Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1907-10-05

sweet truth 10 you. ldSJens ne
American Tobacco Company is an ex-
tensive buyer from the association,
but it pays the associations figure for
all that it gets" (Cheers and ap-
plause.)
Do you know how he accounts
for the fact that tobacco has gone up?
He said you didn't have a thing to
do with it, that it was due to the cur
tailment of the crop, and he says the
Association cut down the crop. /
have letter here that / haven't time
to read, one that I think more Of
(cries of read It, read it.") Wait
until | tell you about this letter and
you won't embarrass me: this letter
is from a lady Oaughter) l have a
letter here stating that for two years
the Association has never curtailed
crops: the letter is from "the daugh-
ter of the regiment" from the Joan
of Arc of this great army--from its
fair and splendid secretary, Mrs
Green (applause). | would say more
| but George Snadon gentleman sit
| ting near Mrs. Green on the starge)
is bigger than | am Qaughter).
PLANT-BED SCRAPINc.
Another thing he says. That the
curtailment of the crop is due to plant
| bed scraping, which we all regret.
| (Reading) by far the greatest part
of the financial loss that has resulted
in the fight of the farmers against the
American Tobacco Company has come
through the scraping of tobacco beds.
1t is estimated that several thousand
beds have been scraped throughout
] the dark tobacco district since the
commencement of the fight against the
American Tobacco Company, and the
result of the damage has Deen enorm-
Gus. The scraping of the beds has in
fact, played large part in the cur
tailment of the crop, for prices have
been trebled in three years."
The New York Sun says; talking
about YOU says: THE favorite meth
cd of waging the war is to 'scrape'
the tobacco beds of farmers who, in
the opinion Of the true scrapers, need
disciplining. This means simply the
destruction of a growing crop by any
method of effectual worth. 1t is work
that, like all the related work of the
war, is done at night"
He says there are twenty counties
in this Association; he names them
all so as to take in a district where
there have been some acts of violence;
there are nearly fifty counties in the
Association, and he leaves out the
districts where there has been no vio-
lence whatever. More than that,
there are fifteen counties in Virginia
that he doesn't name at all. Take h.s
word for it. Several thousand means
three thousand. don't it, if it means
any? Three thousand plant beds in
twenty counties is one hundred and
fifty to the county. Is that the truth
or is it a lie? You know, | don't.
Yes do know, too; will get to lying
myself directly. l have here evidence
that is good before this jury, thank
God, mighty good before this jury,
and this is the jury before which l
stand ready to be tried any day in
the morning. applause, and cries of
"Well give you justice.'O l know it.
II they think that by SANDER and ira
duction, utilization and abuse, they
can shake your faith in me, this meet
ing don't look like it. (Applause.)
l have here a statement from the
twenty committeeman whom he says
form this Association; have here a
statement from twenty committeeman
answering an inquiry propOunded to
them: What acts of violence have
been committed in your county and
how many?" ] have reports from all
of them.
Are there three thousand plant
beds? No. Are there $50? No Are
there 1902. No. Are there ten to the
county? No. Are there five to the
county? No. Five into $50 is how
many?. You are thirty times a liar
Mr.. Beach. (Applause)
Nine out of ten of these letters say
to me, there has been no violence at
all. A statement signed by each one
of the committee that in nine out of
ten of these committeeman have never
had anonymous letters written to
them, never a plantbed scraped, never
barn burned, never a thresher dam
aged.Now, l read in every one of these
letters, messages that are as thrilling
as the call of the trumpet, as refresh
| ing as the breath of the dawn, as full
Of hope as the Christians faith in the
resurrection. read that-where there
was want there is plenty-where there
was despair there is hope-where
there were rags there is clothing
where there was slavery there is free
dom and happiness. (Applause) In
not one of these counties, but in all of
them, including the great county Of
Christian. prolonged applause). In
that be treason crack your whip.
THE HOLLlNS INCIDENT
This man that says that there are
$50 plant beds to the county that have
been scraped, thousands of plant beds
destroyed that writes page after page
of traduction and SANDER against the
people of this district don't name but
one plant bed and he names the plant
bed of a Mr.. Hollins, and he says
night riders came there in the night
and couldn't find Hollins and they got
an old negro woman and took her out
and made her tramp on the bed, and
they made the negro woman tramp
and tramp because they thought there
was dynamite in it. He says they
were masked. They found the old ne
gro woman and nOhodV alea Of homo