The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, April 06, 1922, Image 2
TRI-STATE TOBACCO GROWERS
ASSOCIATION CAMPAIGN TO
MAKE SIGNATORS UNANIMOUS
the one-crop system together with the
speculative markets, we need have no
fear for the future of the homes in
our tobacco belt.
The Tobacco Growers' Co-operative
Association now covers ninety-six
counties in the Carolinas and Virginia,
has 70,000 members and will this
year do a business of upwards of
?75.000.000. Its oDerations will di
rectify affect the lives of 325,000 persons
living on tobacco farms, and its
successful growth will benefit rural
banking, mercantile and professional
interests in an area greater than the
whole state of Virginia.
S. D. TRISSELL,
Manager News Service.
The Pin-Hooker Answered.
Yes, they are right when they say
that tobacco is "different from any
ether product." This is the very
reason why it is being handled by a
different association from the sweet
potato. A different line of experts
is needed to handle the proposition.
Don't think for a moment, either, that
the fanner's money will not be able
to procure just as competent help
as the money of the manufacturer.
We freely admit with you that most
warehousemen have always been
friends of the farmer. You should
have said, "He tries to get the farmer
living prices for his tobacco." But
can he do it? When the crop was
being absolutely given away in South
Carolina last July and August, could
the warehousemen do anything to
help the farmer? We happen to
know of one lot of 60,000 pounds of
tobacco, which was bought by a
South Carolina Warehouseman on his
floor at that time for less than $600.
's"Sw. This lot of tobacco was sold to another
party for $1,200, and then re-sold
again for $3,300. How much did the
warehouseman help the farmer ? The
writer also happens to know of other
tobacco which was offered in South
Carolina by the farmer last season
and refused by the buyers at any
price. This same tobacco was bought
later by a speculator for less than
two cents per pound and sold on a
North Carolina market during October
for twelve to twenty cents per
pound. Did the South Carolina warehouseman
help the farmer in this
instance ? Let us add here that these
are no isolated cases.
They say that the farmer wants
lis money as soon as his tobacco is
stld. Thi3 is true, but he also wants
cost of reduction and a little profit
in order to educate his children. You
say tobacco is now selling very well.
What was it doing when this movement
was started and gained such
headway? The wisest farmers are
not hv this little flurrv in
prices.
Ore of their remarkable statements
is: "When a farmer signs a fiveyear
contract, he is to a certain extent
signing away his privileges."
Jn other words to enter in to an agreement
among themselves to handle
their tobacco by a different method,
is signing away their privileges.
Why this five-year clause anyway?
It is hard to think of any business
which you could open up, run one
year and then close out and make
money under normal circumstances.
Could you do it with a store, farm or
tobacco warehouse? The reason foy
five year clause is:
1. The overhead expenses of organization,
etc., on a one year contract
would be too heavy.
2. The association proposes to hire
some of the most successful tobacco
men in the United States to help
handle and sell their tobacco. They
could not get them to give up their
present business for a one year contract,
except at enormous figures.
3. Bankers and large business concerns
do not like to do business with
a temporary organization.
4. The one year pools have been
tried and proven unsuccessful, but
cn the other hand, every one of the
twenty odd five-year pools have succeeded.
Another question is: "What manner
- * ? r?1?/?A O vollio
CI iran is nv miv ? .w?v
on tobacco?" Any manufacturing
concrrn figures his selling price by
adding to the cost of the finished
product a reasonable profit. Why
should the farmer be denied this privilege
?
The United States government is
today making advances to other associations
in money loans. They
have piomised the Tri-State association
the same favor if it becomes
necessary. The bankers and best
business men in Virginia, North Carolina
and South Carolina believe them,
why not you? If it becomes necessary
for the association to re-dry and
carry their tobacco, they will do as
all other big independent concerns do,
v,z: add re-drying expenses, loss in
weight and interest on the money in4
volved, to the price of the tobacco.
As a practical business man, you must
realize that every pound of tobacco
eliminated from competition with the
association, adds that much strength
to the organization.
So let every farmer and business
'man go to work and make an ear
I est sincere effort to get the outsi
man with us. It means better hom<
better school houses, better cloth
for your wife and children. It mea
our economic independence.
Williamsburg county has alrea<
signed 71 per cent, of her tobacco
Lets make it 95 per cent. We c;
dc it.
W. E. Lea,
A Tobacco Warehousema
?o
Asks Members to Help Now.
Dear Fellow Tobacco Growers:
As the campaign for new eigne
reopens in 96 counties of the Car
Unas and Virginia, I an asking eve
member of th?e association of 6;
000 tobacco farmers for the sari
de-voted work in winning new sig
ers which has made this organiz
t'on the largest marketing associ
tion in the United States.
To insure our success we arc d
termincd to raise our membersh
from 65,000 to 90,000 growers ai
to increase the majority of tobac
which we hold to such a high pe
centage of the entire crcp that the
will be no interruption to the orde
ly and profitable sale of our produ
through, this association.
Remember, this is your associ
HUI1 ; lis 9UHWS 10 JVIU > uvvvt
and this job of winning membe
belongs to every one of us. Let i
make this last great drive the mo
successful of them all.
Thousand of new contracts ha1
teen printed and will be in the ham
of your county leaders when you re;
this message. Do not. fail to si;
your neighbor! Remember that y<
help him better his condition by c
operative marketing and make tl
association stronger by every sign
that you gain.
I have seen the compete succe
of this movement in Kentucky, whe
more than 50,000 burley tobacco grm
ers are rejoicing in the profits gai
ed from the first year of co-opcratr
marketing.
To insure success like that in 01
association I make a special plea f
the continued support of every mer
ber in the new campaign for signei
Finally, I wish to urge upon ?
srgners of our five-year contract tl
importance of working for qualr
rather ?than quantity of tobacco
a year which opened with 45,000,01
more pounds from our section in tl
hands of dealers and manufacture
than they held in 1921.
Let us r.ever forget the econom
production is the first step in su
cessful marketing, and that by plan
ing wisely we shall market profi
ably.?G. A. Norwood. President.
0
G. A. Norwood, author of abo
article is a native of South Carolii
?His father and brothers being fa
orably known throughout the stal
o
The Real Facts!
The following clipping from tl
Progressive Farmer is sclf-explan
tory. This advertilement has be
seen in the Southern Tobacco Jou
nal for several issues. The enemi
of co-operative marketing are gettii
hard pressed for arguments when th<
resort to such extreme measure
If old man Timberlake had taken th
same load of tobacco to the Lake Ci
market last summer and sold it 1
the old process, it would not ha
brought enough to pay the v/arehou
charges.
The best proof we have of the su
cess of this sun cured pool is t]
fact that 85% of the ten millii
pounds grown in the sun cured di
trict has been signed up in our Ti
State Tobacco Growers' Co-operati
Association. The following is the e
tract from the Proressive Farmer
Pooling Gave $3.17 Per Cwt. More <
Virginia Sun-cured Tobacco.
The Progressive Farmer has alrea*
given the facts about the utter
misleading advertisements sent out 1
the Winston-Salem Tobacco Board
Trade in it3 effort to scare farme
out of co-operative marketing. The
tobacco warehousemen and buye
picked out one man?Mr. Andre
Timberlake, Bell's Cross Roads, Va.
and printed a facsimile bill of h
sale of sun-cured tobacco as if it we
a typical or representive case.
In addition to the information *
ready given by The Progressive Fan
er the following statement by N
W. Scott Garrett, a Virginia toba
co farmer who was a leader in th
sun-cured pool, may be interestin
Mr. Garrett writes:
"By referring to the facsimile
Mr. Timberlake's account you will s
[that he had only bU pounds 01 u. *
which was the very lowest grade
sort thin leaf tobacco, which we so
for $20 per 100. We had two graa
of brown leaf higher than this, B
which sold for $30, and BA whi
sold for $40. He also had only 1
pounds of LCB, meaning mediu
color lugs, which we sold for $11, ai
he had his largest pile of the ve
commonest grade of trashy lugs, LB
meaning common brown lugs, 5
pounds, which we sold for $8.
"There was only about 10,000,0
jxmnds of our type of sun-cured t
bucco produced in 1920, and \
n- had only 12 per cent. Wo sold
de every pound of this tobacco for <Jur
?s, members and paid them $148,000 in
es cash, net, after deducting all charges
ns for everything, which shows a net average
to our members of $11.44 per
dy 100 pounds. There was sold at auc?
tion on the open floors in Richmond
an by farmers not in the pool nearly
9,000,000 pounds at an average of
$9.02, which, after deducting the warein.
house selling charges (which we conservatively
estimate at 75 cents per
100), leaves a net average of $9.27
per 100 to the farmers outside the
pool.* So you can see that the assors
ciation gained for its members an
?* average of $3.17 per 100 more than
'>' the rest of the crop sold for on the
V open market.''
ne o
n" The Pinhooker Answered. '
a-1 ..
a- Just as the first lap in the race
has been won for co-operative mare
keting of tobacco, the fight by the
ip pinhooker and speculator against the
id movement is becoming more intense,
co In this article, it will be the object
r- ci the writer to deal only with the.
re commodity tobacco as handled by the ,
r- co-operative method of marketing, ]
ct and answer come of the arguments,
being used against the system. It is j
a- a little strange that you never hear
>s, < ne say that the co-operative system
rs ef marketing is not theoretically and
as economically sound. What they do
st say is, that it is fine for all other
commodities except tobacco; that tore
tacco is such a mysterious product
ds that it will not work. To these
id doubting Thomases, we would brief
jn ]y call attention to the different class>u
es favoring the movement in a geno
eral way. Then we will enumerate
tie the class making the fight against
er the pooling of the tobacco crop, leaving
the public to be the judge as to
ss their true motives,
re Theodore Roosevelt was a warm
v- advocate of the system, so was Exn
President Wilson. President Harding,
t*e in his December message to congress,
told that body: "Every proper enur
couragement should be given to the
or co-operative marketing programs."
n- Congress has shown its approval by
s. jassing the Clayton amendment to
ill the Sherman Anti-trust law. We
le have the war finance committee and
ty legal reserve banks baching us. The
in entire agricultural department at
30 Washington is behind the movement,
le Also the state agricultural departrs
r.ients are behind it. The railroads
are backing it through their indusic
trial departments. The local banks
c- all over Virginia, North Carolina and
it- South Carolina have offered support
it- to the movement. About all of the
newspapers are talking for it Most
of the intelligent and best read farmve
crs are members already,
fia Now we have on the other side, the
v- small specular; the "pin-hooker;" the
te. small buyer for the big1 company, who
is afraid he will lose his job; all tobacco
auctioneers and a good many
^ tobacco speculating warehousemen;
and one tobacco journal.
Now let us analyze a few of the
arguments used against the movement.
We will not deal with California,
Denmark, Ireland, or any other
of the various communities where
By
js co-operative marketing has proven so
V successful. In the first place we will
presume for argument's sake that we
have a ninety or ninety-five per cent.
ve sign up of all bright tobacco in the
se three states, as we propose to have
before we stop. ,
c_ In regai-d to re-drying for export
hc and the domestic trade, we would an5n
swer that there is nothing to hinder
s. the export man and the domestic mannfacturer
from buying his tobacco in
ve bulk at a stated price per grade from
x. the association, and having the de;
liveries made just as they are now;
>n the exporter or manufacturer having
his representative, together with the
^ association's representative to pass
'3 - .
ly i'pon the grades as they are received,
jy Then ihey could take this tobacco
of and re-dry it to suit themselves in
rs their own plants,
se If on the other hand, they prefer
rs waiting, then the tobacco wii? be re>w
dried by the most modern methods,
? and the exporter will have to buy
lis it in this form, and pay his duty on
re the excess moisture. Now, you ask
who will fix the price? A careful
il- cost estimate will be made accordn
ing to the ruling price of labor, fer[r.
tilizer, etc. To this will be added a,
,c- reasonableprofit, which every farmer i
lis .'s due. This, then will be the price. |
g. They say that the farmer will demand j
an unreasonable price. We answer |
of that they cannot prove this by the
ee history of a.ny co-operative market-,
ing association. They make a great
of deal of the argument of the exces>ld
sive operating expenses. The farm-'
es er now pays directly, by having it,
B, deducted from his sales statement, J
ch the warehouse rent, the clerical force,j
95 the auctioneer, the truck hands, and!
m ? liirinn, tn tVirw nrrtnriofnrc rTp naVS '
nd indirectly, by having it deducted from j
ry the price of his product, for all loss
C, ir. weight, all buying expenses, all i
55 le-drying expenses, and in addition
supports a perfect army of pin-hook00
ers and little speculators, who take
o- advantage of the carelessness as well
ve (Continued on next page.)
first-Class /
We take this
our friends and th'
taken over and wi
baker Sales Co. a
run a first-class g
with this business.
The automo
liamsburg and ad
well acquainted w
had dealings with
and we feel that
forts we offer to tl
vice as they can fi
We respectfu
age of our formei
public at large anc
work as we can at
Studebaker I
J. E. WEAVER &
Old Express Office Building,
jjustArri
I For East
WE HAVE JUS!
GINGHAM DRESSES
" IN SILKS, VOILES i
i KINGSTREE AND V]
THESE EASTER SH
I OUR LINE OF
" THE MOST COMPLI
| COUNTRY. WE CA
* AND STEADFAST S
| BY SHOES FOR LA
" CHILDREN.
| OUR LINE OF
VOILES, WILLOW W
a ETC., IS ONE OF T
H FOUND ANYWHERI
a TION TO CALL AT
' TRADE AT QUE
| LARGER TRADE CI
1 Kingstree D
p ^il^Stoi
H Kingstree,
Ijjto Repairing 1
method of informing
e public that we have
11 conduct the Studet
Kingstree, and will
arage in connection
bile owners of Wiljoining
counties are
ith both of us, having
us from time to time,
in combining our eftie
public as good sernd
anywhere.
lly solicit the patron
customers and the j
I will only do such ;
? ?
>solutely guarantee.
tales Company,
: F. B. LEE, Whnagers
Main Street Kingstree, S. C.
ved -li
er ;
' RECEIVED A BIG LOT OF LADIES' SILK AND 1
5, SPORT COATS, SPCRT SKIRTS AND WAISTS I
LND ORGANDIES, AN# INVITE THE LADIES OF ?|
[CINITY TO CALL AT OUR STORE AND INSPECT 3|
[OWINGS. |?
SHOES FOR MEN, LADIES AND CHILDREN IS Ki
2TE TO BE FOUND II THIS SECTION OF THE ||
t rr\TAH?\? ttatrr a r?r\ a nAfimPD KSK
Km itlt. WtitiLfKINUWIN nUWAKU ? rvoiJC.iv gtcg
HOES FOR MEN, QUJEN QUALITY AND SHEL- ||| T
.DIES, R. T. WOOD AND KEWPIE TWINS FOR K|j
DRESS GOODS, CONSISTING OF ORGANDIES, j||
EAVES, GINGHAMS, CREPES, SILKS, TAFFETAS, |||
HE MOST COMPREHQ<JSIVE SHOWING^ TO BE 1||
2, AND WE INVITE THE LADIES OF THIS SEC- |||
OUR STORE AN INSPECT THESE GOODS. "
> STORE AND SAVE IAILROAD FARE TO THE |8 ^
INTERS. ||1
ry Goods Co., I
re of Quality" p H
k - Soujth Carolina ]|