PACKING AND MARKETING OF COTTON. 25 



Assuming that under the proposed system the United States Gov- 

 ernment, through the Department of Agriculture or some combina- 

 tion of commercial interests which would command universal accept- 

 ance by those concerned in the handling and marketing of cotton, 

 should appoint experts to grade cotton — these appointments to be 

 made under some plan that would tend to insure the employment of 

 qualified graders — only men of high character, having large experi- 

 ence in this field, possessing the requisite technical knowledge and 

 training, and whose judgment would be generally accepted without 

 hesitation should be eligible for appointment as graders. The of- 

 ficial grading proposed should be done at ginneries immediately fol- 

 lowing compression and before the bale is wrapped, and a certificate 

 would be given the owner setting forth in detail the quality of the 

 cotton, specifying weight, class, type, grade, length, softness, fine- 

 ness, and strength of staple, together with the place of production, 

 number of the ginnery, and such other information as might be help- 

 ful to the purchaser. In this way the producer would secure a dis- 

 interested and accurate analysis of his cotton set forth in an authori- 

 tative certificate which might be accepted for its face value by those 

 desiring to purchase, and which could be used by the farmer with the 

 local banks for collateral for a loan in case it was desirable to hold 

 the cotton. If not immediately removed after ginning, the cotton 

 could be stored in a warehouse and be subject to the order of the 

 owner. The merchant buying for future delivery would be assisted, 

 it is suggested, by this system of authoritative designation of the 

 grade of each bale. 



While there are difficulties too numerous to outline in this report 

 concerning the establishment of any such system, it is suggested 

 that some such system would be highly desirable as a standard toward 

 which the present efforts for the improvement of the handling of the 

 cotton crop should be directed. The many objections to such a tre- 

 mendous extension of the share of the Federal Government in the 

 business of handling the cotton crop may render it entirely outside 

 the region of practicability. Some approximation, however, of this 

 plan to establish authoritative grades and to assure a better protec- 

 tion for the cotton crop than is now afforded may be secured by con- 

 certed efforts by those who seriously desire to improve the existing 

 conditions. 



OPINION OF AN EXPERT. 



Several years ago Mr. D. A. Tompkins, of Charlotte, N. C., who 

 has made careful study of the growth of cotton and of the several 

 processes through which it passes between the farm and the mill, 

 and whose practical knowledge acquired in the active management 

 of mills makes his testimony valuable, delivered an address at Shreve- 

 port, La., before the National Cotton Convention, in which the issu- 

 ance of a certificate somewhat similar to that herein outlined was 

 advocated. In the course of his address, Mr. Tompkins said : 



I believe that the practical monopoly which we have had in the past can 

 be continued if we will protect the conditions surrounding the production of 

 cotton against menacing influence, and if we bring about, in place of the 

 menaces, fostering influences. The cotton plant is one of the most delicate of 

 the agricultural products. It is produced in a climate that varies enough to 

 make the variation in cotton production range from 150 pounds of lint cotton 



