The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1891-07-14
TAYLOR, N. c., July 3, 1891.

Mr.. EDITOR:-I have been very much
startled and grived Of late to see SO
much in the daily papers about the
combines End trusts formed and being
formed in this State. These papers
seem to think that this is a true sign of
greater prosperity Of the State. But is
it really true that this combination of
money to control factories and large
tracts of land for the especial financial
gain to these companies, is of real value
to u State? Is this a safe basis of
prosperity? Who T being benefited
bv trusts and combines. Is it the few,
the very few, or the masses? Is it
not something to write about and some
thing to think about, that men-poor
men, can engage in the manipulation
of a North Carolina product of the soil
and in a few years become million
aires? What does this mean, this
manipulation? How is it that there
should be so much more money made
by the man who manipulateS the prod
ucts of our soil than there is in the
original making Of the products? Now
who has done the most work, the
hardest work, suffered and tOiIed the
most, the producer or the manipulation?
1t strikes me that there is something
wrong about this trick, and I think
this idea has struck about nine-tenths
of the people Of the State. From THE
PROGRESSIVE FARMER of June Both I
learn that my friend Nh. II. D. Eyer
ton, of Franklin county, two years ago
sold cutters at IS cents and two weeks
later he sold the same cutters on the
same market and got only 35 cents.
He complained to Messrs. Dawes and
Gregory. They told him that there
had beena trust formed on cutters and
they could not help him. The trust
had only one buyer on the market now
when you got As cents there were sew
eral buyers and no trusts. In the same
paper I find a clipping from the State
Chronicle as follows:
DANvILLE, VA, May 30.-The Ameri-
can Tobacco Company has cotton in
pounds of cutters. The COmpany's
representatives we're B. N. Duke, Of
Durham, ETC., etc.
In this article it is stated that sew
eral parties who had cutters "un-
loaded" The price paid was about 20
cents. THE sellers may have to sus-
tain some loss, but they believe them
selves fortunate to get from under the
load as well as they did"
Don't you think this is enough to
startle and grieve any North Caro-
Iinian? Farmers, what do you think
of this picture? "A certain man in our
State a short while ago was a poor boy;
went to manipulating your tobacco
after you had made it, sold it back to
you at such prices that in a few years
he is worth a million dollars. Now
look at him. After getting all this
money from you he uses it in cOmbina-
ton with foreign money to reduce tho
prices Of good tobacco from 45 cents to
20 cents. Thus he is making two mil
lions out Of you much easer than he
made the first one.
ask the voting masses of this coun-
try if they think this is right2 Are
you willing to live under a govern
ment that allows your rich neighbor
to treat you in this way? Will the
people of this country stand this thing
much longer? Can we hope to get cost
of production for our tobacco this year
when all of our tobacco manufacturers
have gone into a gigantic trust to take
our tobacco at their own prices? Do
you think they will allow us anything
more than the cost of production.
But when we speak of changing this
thing what do they say2 They say
that you are not a true Democrat.