Omaha daily bee., 1908-01-06
Refusal to Raise Price Ansers
Planters in Association. i,
HISTORY OF THE coNEIJrt
Effort to Hold Crops Has Not Injured
Factory Combine.
SMALL GROWERS SUFFER Mose
Many Of Them Must Mortgage OEwA
Before it IL Out and Ourod--A
Part of Two Crops en-
Hand. N..

LOUISVILLE. KY Jan 5,---Ths raiU on
Russellville. Ky. early Friday morning
by might riders" which resulted IN thS
destruction of nearly 100000 worth ud
property and the wounding OF three per-
sons; the refusal yesterday OF the SO4
bacco growers to accept the propositions
of the American Tobacco company for thS
purchase of tobacco and the announced
intention of the growers to proceed
against the American Tobacco company
in the courts, following Governor Wills
sons statement that the lawless element
will be severely dealt with. have brought
to an acute stage a condition which has
existed in Kentucky and Tennessee for
two years. Conferences for the last two
days at Frankfort between a reprosenta>
tive of the American Tobacco company
and the tobacco growers has resulted only
I'm transferring the matter TO the heads
of the company for consideration. The
cause Of the fight of the growers of TO-
bacco against the American Tobacco com.
pany and other purchasers and the conpA
plicatlons are best explained by the fol-
lowing recounted sentence of events IN
chronological order:
Causes of the War;
I. The apparent passing of tho leaf tos
into the control of the American Tobacco
company. with the consequent elimination
of nearly all the middleanen or indes
pendent tobacco buyers and rehan6lers
.. The awakening of the farmers TO ths
! situation and the formation by them OF
the American Society of Equity and two
subsidiary organizations, the Burley Qight
! colored leaf Tobacco association and the
! Dark Tobacco association, with the pur-
II 9I.zas. kVnwW
could obtain what they claimed would ba
a fair price from the American Tobacco
company and affiliated concerns.
3. The failure OF the attempt by the
! farmers societies to win over suffi-
| cient majority of the growers of tobacco
to their pooling plan TO enable them to
! Immediately compel the company to pay
the price demanded.
| 4. Ostracism and petty persecution ni7
| rected against so-called independents
the farmers who were unwilling or unabls
| to pool and hold their crops of tobacco
and who sold TO the trust"
g. Whipping of tobacco buyers and farm
! ers who sold their crops. destruction of
beds of young tobacco plants, burning of
! tobacco barns containing the harvested
! crops Of independents. shooting into homes
and the wounding of innocent persons
| among them being women, and the warn
! ing of refractory independents to leave the
| country.
g. The elimination of a mob spirit IN
! bold attacks on Princeton, Hopldnsvilld
and Russellville. towns of from 1000 70
TO- 900 Inhabitants, which raids resulted IN
! the dynamiting and burning Of tobacco
| warehouses controlled by the American
| Tobacco company the killing OF several
| of the raiders and the wounding on
number of citizens and the destruction of
property owned by innocent neutrals bo|
| cause the raiders refused to allow the fire
| departments to work.
Trust sukKers Little,
As to the Tobacco trust, so-called. 70
has suffered less than the men who have
| sold their leaf tobacco to 1t and the
antitrust societies. claims be true less
monetary loss than the men who have
pooled their crops. Officers OF the Ameri-
can Tobacco company have during the hast
few days declared under oath at New
York hearing that the company and its
allied and subsidiary concerns do not COM
troll the tobacco trade OF America wheus
two years ago, the company put buyers
| into the Kentucky and Tennessee fields
To deal directly with the producers. after
II had made arrangements dispensing with
the system of buying from rehandlers and
| independent middlemen, 1t also denied that
! II controlled the raw material OF thS
markets of Tennessee and Kentucky. THIS
antitrust growers vehemently deny this
| and claim that It does control the market
IN the two states.
AS 10 the claim that the trust forces the
growers TO accept an unfair price nstthef
side has produced any figures as to cost
of production and farm values In ths
tobacco districts which would bear out the
statements pro or con. The trust has
suffered the loss Of a number OF ware
houses and their contents, the estimates
on the direct gross loss running from
$4,000 10 $4,000. Fourteen OF thetr ware~
houses have been closed This loss, how~
ever. undoubtedly falls below the aggre'
gate damage sustained by the men VINO
have refused to join the farmers associa~
tions or pool their crops. Some OF them
were too independent to be coeroed, willis
most are financially unable 70 hold theft
crops had they so desired.
Poorer Growers SuheF,
on this latter class Of independents the
pooling movement has had most disas'
! trous effect A large number of them are
} renting farmers and are compelled 20 mar
; ket each crop promptly i'm order to proYids
sustenance until the following one Is raised
r Some Of them are often compelled to mort
gage crop before ~ IL cut ana cured hhe
societies have during the last five months
made arrangements 10 advance two-thirds
Of the value Of crops to growers who need
them money, but there is doubt as "a
whether they would be able TO finance All
the independents, even II the latter could
accept the arrangement and escape ruin
: But there Is. as stated. a numerous class
: Of independents who must market theI
u crops Immediately after cutting and curing
These men, therefore, must accept society
I loan on their crop and In case the trust
wins, drop so far behind that In three yeari
they will be ruined else they must sell
to the trust" and run a strong risk OF
= having their barns burned or their next
1 years crop ruined. to say nothing OF the
. chance Of suffering personal violence.
y The pooling societies now have on hRn1
! part Of the 1896 crop and Al VI their 40