The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1893-04-18
HERE'S THE RECORD.

Last week we took the Charlotte o.
serUer to task for bl tanning the farmers
for the low price of cotton; and, ap-
parently ~excusing the "plaid trust"
the dealers In futures and other com
binations who r keeping down the
price Of cotton and filling their pockets
to overlooking. We also criticized it
for writing that way when only recent
~ it had been on the tobacco trust with
both feet and said at the same time
that the plaid trust doesn't reduce the
price of cotton; the whiskey trust
doesn't effect the price of corn; the
sugar trust doesn't depress the price of
raw sugar; the book trust doesn't scale
down the price of white paper, nor
printers wages; but the tobacco trust
puts its own ruinous price upon leaf to-
bacco, and pillages the maker OF the
raw material as the very first step in
it's operations, " etc.
At any rate the logic or something in
our editorial was too much for the o.
/ OCI CCI CtLlu II 1OOpGS Oil OlO uOUSS III 1GS
issue of the 18th, leaves the question
untouched and calls this paper ''the
mouthpiece of the Third party" and
intimates that THE PROGRESSIVE
FARMER has been unfair in the matter
under discussion. This Is not tie first
time the Observer has tried to crawl
out of a close placeby bringingup some
thing foreign. We believe it one &C
cused the editor of this paper Of being
ugly" in order to change the subject.
The Observer may print that accusa,
ton until the type gets hot enough to
melt and get nobody in this country to
believe it.
But to business. We are glad the
Observer has given us a chance to nat
only emphasize our arguments, but to
bring out the records and prove that
we did not misrepresent the Observers
position. On the 28th of March the
Observer clipped the following from the
Laurinburg Exchange and commented
editorially:
THE American Tobacco Company
should be run out of the State. and it
will be, OF it will run everybody else
out of the tobacco market. "-LGuriD
burg Exchange.
That's what's the matter, and that's
what makes the tobacco trust SO infin-
itely viler, a 50 much greater public
enemy, thanany other. The plaid trust
doesn't reduce the price of cotton; the
whiskey trust doesn't affect the price
Of corn; the sugar trust doesn't depress
the price of raw sugar; the book trust
doesn't scale down the price of white
paper, nor printers wages; but the to,
bacco trust puts it's own ruinous price
uponleattobacco and pillages the maker
Of the raw material as the very first step
in its operations. Other trusts skin the
consumer; this one reaches back and
rob5 the producer. If it were content
with laying its hand upon those who
smoke It's vile manufactures, all would
be well, rel though it taxed them a
dollar a dozen upon it's offensive prod
ucts; but this is no part of the trouble.
The trouble is just what the Exchange
points out; if it isn't throttled it will
run everybody else out of the tobacco
business"
Now, did The PROGRESSIVE FARMER
misrepresent or treat the Observer un-
fairly? The jury can take the case. It
is a mighty good idea to have the files
of some newspapers handy.
So the American tobacco trust is the
"vilest." Now let's see. 1t is charged
that the American Tobacco Company
puts it's WI price upon leaf tobacco:
that it reaches back and robs the pro
Queer. All right, we are not going to
deny this. But don't the plaid trust
"reach back and rob the producer" of
cotton? 1t robs somebody at both ends
Of the line. It is a thousand times as
much of Il robber as the tobacco trust
because it has a thousand or more
times as many people where i can rob
them. All the trusts rob either the
producer o. the consumer, or both.
Trusts are MT organized just for fun.
They mean business. Those who go
into them haven't got the physical
courage to become highway robbers,
butgo into it under the guise "of trade"
and ''of law" This is what enables
the cotton mills of the country to clear
from 20 to 40 per cent. annually and
what is bringing nearly all cotton
farmers into bankruptcy. They are
all robbers, no matter what particular
business they are in, and if the Oh
SerUer and all other papers would saw
half as much against them and saw It
half as emphatically as The PRoGREs.
sIvE FARMER, this fair land would not
be so rapidly becoming a land of a few
hundred ~millionaires and millions of