Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1907-03-28

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COMMUNICATED.
The meeting Of the Tobacco Grow
ers in the Court House at Leonard
town, was an unusually large one,
despite the desperate weather con-
ditions prevailing at the time and is
evidence as plain as daylight that
/ the growers know they are the ones
to correct the abuses 10 the sale OF
Maryland's great staple. and TO do
| this effectively it must be through
| organization and in fact is being
done through the State Tobacco As
sociation although the forces OF op-
position be many and weighty that
oppose this representative body OF
planters. Like every section of the
country where one product CON-
mands more than ordinary attention
there seems TO be some weakness
that sooner or later becomes a nui-
sance and financial loss To the grow
er, notably in the cotton belt of the
South, where conditions became uu-
bearable. until at last the farmers
rose as one man, and threw of the
| fetters that had bound them. and to-
day the world knows what the Cot
ton Growers Association of the
South has done. And its lesson has
taught others in distress the power
ef organization, and though Mary
land planters were patient and slow
to come together in a common inter-
tereSt. they are together at last and
united by tie that is uDseverable as
long as tobacco shall be grown.
The benefits that have accrued
from the work Of the State Tobacco
Association are
IAN increase OF 81 per hundred
on the crop marketed last year Q906)
amounted to 10000, 200 pounds,
which put into the pockets Of the
planters $4,000 over and above
what the same number of pounds
brought in 1905, although the latter
crop was one of the best sent to
Baltimore in many years, so much
so as asserted by one firm of buyers
that it contained an excess of AS
(the BEST which fact enabled the
buyers to stock up on that grade,
and consequently the AS moved
slowl y until October when they were
all sold at Association figGneS.
2EThrough the Association s &C.
tive work, there has been more light
let in on the tobacco trade. dealing,
&c. than was supposed TO be pos
siole, and the consequences that
followed was large local, domestic
market at good prices.
3 The work OF the association has
the attention of the National Govern
ment, whose promised aid TO the
grower is filling his honest breast
with renewed hope that the great
staple that has given Maryland inter-
national fame will again bring pros
perity to her citizens and keep upon
her farms the youths who have
Hooked 10 the cities because of the
low price of tobacco.
1t IS iuconceiYable upon what
grounds of justice that the trade OF
Baltimore should be waging this re-
lentless war against the Association,
ment because it was thought best to
concentrate the growers interest in
the hands of two instead of seven
teen houses. 1t was the right of
the Association 10 do this just as il
would be the right of anv one of the
houses Of Baltimore TO change its
methods. And it was not the grower
who allowed these conditions that
necessltated the creation of a Tooac-
co Assoc alton, but the necessity was
apparent. and therefore the remedy
Is being worked out.
II would seem as If there should
De delight and pleasure TO the trade
when a movement was started to in
crease the price in an article in
which they were so much concern
ed, instead of outspoken animosity,
and the many circular letters being
sent out TO patrons by the different
houses in Baltimore are the strong
est arguments they could make of
the potency OF organization and ~
bringing TO the vastentiouso rot every
planter just the information neces-
sary to make him loyal TO the work
Of the Association as the only means
TO correct the abuses of the business.
If some of the energy Of this cry
lng-out Injustice could be spent in
explaining why it should take near
ly half of the gross value of Mary
land tobacco TO place it upon the marts
OF the world after it reaches Balti-
more, and at the same time explain
how the planters can get living pri-
ces for their tobacco unless by asso-
citation in their common interest, the
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