The western sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1887-1926, 1890-01-02
THE CIGARETTE TRUST.
The Dukes OF Durham Present their Side
OF the Case

OF the Case
As THE SENTINEL has published
one side of the reported cigarette
trust, it is but fair that we should
present the other IN the Durham
Recorder of Dee. 18th We find letter
from Messrs W. Duke, Sons & Co. to
the warehousemen of Durham from
which we make the following extract
We beg to inform you that there
has been no cigarette or tobacco
trust formed to our knowledge. The
cigarette manufacturers have, how
ever, agreed to buy all their cutters
on the warehouse floors where we
can see exactly what we are buying
and can handle them as best suited
to our business, thus obviating the
necessity of purchasing from specu-
latOrs, commission and middle men,
who have heretofore bought on the
same markets with us and afterwards
sold to us at from five to twelve cents
profit; these cutters were often found
imperfectly packed, and sometimes
not what we wanted. The various
tobacco markets have been divided
among the different cigarette manu-
venience and economy, thus enabling
lis to concentrate our hands; locate
our prize and storage houses in fewer
places; buy direct from the farmer;
steam, strip ard prize just as We
might want to do, and give this
branch of the business closer and
more careful personal attention than
when each manufacturers purchases
were made on every market in the
country by a dozen different buyers
Our only reason for not sooner do
ing this is that we have never been
prepared to carry sufficient stock,
but were forced to buy from the
spectators.
There is no intention to lower
prices of cigarette leaf OH the floors
Had we desired to do this, we would
have limited prices. We are satisfied
to pay the farmer what his cutters
have averaged him the past five
years; we can really do this and
make big money by saving heprofit
OF, say eight cents per pound, upon
two million pounds of cutters hereto
fore bought each year from the spe-
culators by our firm alone, to say
nothing Of the amount saved by re-
ducing our expenses in buying and
handling our cutters.
The farmers seem to have very lit
tie faith in the letter of Messrs. Duke
and are inaugurating opposition
measures The Progressive Farmer
says: 1t is generally understood
among the tobacco growers of the
State, that the cigarette manufac-
turers have combined and have ar
ranged for controlling the price of
the particular class of tobacco used
by them in the manufacture of their
cigarettes.
This aud other grievances will be
looked after in the meeting OF the to-
baccO growing counties which is to
be held in the town of Oxford on
Thursday the 9th of January Let
every county in the tobacco belt,
take immediate action to be well rep
resented in that meeting and let ev-
cry true Alliance man throughout
the State and the county, stand by
our brethren in their effort to main-
tain their just rights. The tobacco
men stood Loyalty by the cotton
men i'll their fight with the infam ous
jute trust, now let the cotton men
stand manfully and faithfully by our
good brethren in the tobacco belt
The cause of our State is the cause of
all the States The cause of one man
is the cause of all the men in our or
der, and let our enemies and the
world so understand it. Let there
be IL rOuSinn meeting at Oxford on
the 9th