Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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EDITORIAL FROM SOUTHERN TOBACCO JOURNAL ABOUT CO-OPERATIVE MARKETINC Many State papers have published an article written by Dr. Joyner in answer to questions raised by this writer as to the practical difficulties to be encountered in attempting to apply a co-operative plan of market ing of the tobacco crop. We hesitate to continue a discussion of the matter because we fear that nothing short of a trial of the plan and the bitten experience of failure will convince the enthusiasts that it is not workable, We will add one more note o warn ing which will perhaps have little ef fect, but before five years have pass ed many an honest farmer will say; "Ol man Webb was right; I wish I had listened to him." " One newspaper in big headlines says: "Dr. Joyner disposes of Col. Webb's objections-" disposes is a good word- much more accurate than the statement that the objections are answered. They have'rnt been answer ed because they can't be. This same newspaper's headlines say this writer has been bitter in denunciation. Not one line written in any article justi lies this characterization. We confess an occasional feeling of irritation which may have been manifested in something we wrote, that misguided enthusiasts who know nothing about the tobacco business should attempt to lead the farmers into a plan which can only result in demoralization and we fear disaster. Replying first to the latter part of Dlr. Joyner's article, we disclaim any intention of reflecting on this distin guished gentleman. We knew him nearly forty years ago as a school teacher in Winston, who's record was good. Just as he was faithful and ef ficient in the discharge of his duties then, so later as the head of the Pub lic School System in the State he wrought well, rendering a great public service. There are many things about various matters which Dr. Joy ner knows and which we don't know and are too old to learn. On the oth er hand there is much about the hand ling and sale of tobacco which Dr. .Joyner doesn't know, as a part of his article to be unotel later shows, and frankly there is not suflicient time allowed him in the natural span of life to learn what he should know in order to successfully put over this wonderful but visionary scheme under discussion. Yes, The Southern Tobacco Journal is a trade paper, enjoying a limitel patronage of concerns in the business Our feeble effort has always been ex erted in the interest of the entire trade, producer, dealer, manufactur er. The personal effort of this writer has been faithfully devoted to the grower and there are many hundreds who appreciate the value of the ser vice rendkred. There has come to us no suggestion from any advertiser nor from any business interest as to the editorial policy of our paper with respect to the co-operative plan. We arc perhaps lacking in wisdom some times, but have always been indepen dlent in thought, so much so that there is attached to us little of this worlds goods. We've never learned to kneel, "that thrift might follow fawning." The general attitude of tobacco men towards the plan seems to be one of indifference. .Just a few occasionally express themselves as fearing that the business will be lemoralized with the farmer the ultimate sufferer. While we have had no sort of an expression from any of the big tobacco compan ies, we will hazard this guess; It would be an enormous advantage and they would all be highly pleased if the farmer entered into any plan which woui enable him to rery, store aitl carry a supply of leaf to b~aico. Th'lis tobacco woul always be for sale and0( the price wouhl( not be an arbitrary figure 11 nmed by owners but a pt ce fixedl by the law of supply andl demtand. .Just thlintk wvhat an adv'an tage tha t w'.ouh Ihle to the mtaniufac u rer- -hiis leaf stock c'arr'iedl tor him by the grower. 13ut you wili say: "No, he must buy when we offer and at our 1prjice.''" (low(eer, you could not1 exact this for the golvernmlent re ports sho(w more( t hail two yearIs sup ply of tobacco now ill hattds of muanu fat u rers and1( dealers. 'lThe Kent ucky l)ootl is hlerablled as a success and1( yet there has already been sol at atuction nteatly sixty million poundsl5tu of tur Iey, wvit~h auction sales still gouing on at mote than at score of maritkets. In replorting a tecent I sale of l3u .ley , by the associa'ion, all the discussion of price has bien ia comparison with the prilces tubtinted at au tction. As a mhat ter of fact assouciation officials have kep t in close touch with a uction sale prices tmatking alccuratte recordts of Prtiles pamid for different gratdts. So if the produ lcers; cartry at stock for' the m(lt m0facturets, the p rices itmidl wvill be just wvhat the biuyter isa willing to paiy ort is forcedl tti pay b yeominpet it ion 'if other butyers -the sami e tiing he does todaty on the auction sale. lpr. Jo(yneri seletIs eight obje(ctions rlalI biy uts and an tswers Ittem, nt with an ty tigurtes tir positive' state ttentts but litrgely by itssump jtionl. Firtst e xpenises: ile mterely assumfles that tthey will be tno hiighuer, perhaps lbe lowveredI, but matkes no0 figureis. fonr this lhe (can't. hut blamte--. not bteing a pratcticatl tobacco man, he is not in ia plosit iln to1 ktnw. Bu t, let's see; at r-ecce iing witrehiouises, the' (only i mpor0 I ant Ihange is the atdilit ion of thet ex - petrt gr'aders antd thei( eliminationi of the a uctionieei itndt pethaps a few mino em1'('nployees. If metn of ablil ity suflic int to sitfeguiard thlt growers ini' rt"sts iare empjloyed ats gradlers, the eC will be no( savintg at, the trece iv ing wattehouse over't the pretset sys. tetm. AhI! IBut you say : '"The warec houtsemnani's profit!'' We will mike itn all sinicetity this statement whlich of couriste can't, be proven tntr dIisprolvetn. rTake~ the sum total of pro~fit and loss oif I!lI thte -warehouses ini North Cart hinat, South Carolinia and Virginia or the cro-tps oif 1920 and 1921 atnd the eaitn tgs by pr'oprietor-s wotild be no( iior'e thanti your . assaociationi would( paty ats salaries to m~atnager-s Of retceiv ing wvarehoutses. The Kentucky asso0 einitionl took over moire than 100 ware houses valued at $6,000,000.00. They think t~hevy need them-.most nssed-~ WRIGLE. Satisfies the sweet tooth and aids appetite and digestion. 4. Cleanses mouth and teeth. A great boon to smokers, relieving hot, dry mouth. Combines pleasure and benefit. Don't miss the joy of the new WRIGLEY'S P-K--the sugar coated peppermint tid bit! Save thre wrappers C29 f"Good for7 valuable premiums ly it will cost money to own or pay to you "sorted" by the grower as it rent and operate them. is (lone now and your expert grader The tobacco passes through the will have to guess, as you say the warehouses to the buyers factory; buyers do, whether it is A, B, or C. here is a well nigh perfect organiza- grade and what subdivision of that tion for handling tobacco-ample grade the pile under consideration be equipment, trained men, close super- longs in. This expert grader will vision. If the co-operative associa- make just as many mistakes as the tion should secure any of these plants buyer loes today and the error will most assuredly they would have to cost the farmer money. His B. pile pay some profit to the owners. If will often go in C. grade making a they should atempt to lease and or- loss when sold, or C. ipale will fre ganize, 'the increased expense against uently go in B. reducing quality of present cost for handling would be the real B. with which it has been enormous. The best evidence of costs mixed resulting in a lower price for is a face-simile of account sacls for B. grade. The statement that, "Gov a member of a co-operative associa- ernmeat experts have been at work tion which is printed in these colu- for many months on standardizing inns. Now look carefully at the grades of tobacco and assure us,that items on this bill. They appear high it can le done." This is really amus and might be reduced a little in hand- ing to any tobacco man-no such hng larger quantities of tobacco, but thing is possible. There are head the cost will necessarily be some- reds of tes of tobacco-ll 'useful thing near these figures. No, Dr.insebldormxuekwntex .Joyner, your intentions are good, butprt anfcursbttheiso you enn't receive, grade, redr yand wyt tnlrlz rdso ef sell your tobacco through the associa- lal ue a nhsmn i w tion as chea ply as it is done today. stilrdadnmrkyuanpto Finanemng: Dr. .Joyner doesn't say agal ilcag i dao tn that financial arrangements have arl been madec or can be, hut a fter re- Obeto 4:"Terdyg ma viewing the strength of the associa-nosuthebguraes ftbco tion and the various financial resour-wh haeseilPosesfter ees5 of the Nation, says if it can't be ov. limanced-"it will certainly he a sad Ase:Hvn oto yonr commentary upon the finainciarl ability hplesoronacofdqutr of the direc tors~ and other administra--dyn aiiisi ~ilb ses o Live officers of the association." Per--teascaint er osi te haps this is so, we can't dispute it. pucaessitsunrth eet Obiection 3: "The Impossibility ofsytmfrhebgidpnntuys Grading and Classifying Tobacco.'' adeprest"oti. A nswer, "'Tcbacco can certainly lie Vr fe hs needn x graded aind classietied before selling Prtrsfii odyeatyt h tn by a few experts employed by the as- cadrqie idls oe yti seem tion, such as are now nsed by fiue nyr~etyw er n the big buyers and speculators afteroftelrstdarwhesoin buying, far be'tter than it is now b~y alto ape a:" odti thousands of inexpert individlual grow tbcofrepr n11 n hl ers, each gradling according to his ewn i a pt rd twsfudt st andar rd. Unde-r the prlesenit systemcotlitoinuh osuroIsil there is nio real grad inrg, on ly a sort hv to adn uttk u of "sortimg'' before selling. fhe sell- os'Doyutik oremlys er sellIs and the buyer buys a sort of cudd etrta nepr we a pig in a poke. The ex perienced buy- roswt i oac "r usually knowvs more about the re'al Thsfut obeinis hrl value of the pig than does the seller,wotdicsngfrtisotlky and takes ardvan tage of his superiorthtthasoiinfitholge knowledige to b~uy m ixedl grades at theinopeaiwulrdyaylrg price of the poorest and then employsquniyotbac.Terdr il e'xprerts to separate and classify. ThisnoetaDr oyrdesotay' work is now dlone aifter selling ini the dyn aiiishv enscrd interest of the buyer. Any sensible l1 eeyasmsta hymyb persMon ought to know that if it cant-uth~ edntko.T er be done profita bly for the buyer aif-50ercnofterpwulrqie ter buying, it can lbe done profitablyaot50p'cetfthcpciyf for the seller before selling. Nobodyalexsigtanasllre ud cano kow or expect to receive the fullabuuptcpciydrncopmv market value of any commodity on- mn. roonr edteepat Li! it is graded and classified accord- frteewl tl emc oac ing to quality. Government experts sl tacini h aoia n have been at work for nmnths on Vriijs steei o en stanrdard izing grades of tobacco and sl nKnuk hr h oli assure us that it can lie (lone." sadtliasucs.Iowes~r We uote [Dr. Jloyner in full and etrl iln osl rlaepat wish every farmer andl every tobaccoitwudbimoslefrhmto(( iman could read this answer; it sim lly (. utifr-yngweposb, shows thtat a mia nr my lie ever so wirse trg o sno vial nti abiout many things and yet know so cuty bu 0pr eto h little arbout tobacco. If D~r. .JoynerlrihtOO)smvelosaords (employes just one practical tobacco rlil spsil fe ~r ere man, that man will tell him that this adteei o ufcetsoag expert regradling or classifying can- ro nteetr tt ohl h tnot be (lone before selling. This work getrpr fi rpi diint is now dlone by miany thousands ofth o'ouqaniy ow nso women sitting qluief'y behind "pick- ae ing benches" andl each dozen "class- NoDctrwetaeh' pdiin es" ars they ar'e called in supervisedthtyuwlnoreymchobco bry uan expert foremarn in an etYort tobu vlreieitfo th fam' ke'ep thue gr-ades uniform. No, Doctor',"ore"aitsnw-nllkd f nor. Your can't regrade or claissify be- odroe lt cmyn vrg fore selling-it is a practicaul Impos-mosuea throowca'ig siblit. N, ourtolrlco vi coe .8grd the pe cendercosmisteratione the careful tobacco .handler would on ly have 10 pei cent. (our grafter would have to mit this together. When mixe4, of course the man who deliver ed the wet tobacco gets extra weight and eventually more money. On the auction sale wet tobacco brings a low er priee because of condition but the chances are under your grading plan there woul( be no discrimination. You will reedive tobacco from one farmer who has a good grain farm and can't produce high class tobacco and will mix hiq with ths fine tobaccos produc ed on a good tobacco farm, to, the loss of the fine tobacco grower and the' profit of the span who has already produced good grain crops and made his living. Your. expert caa't be so smart As to avoid this. Then after receiving and mixing up pr grading as you may prefer to call it -you must sell-because flue cured tobacco would quickly suffer. if laid out on warehouse floors. You would sell not at your price, but at the general market price, for there will -be other tobacco for sale. Sell-and .when would you pay the farmer? A sale has been reported' in Kentucky. Does the farmer who delivered the tobacco sold immediately get his pay in full? We think not. No, the active ener getic farmer moves his tobacco promptly but must wait until the slow indifferent farmer finally decides to get busy and prepare his crop for market. After all the association to bacco is sald then you can deduct ex penses and make distribution. We will be entirely willing to see a com parison made of any auction sale any where with the net returns you will send the members of your associa tion. That will be the time when the farmer will say: "Old man Webb was right." Objection 5: "The length of the contract." We will admit that five years is not too long for a wise business agreement, but it is too long to bind a farmer to an experiment, legally, so "he can be made to stick" as your organizers claim, when nobody agrees to stick to him for five years. Objection 6: "The impossibility of placing a value on tobacco in ad vance so as to get a reasonably safe advance upon delivery." Dr. Joyner generalizes about this but does not answer. The advance will be made on delivery, which may be many months before sale. No man is wise enough to accurately forecast any commodity prices months before sale. Dr. Joyner speaks of the gamb ler of the present sales method. When he and his associates attempt to fix values for advances they will enter upon the big gamble of their lives. But Dr. Joyner says further on in his article that the advances will be ap proximately as much as the farmer now gets-think of that, will you? He certainly expects the local bank which must make the lon. The Fed oral Reserve Bank, wich must redis count the paper and the Government, which must furnish the money to be very liberal. Objection 7: "The farmer who needs his money to pai debts for fer tilizer and other supplies will be forc ed to wait indefinitely for a big part of his tobacco money." Answer: "The coo-perative market ing association is essentially a sell ing association and will hold tobacco only so long and only. so much of it as may be found necessary to prevent glutting the market and breaking the price." What price? We thought your association would fix the price. What is a glut? A market is con sidered glutted when more tobacco is offered than can be well handled by the buyers. If supply on hand means a glutted condition, then the trade is fairly well glutted today. Dr. Joy ner frankly r.dmits here that his prices will be subject to conditions just as they are today under the pre sent system. Dr. Joyner in his answer dloes not deny the seventh objection, because he knows that it 'is true. Final distri bution cannot be made until after the association tobacco is sold. This will take a long time. Choice grades mightbe promptly disposed of, but there is much tobacco produced which no buyer really wants-there is al ways au bidder at auction, even for un desirable stuff-very often the buyer carries this character of tobacco for months sometimcs years. The asso ciation wvill be virtually a big dealer andl will have to carry a part of each crop for a very .long time, dlelaying settlement on the wyhole crop. In this connection Dr. Joyner re fer's again to the success of the Cali fornia fruit growers-now on a cash basis. Well, isn't this true also of the peach growers in the Sand Hill Section of this State? Trhere can be no intelligent comparison made be tween the California plan jmnd a to bacco plan. You had as wellI attempt to compare the profit made on a well dleveloped peach orchard of ten acres, in Moore county, wvith ten acres of (Continued on page seven) CYPRESS ~ SASH DOORS BLINDS MOULDINGS es AND MILL WORK ia~ m STIW RO * DAlYS SALE OPENS Thursday! Continues Through Friday and Saturday! Our Big Sale will Open Thursday morning with a rush. The Efird chain, the greatest in the South, are showing the buying publid just how far a dollar will go. Nothing like it ever staged before in Sum ter. Come, you will not be disap pointed. EFIRD'S: SELL FOR LESS, S U MT ER, S. C.