UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



jTLft^'^Wt. 



I BULLETIN No. 520 



Contribution from the Office of Markets and Rural 

 Organization, CHARLES J. BRAND, Chief 



Washington, D. C. 



June 26, 1917 



A SYSTEM OF ACCOUNTS FOR COTTON WARE- 



HOUSES. 



By Roy L. Newton, Assistant in Warehouse Investigations, and 

 John R. Humphrey, Investigator in Market Business Practice. 



CONTENTS. 



Introduction 1 



Description of the system 2 



The tag 2 



The certificate of inspection 3 



The warehouse receipt 4 



The consecutive tag record 7 



The individual account record 7 



The location book .". 8 



The out-turn order 8 



Page. 

 Description of the system — Continued. 



The daily report 9 



Cash journal 9 



Cash disbursement ticket 11 



Cash receipt ticket 11 



Sale ticket 11 



Operation of the system 11 



Arrangement of bales in the warehouse 13 



Conclusion 13 



INTRODUCTION. 



The warehouse receives cotton for the account of another party, 

 provides the owner with a proper place for conserving his product, 

 and gives its receipt as evidence that the cotton has been stored. 

 Upon the integrity and financial standing of the warehouse which 

 issues this receipt depends the value of the receipt, and it should be 

 the desire and aim of every warehouseman to give his receipt its 

 utmost value. 



The efficiency of a cotton warehouse depends in a very large degree 

 upon its methods of keeping accounts and records of its transactions. 

 The general use of a simple, concise system of accoimts, compre- 

 hensive enough to fill the needs of the larger as well as of the small 

 warehouse, would be a step toward the adoption of a standardized 

 system of cotton-warehouse accounting. 



To attempt to fill the need for a satisfactory system of accoimts 

 capable of general use, to suggest forms of warehouse receipts which 



Note.— This bulletin should be of special interest to all cotton warehousemen and of general interest to 

 their patrons and to those who are concerned in the reliability of warehouse receipts. 

 72961°— BuU. 520—17 1 



