IN THE COTTON MARKET.
New Orleans and its Peculiarities.--Its Loss by the Rebellion.--Cotton
Factors in New Orleans.--Old Things passed away.--The Northern
Barbarians a Race of Shopkeepers.--Pulsations of the Cotton Market.--A
Quarrel with a Lady.--Contending for a Principle.--Inharmony of the
"Regulations."--An Account of Sales.
The first impression that New Orleans gives a stranger is its
unlikeness to Northern cities. It is built on ground that slopes
downward from the Mississippi. As one leaves the river and walks
toward the center of the city, he finds himself descending. New
Orleans is a hundred miles from the mouth of the Mississippi and only
six miles from Lake Pontchartrain, which is an arm of the sea. The
river at the city is ten feet above Lake Pontchartrain, so that New
Orleans is washed by water from the Mississippi and drained into the
lake. The water in the gutters always runs from the river, no matter
what may be its height. The steamers at the foot of Canal Street
appear above the spectator, when he stands a mile or two from the
landing.
There is no earthy elevation of any kind, except of artificial
construction, in the vicinity of New Orleans. The level surface of
the streets renders the transportation of heavy bodies a work of the
utmost ease. The greatest amount of merchandise that can be loaded
upon four wheels rarely requires the efforts of more than two animals.
The street-cars, unlike those of Northern cities, are drawn by a
single mule to each car, and have no conductors. The cemeteries
are above ground, and resemble the pigeon-holes of a post-office,
magnified to a sufficient size for the reception of coffins. There is
not a cellar in the entire city of New Orleans.
Musquitos flourish during the entire winter. In the summer there are
two varieties of these insects. The night-musquito is similar to
the insect which disturbs our slumbers in Northern latitudes. The
day-musquito relieves his comrade at sunrise and remains on duty
till sunset. He has no song, but his bite is none the less severe. He
disappears at the approach of winter, but his tuneful brother remains.
Musquito nettings are a necessity all the year round.
The public walks of New Orleans are justly the pride of the
inhabitants. Canal Street is probably the prettiest street in America.
Along its center is a double row of shade-trees, a promenade, and the
tracks of the street railway. These shade-trees are inclosed so as to
form a series of small parks for the entire length of the street.
On each side of these parks is a carriage-way, as wide as the great
thoroughfare of New York. Canal Street is the fashionable promenade of
New Orleans. In the days of glory, before the Rebellion, it presented
a magnificent appearance.
Among the prettiest of the parks of New Orleans is Jackson Square,
containing a fine equestrian statue of General Jackson. The pedestal
of the statue is emblazoned with the words:
"THE UNION--IT MUST AND SHALL BE PRESERVED."
The French element in New Orleans is apparent on every side. The
auctioneers cry their wares in mingled French and English, and the
negroes and white laborers on the levee converse in a hybrid language.
In the French quarter, every thing is French. The signs on the shops
and the street corners, the conversation of the inhabitants and the
shouts of the boys who play on the sidewalks, are in the vernacular of
_La Belle France_. In Jackson Square, notices to warn visitors not to
disturb the shrubbery, are posted in two languages, the French
being first. On one poster I saw the sentence: "_Ne touche pas à les
fleurs_," followed by the literal translation into English: "Don't
touch to the flowers." I was happy to observe that the caution was
very generally heeded.
Before the war, New Orleans was a city of wonderful wealth. Situated
at the outlet of the great valley, its trade in cotton, sugar, and
other products of the West and South, was immense. Boats, which
had descended from all points along the navigable portion of the
Mississippi, discharged their cargoes upon its levee. Ships of all
nations were at the wharves, receiving the rich freight that the
steamers had brought down. The piles of merchandise that lay along
the levee were unequaled in any other city of the globe. Money was
abundant, and was lavishly scattered in all directions.
With the secession of the Gulf States, the opening of hostilities,
and the blockade of the Mississippi at its mouth and at Cairo, the
prosperity of New Orleans disappeared. The steamers ceased to bring
cotton and sugar to its wharves, and its levee presented a picture
of inactivity. Many of the wealthy found themselves in straitened
circumstances, and many of the poor suffered and died for want of
food. For a whole year, while the Rebel flag floated over the city,
the business of New Orleans was utterly suspended.
With the passage of the forts and the capture of New Orleans by
Admiral Farragut, the Rebel rule was ended. Very slowly the business
of the city revived, but in its revival it fell into the hands of
Northern men, who had accompanied our armies in their advance. The old
merchants found themselves crowded aside by the ubiquitous Yankees.
With the end of the war, the glory of the city will soon return, but
it will not return to its old channels. More than any other city of
the South, New Orleans will be controlled by men of Northern birth
and sentiments. The day of slave-auctions in the rotunda of the St.
Charles has passed away forever.
New Orleans has a class of men peculiar to the South, whose business
it is to sell cotton for the planters. These gentlemen are known
as "factors," and, in former times, were numerous and successful.
Whatever a planter needed, from a quire of paper to a steam-engine,
he ordered his factor to purchase and forward. The factor obeyed the
order and charged the amount to the planter, adding two and a half per
cent, for commission.
If the planter wanted money, he drew upon the factor, and that
individual honored the draft. At the end of the season, it often
occurred that the planter was largely in debt to the factor. But the
cotton crop, when gathered, being consigned to the factor, canceled
this indebtedness, and generally left a balance in the planter's
favor.
The factor charged a good commission for selling the cotton, and
sometimes required interest upon the money he advanced. In the happy
days before the war, the factor's business was highly lucrative. The
advances to the planters, before the maturity of the cotton crop,
often required a heavy capital, but the risk was not great. Nearly
every planter was considerably indebted to his factor before his
cotton went forward. In many cases the proceeds of the entire crop
would but little more than cover the advances which had been made.
In New Orleans nearly all cotton is sold "by sample." Certain men are
licensed to "sample" cotton, for which they charge a specified sum per
bale. A hole is cut in the covering of each bale, and from this hole
a handful of cotton is pulled. Every bale is thus "sampled," without
regard to the size of the lot. The samples are taken to the sales-room
of the commission house, where they are open to the inspection of
buyers. The quality of the cotton is carefully noted, the length of
the fiber or staple, the whiteness of the sample, and its freedom from
dust or fragments of cotton-stalks. Not one bale in twenty is ever
seen by the buyers until after its purchase. Frequently the buyers
transfer their cotton to other parties without once looking upon
it Sometimes cotton is sold at auction instead of being offered at
private sale, but the process of "sampling" is carried out in either
case.
In '63 and '64, New Orleans could boast of more cotton factors than
cotton. The principal business was in the hands of merchants from
the North, who had established themselves in the city soon after its
occupation by the National forces. Nearly all cotton sent to market
was from plantations leased by Northern men, or from purchases made
of planters by Northern speculators. The patronage naturally fell
into the hands of the new possessors of the soil, and left the old
merchants to pine in solitude. The old cotton factors, most of them
Southern men, who could boast of ten or twenty years' experience, saw
their business pass into the hands of men whose arrival in New Orleans
was subsequent to that of General Butler. Nearly all the old factors
were Secessionists, who religiously believed no government could exist
unless founded on raw cotton and slavery. They continually asserted
that none but themselves could sell cotton to advantage, and wondered
why those who had that article to dispose of should employ men
unaccustomed to its sale. They were doomed to find themselves false
prophets. The new and enterprising merchants monopolized the cotton
traffic, and left the slavery-worshiping factors of the olden time to
mourn the loss of their occupation.
At the time I visited New Orleans, cotton was falling. It had been
ninety cents per pound. I could only obtain a small fraction above
seventy cents, and within a week the same quality sold for sixty.
Three months afterward, it readily brought a dollar and a quarter per
pound. The advices from New York were the springs by which the market
in New Orleans was controlled. A good demand in New York made a good
demand in New Orleans, and _vice versâ_. The New York market was
governed by the Liverpool market, and that in turn by the demand at
Manchester. Thus the Old World and the New had a common interest in
the production of cotton. While one watched the demand, the other
closely observed the supply.
Some of the factors in New Orleans were fearful lest the attention
paid to cotton-culture in other parts of the world would prove
injurious to the South after the war should be ended. They had
abandoned their early belief that their cotton was king, and dreaded
the crash that was to announce the overthrow of all their hopes.
In their theory that cotton-culture was unprofitable, unless
prosecuted by slave labor, these men could only see a gloomy picture
for years to come. Not so the new occupants of the land. Believing
that slavery was not necessary to the production of sugar and cotton;
believing that the country could show far more prosperity under the
new system of labor than was ever seen under the old; and believing
that commerce would find new and enlarged channels with the return of
peace, they combated the secession heresies of the old residents, and
displayed their faith by their works. New Orleans was throwing off
its old habits and adopting the ideas and manners of Northern
civilization.
Mrs. B., the owner of our plantation, was in New Orleans at the time
of my arrival. As she was to receive half the proceeds of the cotton
we had gathered, I waited upon her to tell the result of our labors.
The sale being made, I exhibited the account of sales to her agent,
and paid him the stipulated amount. So far all was well; but we were
destined to have a difference of opinion upon a subject touching the
rights of the negro.
Early in 1863 the Rebel authorities ordered the destruction of all
cotton liable to fall into the hands of the National forces. The order
was very generally carried out. In its execution, some four hundred
bales belonging to Mrs. B. were burned. The officer who superintended
the destruction, permitted the negroes on the plantation to fill their
beds with cotton, but not to save any in bales. When we were making
our shipment, Mr. Colburn proposed that those negroes who wished to
do so, could sell us their cotton, and fill their beds with moss or
husks. As we paid them a liberal price, they accepted our offer, and
we made up three bales from our purchase. We never imagined that Mrs.
B. would lay any claim to this lot, and did not include it in the
quantity for which we paid her half the proceeds.
After I had made the payment to her factor, I received a note from
the lady in reference to the three bales above mentioned. She said the
cotton in question was entirely her property; but, in consideration
of our careful attention to the matter, she would consent to our
retaining half its value. She admitted that she would have never
thought to bring it to market; but since we had collected and baled
it, she demanded it as her own. I "respectfully declined" to comply
with her request. I believed the negroes had a claim to what was saved
from the burning, and given to them by the Rebel authorities. Mrs.
B. was of the opinion that a slave could own nothing, and therefore
insisted that the cotton belonged to herself.
Very soon after sending my reply, I was visited by the lady's factor.
A warm, though courteous, discussion transpired. The factor was a
Secessionist, and a firm believer in the human and divine right
of slavery. He was a man of polished exterior, and was, doubtless,
considered a specimen of the true Southern gentleman. In our talk on
the subject in dispute, I told him the Rebels had allowed the
negroes to fill their beds with cotton, and it was this cotton we had
purchased.
"The negroes had no right to sell it to you," said the factor;
"neither had you any right to purchase it."
"If it was given to them," I asked, "was it not theirs to sell?"
"Certainly not. The negroes own nothing, and can own nothing. Every
thing they have, the clothes they wear and the dishes they use,
belongs to their owners. When we 'give' any thing to a negro, we
merely allow it to remain in his custody, nothing more."
"But in this case," said I, "the gift was not made by the owner. The
cotton was to be destroyed by order of your Confederate Government.
That order took it from Mrs. B.'s possession. When the officer came to
burn the cotton, and gave a portion to the negroes to fill their beds,
he made no gift to Mrs. B."
"Certainly he did. The cotton became hers, when it was given to her
negroes. If you give any thing to one of my negroes, that article
becomes my property as much as if given to me."
"But how is it when a negro, by working nights or Saturdays, manages
to make something for himself?"
"That is just the same. Whatever he makes in that way belongs to his
master. Out of policy we allow him to keep it, but we manage to have
him expend it for his own good. The negro is the property of his
master, and can own nothing for himself."
"But in this case," I replied, "I have promised to pay the negroes for
the cotton. It would be unjust to them to fail to do so."
"You must not pay them any thing for it. Whatever you have promised
makes no difference. It is Mrs. B.'s property, not theirs. If you pay
them, you will violate all our customs, and establish a precedent very
bad for us and for yourself."
I assured the gentleman I should feel under obligation to deal justly
with the negroes, even at the expense of violating Southern precedent.
"You may not be aware," I remarked, "of the magnitude of the change in
the condition of the Southern negro during the two years just closed.
The difference of opinion between your people and ourselves is, no
doubt, an honest one. We shall be quite as persistent in pushing our
views at the present time as you have been in enforcing yours in the
past. We must try our theory, and wait for the result."
We separated most amiably, each hoping the other would eventually see
things in their true light. From present indications, the weight of
public opinion is on my side, and constantly growing stronger.
My sales having been made, and a quantity of plantation supplies
purchased, I was ready to return. It was with much difficulty that I
was able to procure permits from the Treasury agent at New Orleans to
enable me to ship my purchases. Before leaving Natchez, I procured all
the documents required by law. Natchez and New Orleans were not in the
same "district," and consequently there was much discord. For example,
the agent at Natchez gave me a certain document that I should exhibit
at New Orleans, and take with me on my return to Natchez. The agent
at New Orleans took possession of this document, and, on my
expostulating, said the agent at Natchez "had no right" to give me
instructions to retain it. He kept the paper, and I was left without
any defense against seizure of the goods I had in transit. They were
seized by a Government officer, but subsequently released. On my
arrival at Natchez, I narrated the occurrence to the Treasury agent at
that point. I was informed that the agent at New Orleans "could not"
take my papers from me, and I should not have allowed him to do so.
I was forcibly reminded of the case of the individual who was once
placed in the public stocks. On learning his offense, a lawyer told
him, "Why, Sir, they can't put you in the stocks for _that_."
"But they have."
"I tell you they can't do it."
"But, don't you see, they have."
"I tell you again they can't do any such thing."
In my own case, each Treasury agent declared the other "could not" do
the things which had been done. In consequence of the inharmony of
the "regulations," the most careful shipper would frequently find his
goods under seizure, from which they could generally be released
on payment of liberal fees and fines. I do not know there was any
collusion between the officials, but I could not rid myself of the
impression there was something rotten in Denmark. The invariable
result of these little quarrels was the plundering of the shippers.
The officials never suffered. Like the opposite sides of a pair of
shears, though cutting against each other, they only injured whatever
was between them.
Not a hundredth part of the official dishonesty at New Orleans and
other points along the Mississippi will ever be known. Enough has
been made public to condemn the whole system of permits and Treasury
restrictions. The Government took a wise course when it abolished,
soon after the suppression of the Rebellion, a large number of the
Treasury Agencies in the South. As they were managed during the last
two years of the war, these agencies proved little else than schools
of dishonesty. There may have been some honest men in those offices,
but they contrived to conceal their honesty.
To show the variety of charges which attach to a shipment of cotton,
I append the sellers' account for the three bales about which Mrs. B.
and myself had our little dispute. These bales were not sold with the
balance of our shipment. The cotton of which they were composed was of
very inferior quality.
_Account Sales of Three Bales of Cotton for Knox & Colburn._
By PARSLEY & WILLIAMS.
______________________________________________________________________
Mark, | 3 bales. || | || |
"K. C."| Weight, } 1,349 @..............|| $0 | 60 || $809 | 40
| 533--406--410 } || | || |
| Auctioneers' commission, 1 pr. ct.....|| 8 | 09 || |
| Sampling .............................|| | 30 || |
| Weighing .............................|| | 50 || |
| Watching..............................|| | 50 || |
| Tarpaulins ...........................|| | 50 || |
| Freight, $10 pr. bale ................|| 30 | 00 || |
| Insurance, $2.50 pr. bale ............|| 7 | 50 || |
| 4 c. pr. lb. (tax) on 1,349 lb .......|| 53 | 96 || |
| 1/2 c. " " " " ..........|| 6 | 74 || |
| Permit and stamps ....................|| | 65 || |
| Hospital fees, $5 pr. bale............|| 15 | 00 || |
| Factors' commission, 1 pr. ct.........|| 8 | 09 || |
| || -- | -- || 131 | 83
| || | || ---- | --
E.O.E. | Net proceeds......................|| | || $677 | 57
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NEW ORLEANS, La., _February 22_, 1864.
It will be seen by the above that the charges form an important
portion of the proceeds of a sale. The heaviest items are for
Government and hospital taxes. The latter was levied before the war,
but the former is one of the fruits of the Rebellion. It is likely to
endure for a considerable time.
I knew several cases in which the sales of cotton did not cover the
charges, but left a small bill to be paid by the owner. Frequently,
cotton that had been innocently purchased and sent to market
was seized by Government officials, on account of some alleged
informality, and placed in the public warehouses. The owner could get
no hearing until he made liberal presents of a pecuniary character to
the proper authorities.
After much delay and many bribes, the cotton would be released. New
charges would appear, and before a sale could be effected the whole
value of the cotton would be gone.
A person of my acquaintance was unfortunate enough to fall into the
hands of the Philistines in the manner I have described above. At the
end of the transaction he found himself a loser to the extent of three
hundred dollars. He has since been endeavoring to ascertain the amount
of traffic on a similar scale that would be needed to make him a
millionaire. At last accounts he had not succeeded in solving the
problem.