
"Mrs. Moy Kip, let me introduce—Mr.”—
here he hesitated, and was prompted—
"Mr. Coffin and Mr. Drake. Set down,
gents. This here lady has suffered a re
cent sad and tragical bereavement. I was
just about to console her when you pass
ed by, and I hoped you might help distract
her mind from gloomious thoughts and re
flections. The party what has just passed
out, you understand, was a Chinee, but
he is now on the happy side of Jordan, in
the spirit sphere, and we are some in
hopes of having the pleasure of his society
tonight in astral form, if the conditions is
favorable.”
Here he nudged the freshman under the
table, and Coffin passed the hint to
Drake, neither of them Knowing exactly
what was expected of them.
“Do you speak Chinese, madam?” In
quired the freshman, at a loss how to be
gin the conversation. “I've often wonder
ed about these signs In here. I suppose
they’re mottoes from Confucius. Perhaps
you wouldn’t mind translating some.” He
pointed to several long, narrow strips of
colored paper which hung from the walls.
“Oh, I only know a little Chinese, just
about enough to read a common business
letter in the Cantonese dialect,” said the
quadroon.
Coffin recalled tbe scrap of paper given
him by the retired conductor in the
Tanks, and he drew it from his pocket to
show to her. The sharp black eyes of
the ex-medium, sharpened by long prac
tice, fastened upon it. and he darted a
skinny hand.
“Here you are!” he cried, excitedly to
the quadroon. “I told you I’d find it, and
I done it. Look at that. Mrs. Moy Kip,
and see If It ain’t the very samg identical
piece of paper you was a-searchin‘ for.
Oh, I felt it a-comin’ just now when this
CONTINUED ON LAST PAGE.