Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1906-06-12
Is Hot After the Associations
Enemies in GAINESVILLE.
Stirring Appeal to the Mem
bers of the Tobacco Grow
ers' Association.

there appeared a lengthy article in
reference to plantbed scraping.
Now, l presume this article is from
the pen of M. V. Ingram, and as
treachery is not enough, he must add
insult to injury, by now trying to
pose as a friend of the association
and assume the role of a great
stickler for law ard order. Now,
you and | would be inclined to give
him a hearing. if he would first
prove himself a stickler for common
decency. AS he has outraged de-
cency to such extent that scarcely
bakers dozen of our members read
his paper, and he certainly is not
entitled to any consideration or SYM
pathy from any friend Of the Asso-
citation,
This old traitor and hypocrite
seeks to convey the impression that
Mr.. Ewing and our leaders are in
favor of lawlessness, which is an in
famous misrepresentation and you
all know it. All the poisoned arrows
that he can shoot at the character of
Mr.. Ewing and our leaders will fall
harmless at its base. Neither are
our members inclined to lawlessness,
and the man who makes the charge
is defamer of character of the
deepest die.
l presume that the opinions and
feelings of the members here are a
fair exponent of the opinions and
feelings of the members elsewhere,
and that is, opposition to lawless-
ness, so we see that the Association
cannot be held responsible for acts
of irresponsible parties either in or
out of the Association. The scrap
ing of plant beds is the result of GER
tain conditions. What were the
conditions that produced it? The
tobacco trust and it's agents came
into this country and divided it up
into districts and cut off all compe-
tition in buying, had the people
herded together like so many cattle,
and took their tobacco at such low
and ruinous price, that it amounted
to confscation and highway robbery
after these pirates had produced al
most famine in the land our peo-
pie were driven into this organiza-
ton for protection.
Instead of giving it fair chance
and clear field what did they do?
Sought every unfair means ingenuity
could invent to break the backbone
Of the organization. After having
seen that the organization was a 90. !
in the space of a few short months
they raised the price of tobacco from
4 and 2, to as high as II and 2. in |
order to tempt as many of our peo-
pie as possible from going into the
Association We went to them and
begged them to desist; instead of |
stopping, they issued their cards of
defiance, and set up their arsenals
and surrounded themselves with fast
shooting guns.
These conditions have prevailed |
here for nearly year. to the pres
ent time; recently there has been
some plant beds scraped, these
agents and their sympathizers hold
up their hands in holy horror, and
complain to the Association and try
to put all the blame on it. No good |
man justifes any acts of lawlessness;
our people are as free from it as any
people under the sun. When you
consider how the trust cane here and !
created conditions that produced a |
blight and curse to the whole tobacco
district, think all fair minded men
will be disposed to place the respon-
sibility for plant bed scraping where
it belongs. Let Ingram turn Pink
erton or Sherlock Holmes loose and
run the guilty parties to shore, the
way is open, am sure we are will
ing. ! want to say to the Tobacco
Trust, in the language of Nathan to
David, Thou art the man."
Oh, the weeping and wailing and
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