Exchange contract,
every bag must be tested, and care taken that each chop is uniform in
color, kind, and quality. Coffee for Exchange delivery must be stored in
a warehouse licensed by the Exchange; and the warehouseman is
responsible for the uniformity of grade of each chop.

When approximately ninety percent of the cargo has been unloaded and
stored, the warehouse issues what has become known as the "last bag
notice." In the majority of cases the coffee has been sold before
arrival; and on receipt of the last bag notice, the importer can
transfer ownership of the coffee and save interest.

In a cargo of 75,000 to 100,000 bags of coffee that have been hurriedly
loaded in the producing country and unloaded at destination in equal
haste, a small portion of the cargo is almost certain to be damaged.
Generally the damage is slight. If a bag is torn or stained, the coffee
is placed in a new bag. If the contents have become mildewed, the
damaged portion is taken to a warehouse for reconditioning; while the
sound coffee is thoroughly aired to remove the odor and is then placed
in a clean bag. The reconditioned lot is put into a separate package and
forwarded to the buyer with a "reconditioning statement" that shows what
has been done.

[Illustration: THE NEW TERMINAL SYSTEM ON STATEN ISLAND

On the left are three piers of the Pouch Terminal at Clifton; on the
right, four of the American Dock Terminal at Tompkinsville; and between
these are thirteen piers of the new Municipal Terminal]

Bags that have become torn in transit, and parts of their contents
spilled, are called "slacks." These are weighed as they arrive on the
dock by a licensed public weigher; and a sufficient quantity of the
coffee remaining on the floor of the ship's hold is put into the bag to
make it of the proper weight. The expense of reconditioning and
rebagging is generally borne by the marine insurance companies. When the
entire cargo is unloaded, and the slacks and bad-order bags are weighed
and marked, the warehouseman tallies up the records of his clerks, and
renders a corrected chop list to the consignee.

[Illustration: MOTOR TRACTOR MOVING COFFEE AT THE BUSH TERMINAL DOCKS,
BROOKLYN]

_Electric Tractors and Trailers_

Another district along the water front of Brooklyn where coffee is
discharged in large quantities is that between Thirty-third and
Forty-fourth Streets, south Brooklyn, occupied by the Bush Terminal
Stores. This plant is la