Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1891-12-12
THE REGGIE MONOPOLY
How the Big Three Have Work
ed the Trade.
Legislation Wanted to Protect the
Growers Why Should Tobacco
Be Taxed

The following very significant arti-
Gle appeared in the New York To-
baccO Leaf o: recent date, written
by correspondent of that city sign
ing himself a. b:
81 am glad that you are taking
such an active interest in the ques-
ton of the Reggie system Of buying
for foreign countries, and | believe,
with your assistance and with the
aid of all tobacco papers in the
South, and the general discussion
which such articles stimulate that
we will ere long see our tobacco bust
ness unfettered from the bondage
which now holds such absolute sway
and reigns supreme, debating TO one
and all the price at which they must
sell, or be frozen out.
"The Reggie buyers will uudoubted
ly set up the claim that they are
great philanthropists, buying about
$4,000 hogsheads of our dark grades
yearly-that they pay out to the far
mers 50 much money, and if we do
away with this Reggie system we
shall be "killing the goose which laid
the golden egg.' That, of course, is
their old argument, which they have
used for years in this market, but we
are all wiser now, and know that the
golden egg was laid by the goose, and
for the goose only. They will also
point to the fact that they buy such
large quantities at one point-how
they send one man to "A country and
give him instructions to buy as much
as possible and as cheap as possible.
There was a time when a barrier
stood up between the Reggie buyers
and the country buyers--When our
New York commission houses held
their purses open for coDsignments
of Leaf and Tugs; and there have been
times, had it not been for these
houses, the Western buyers would
have been sacrificed beyond redemp-
ton, but through the Vaccinations
Of the Reggie men that barrier was
finally knocked down.
"The second barrier was the West
ern WarehOusemen, and they fought
nobly and well, but could not stand
up against the onslaught of the "big
three " And now-Well, what now?
there remains only the hardy sons
of toil--the iarmers-to combat the
genius Of the Reggie buyers. What
can be the result? Can the farmer
hold his produce any length of time?
Can he sit quietly by and wait for
higher prices which in all reason
ought to come from the holding back
of his stock? Why, no. The Reggie
buyers have longed for this day,
when they could sit upon the farmer
and wait till he squealed, and it
won't take him long, either.
"Cotton and tobacco are considered
the money crops of the South, and
when farmer wants money, as he
always does, to pay for groceries,
shoes, taxes, etc, he can't afford to
hold back any crop.
Farmers, on you now depend the
outcome Of this fight. Victory
means coming back to the good old
days when you had enough and to
spare. Defeat means bankruptcy
toIing all day, early and late, to get
enough to keep your soul and body
tOgether--only enough to live on,
but nothing to leave for your fami.
lies, no prospects for your sons but
working on like slaves, no prospect
for your daughters but the weary
tread Of their mothers life-no mon
ey to spend for such things as ordi-
nary mortaIs consider necessary to
life, but which to you are choice lux
uries.
"Take advice from an old man;
meet together; talk it all over at the
market place and on your hillsides
tell your congressman that tobacco
must be free, free to all ports, free to
all consumers here, and that you will
not be bound i'll slavery any longer.
Why should tobacco be taxed? Why
should such a large amount as A., 600
hogsheads be under the control of
one man year after year, to do with
as he pIeases Oh for one strong
man to lead us on to victoryw