The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1903-09-03
Wilmington Messenger.

Wilmington Messenger.
The low price of tobacco has great
" excited the farmers in the tobacco
growing section of the State, as we'll
it might, for it has been death-blow
to their hopes.
The farmers cannot raise tobacco
at present prices. The question then
is: What are they going to do about
it? This question is important, not
only as to future crops, but as to the
product of this years planting now
on hand and ready or soon to be
ready for market.
The proper solution of this ques-
ton is worth thousands of dollars to
the people of North Carolina. But
what that solution shall be is the
trouble.
How can the farmer SO manage as
to force the buyers to pay him the
! real value of his tobacco? Several
plans have been suggested.
The boycott of the trusts manu-
| featured goods we deem impracticable
| for several reasons. The chief among
them is that it would be almost i'm
possible to make it sufficiently extern
sive to have any effect on the finances
! of the trust.
Another plan is the establishment
of Independent factories. Now these
two together would work if the peO-
| ple-the consumers OF tobacco
would stick up to the independents
would refuse to buy trust made
| goods and would patronize the
others. In that case the latter could
live, Notwithstanding any cut in
prices the trust might make. Insev-
| eral towns of this State companies
are being formed for manufacturing
tobacco. If they will put their goods
on the market at fairly remunera-
tive price and the people will agree
| to patrOnize none other, so that these
independent factories sales will be
sufficient for them to keep atiOat,
then will the trust be headed off-not
| broken up, of course, for that is an
impossibility, but independent facto-
ries will be enabled to conduct their
| business Oh a paying basis and will
be in position to pay the farmers
better prices for the raw product.
| Another plan is for the farmers to
hold their tobacco for higher prices.
Whether this will have much effect or
not depends upon what stock the
| trust has on hand. 1t would be an
impossibility to stop entirely the sale
of tobacco. Some will necessarily be
put on the market every day, which
the trust will pick up at its own
figures unless the consumers will
patronize the independent factories
to the extent of making it worth the
while of the latter to run the prices
up on the trust Holding the tobacco
back will not alone, necessarily, adj
vance the price. The trust may be in
condition to stay Off the market for
months. AS we say, it depends upon
the amount of it's stock on hand, and
as to this no outsider knows.
Another suggestion to the farmers
is to hold this crop for higher prices
and plant no tobacco at all next
year OF course, it is an impossibility
to carry out this latter idea. There
Will be a big crop planted, no matter
what the price is this year. Start
the idea that there will be very
small crop next year and every
farmer will undertake to get in on
the blind side OF all the other farmers
with Il big crop of his own, which he
expects will bring fabulous prices be-
cause he will be the only man who
| will have any tobacco to sell. That
has been tried too often with cotton.
In our opinion the best solution OF
the difficulty is the building of indie
pendent factories and the determine
ton of the consumers to patrOnize
these in preference to the trusts pro-
ducts. Let the American Tobacco
Company manufacture all the to-
bacco it chooses and sell at whatever
price it pleases, but let the chewer
and the smoker pay the Independent
factories fair prices for their product
and then all will be independent of
the trust-both the producer of the
raw material and the consumer OF
themanufactured product. This plan
will not bring temporary relief only,
but will give tobacco it's legitimate
position in the market with it's price
dependent upon the quality and the
demand for the raw material by the
manufact