egrity, on the mere note of the company operating the mill.

Selling Agent May Shift
Burden to Banks

When the burden is assumed by the selling agent, or factor, he in turn
may shift it to the bank, either by indorsing the note of the mill, or by
indorsing the note of the purchaser of the cloth or by borrowing directly
from the bank on his own paper.

The converter, as a rule, is not a factor, but a merchant pure and
simple, seeking accommodations from a factor or a bank as his needs may
require it. Inasmuch as he usually buys for cash or on short-term notes,
and sells to jobbers or retailers upon more extended terms, his needs are
frequently heavy. His relation with his factor may be, and frequently is,
upon the basis of accounts receivable, or he may borrow upon his own
collateral, or, if he is counted an "A1" risk, upon his unsecured note.

These, in brief are the financial steps in the progress of cotton from
the grower to the jobber. A cursory view is all that is possible, because
in the words of a textile banker of standing "every textile banking
transaction is a law unto itself." Yet enough has been said to show the
all-important part which banking plays in the cotton industry, and to
indicate how dependent are the turning of wheels and the distribution of
cotton and of cloth upon the credit which banks and bankers are able to
provide.

Factors and Their Wide
Financial Service

Frequent use has been made of the word factor, and no adequate definition
of its meaning has yet been given. The factor is, briefly, the commercial
banker of the industry, and his duty is to provide, at any stage of the
cotton process, the financial assistance which may be necessary, either
from his own resources or through his affiliations with some large bank.
It is true, of course, that some factors work only with those dealing in
raw stock, and some confine their services to mills. Some factors are
cotton buyers, some are selling agents, some deal with buyers and some
deal with selling agents. Some are employed only by the mills. Recently,
however, the tendency has been to develop under one roof a unit
institution capable of handling every textile banking transaction. It
will be interesting to enumerate here, briefly, the various functions and
facilities of one such institution:

1. It makes loans to cotton buyers and to mills
on cotton held in warehouses or in transit.

2. It checks the credit of the mill'