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4 COTTON FfiRMERS HOT VICTIMS DE TARE ROLES Corporation Commissioner Re ports Injustice From False Weight Practices. ’ WASHINGTON, Sept. 3 A false standard of weights which inject un certainty Into practically every Ameri can cotton sale in the important mar kets of Europe, resulting in serious abuses, indefensible practices and even fraud on the part of cotton merchants in this country, has been created by the rules of foreign cotton exported from the Urjited States, according to Luther Conant, Jr., commissioner of corpora tions. in a report to President Taft. The report is based unon an exten sive investigation of cotton tare —the allowance for bagging and ties inclos ing a bale of cotton in order to ascer tain the net weight—which was under taken on complaint that American cot ton producers were subjected to seri ous loss because of excessive deduc tions for tare under the regulations of leading European markets. The pro ducer does not ordinarily suffer under these rules, according to the commis sioner, because of the active competi tion among merchants in the purchase of cotton from the farmer for export. The existence of competition and its remedial effect, however, he points out. cannot always be relied upon, and it is impossible to escape the conclusion hat the produce may be Injured, and sometimes is. Complicates Price Figures. The tare rules, the report declares, complicate price regulations with an unnecessary element of chance, and In. volve econonflc waste because of the use of excessive bagging. If this waste does not Injure the producer, or merchant or spinner, It must Impose an unnecessary burden upon the con sumer of cotton goods, says the report. Commissioner Conant declares that im mediate action should be taken to remedy the evils, and offers sugges tions for temporary and ultimate per manent relief. The American producer sells hfs cot ton gross weight, and, as a rule, ac cording to the report, believes that he makes a big profit on tare by receiv ing the same price for bagging that he obtains for cotton. This is untrue, the report says, ns the evidence demon strates that the buyer of cotton takes the tare Into consideration in fixing the price he offers. Cotton for export, on the other hand, is sold net weight. It is in this con nection that complication and uncer tainty are Injected Into cohon sales. The American exporter, by' the terms of his invoice contract with the foreign buyer, must compute the net weight of his cotton by deducing 6 per cent from the gross weight. The average bale of cotton, weighing 500 pounds gross, contains about 478 pounds of cotton and 22 pounds of tare as It comes from the producer to the ex porter. A deduction of 6 per cent, un der the foreign tare rules, from a gross weight of 500 pounds, however, would leave only 470 pounds net or 8 pounds less than the actual weight of the net cotton the bale. In addition to that discrepancy, the report points out, the situation Is further complicated by the fact that when the cotton reaches its destination, the foreign buyer, under the contract with the American ex porter, has the right to demand an actual test for tare. In this test the rules fix a maximum allowance for tare of 500 pounds. This is a discrep ancy of three and one-half pounds as compared with the 30-pound Invoice deduction, and the foreign buyer call* upon the exporter to make good that amount. Exporter Faces Problem. The American exporter, under these circumstances, according to the report, faces a serious problem to avoid con ducting business at a loss. Some cot ton merchants, Mr. Conant says, argue that these facts are thoroughly under stood by the trade, and are adjusted In the price which the exporter asks for his cotton The commissioner does not entirely agree with this view, and ■ays that the practical result of the rules has been that the exporter adds unnecessary tare to his cotton. "The exporter,” he says, “naturally adds tare up to the amount allowed by the rules .roughly 26 1-2 pounds). He does by •patching'—that Is, placing strip-bagging on the bale. A small part of such patching is usttalh necessary to cover sample holes. However since the Exporter, In making out his invoice, must deduct six per cent, he frequently goes further and adds tare up to at least six per cent of the total weight of the bales; sometimes he adtls even more. “Obviously. If the exporter makes a complete adjustment in the price, and also adjusts by adding tare, he makes a profit of such added tare. If, how ever, complete adjustment is not made In the price, this addition of tare be comes simply a means of protection against loss, although In the trade It is usually spoken of as a 'profit on patching.' "Granting that the price of cotton is in no way affected by the six per cent rule, It is nevertheless highly ob jectionable. It results In changing the gross weight of the bale and thus In troduces an avoidable element of chance, both as to the actual weight of cotton to be paid for and as to price." Half Over-Tared. Asa result of this six per cent rule, the commissioner estimates that at least 50 per cent of American exporta tions of cotton arc over-tared and that an insignificant proportion of the re- mainder is of unnecessary tare, says the report, that Injects uncertainty and. possible fraud into the cotton business. "This uncertainty,” adds the geport, “strikes at the basic factor <rf every transaction, namely, the amount of the commodity actually sold. It In effect establishes a false standard of weights with the invariably unfortunate con sequences of such a condition. It thus gives an advantage to a skilled class of specialists who best understand the complicated details of the business with a corresponding disadvantage to the less expert. It is not sufficient to say that the competition among these skilled classes often forces them to turn over the benefit of this false measure to the producer. It is not seriously contended that this is always so, and there is thus ever present the open door to fraud. There is always the invitation to cotton merchants to adopt Improper practices, and there Is thus enticed into the trade a class of men who bring discredit upon hon est merchants. This Is not only the oretically go, but It Is actually so. Buy ers of cotton, both. In this country and abroad, are constantly finding them selves involved in transactions where shippers have taken advantage of these opportunities to defraud.” Standardization Remedy. The ideal remedy for all these evils, Mr. Conant concludes, is the standard ization of tare to bo put on a bale of cotton by making it a definite or read ily ascertainable amount, so that the net weight may be determined with out controversy or test. The present careless and Irregular methods of cov ering cotton, if the evils are allowed to go uncorrected, he declares, seem like ly to Invite legislation. Bending the adoption of a thorough remedy, the commissioner believes substantial benefits will accrue by modifying the six per cent contract so as to provide for a deduction of five per cent or some other percentage more ac curately representing the amount of covering actually necessary to protect the cotton. The requirements of the contract, he says, should certainly be Identical with the allowance established by the rules under an actual test. There would be a great saving, the report says, If the cotton could be com pressed at the gin. Under the present practice, the staple Is pressed at the gin and later compressed to greater densi ty at numerous establishments scat tered over the cotton belt. Compress ing at the gin, he says, would encoun ter opposition from the owners of com presses because it would destroy their business. Furthermore, he adds, it would be impractical at this time be cause It would require a capital outlay of at least $100,000,000 to equip gins with compresses. Nevertheless, he be lieves, this Is an ultimate ideal condi tion to w'hlch the cotton trade must look forward. SAUER’S PURE FLAVORING EX TRACTS have no equal. Sold every where 10c and 25c the bottle, at your grocer’s. BIRMINGHAM AND RETURN $2.50 Tuesday, September 17th. Special trains leave old depot 8 a. m. SEA BOARD. EXQUISITE WEDDING BOUQUETS AND DECORATIONS. ATLANTA FLORAL CO., Call Main 1130. WE WILL MAIL YOU $1 for each set of old False Teeth sent ns. Highest price paid for old Gold, Sliver, old Watches, Broken Jewelry and Precious Stones. Money Sent By Return Mall. Phlla. Smelting and Refining Co,, Established 20 Years. 863 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, Pa. TO DENTISTS We will buy your Gold Filings, Gold Scrap and Platinum. Highest prices paid. Dr. Hines has given hfs entire life to the study of the human eye and how to correct refracted errors with lenses. With hhn ft does not matter how compli cated or how dim the sight might be, if the eyes respond to the light he can uncover any and all hidden defects, and correct same with glasses in a manner that gives pleasure, comfort and re sults herebeforo unknown. He wishes all to know that his prices are no higher than elsewhere, and that there are no charges for examining when glasses are bought. . 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The Yale system of locking is known around the world as the most sturdy, the most impregnable. Every box in our vault is protected by a special guard mechanism and ■ double set of tumblers. Entrust your valuables to us,—they will be safe from fire as well as theft. ATLANTA TRUST CO., Henry Hillyer, President. Capital, $500,000.00 HR’ wtoturs sahihriiik MM 1,1 Mfles are curabta. Patients alee treated at their homes. Ce» feur' : T “fiaßW’A' HOI saltation contldsntial. A book on the subject free. DR. B. M WOOLLEY * SO*, Ke. Victor Sanitari—. .Wenta, Oa. Two Extra Specials for Wednes day and Thursday Another carload of very fine Georgia Yellow Yams AT 24c PECK Better buy at this price, for it will be hard to secure such a bargain again. Another Ship ment of Green Virginia Cabbage AT Uc POUND Better Than Ever ROGERS’ 36 PURE FOOD STORES