Clarksville evening chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn) 1886-1890, 1888-11-02
The Law of Supply and Demand.

To the Chronicle:
am glad that my fellew sufferer
"Jim Dusty" is a farmer, enters
fully into whatever is calculated to
be of a benefit to our fellow men, and
especially, to the farmer. He shows
himself reasonable and is willing to
enter into discussion of this ques-
ton in my feeble way. | think l
can show him that there is no trap
set or "cat in the meal tub" So far
as | am concerned in this matter, for
years / have been farming to some
extent. Some years, with some
profit and others with loss. 1 may
be honestly mistaken, but l am sin
cere in my belief, that this move is
our only hope for renumerative
prices for our present CROP and if l
thought for one moment that there
was possibility of the farmer get
ting less money for this years crop,
and next, than this crop will bring,
| would not favor the move, this /
fully believe and l think that / can
show friend "Jim Dusty" that it is
so, as he asserts that supply and
demand will assert themselves.
The stock of tobacco, including our
present crop, is the greatest ever
known, and the price it is sell
ing for as low, or lower than it has
been since there was market estab-
lished for its sale, if we continue to
add to the stocks, say half or a
quarter of crop, we keep the prices
down in that proportion, and increase
the profits in the hands of those who
buy it, in proportion as we decrease
the crop-which helps us but little,
until the over stock is exhausted;
would it not be better at one blow
stop the production and put the
profit in the hands of those who toll
from twelve to eighteen months to
make it? My dear friend wants
some assurance that we will get the
present prices doubled, this move is
worth to the farmers alone; passed
experience will prove that there is
no doubt about it, if we will, as one
man, make the move. In 1874
prices went from 9 to 81 cents for
Tugs, up to II to Is cents, plenty
of it bringing 25 and 80 cents
with a full half crop growing
in 1881, prices again thribbled them
selves on account of the shortness Of
crop,and again no later than last year
the same thing is repeated, with no
crop planted next year at all, there
is no saying where prices will go to.
Such spirit of speculation would
spring up, that we have never seen
the like since we have been raising
the weed. With the stock exhausted
on this crop in the hands of the
buyers, if we made another crop in
1890, as large as the present, we
would get prices far above what we
are now getting, that would be remit
nerative, besides we would get a
years rest from toll that commences
in December and runs to the next,
and on until May or June of the next
yeer; give us time to rest our poor
farms and fix up our gardens and
yards and make glad the sad face of
her who is neglected in our mighty
rush to get out big crop of tobacco
to take three or four cents for and
never able to get her one little dozen
rose slips to bring sunshine and glad
ness into her overwOrked life. The
question is a serious one and one that
we are much interested in and one
that we will find many who wants
to buy our tobacco at low prices OPP
posed to, and doing everything in
their power to keep the farmers from
organizing. Who are telling you
they will give you so and so for your
crop. See if they will give their
price now and the rise then if there is
no tobacco planted. l will bet my
last winters boots GALL that | have)
crop cannot be sold in the state on
these conditions. The move no
doubt will help the SPECTATOR (only
half of whom want us to make large
crops) that has his purchase on hand.
The poor fellows who have had to
unload will moi be benefited, but
outside of ourselves, they are the