The Mt. Sterling advocate. (Mt. Sterling, Ky.) 1890-current, 1908-11-04
BURLfY
TOBACCO
SOCIETY
OlsConrageS Incorporate Talk and
More incorporate Acts.
Law and Order Worth More Than
Tobacco.

Burley Tobacco Society, its pur
poses, its management and its
prospects, we believe it an oppor-
tune time 70 correct these state
ments and inform our members.
In the first place why this great
interest in the welfare Of the grow
er, on the part ol Inc newspapers,
warehousemen, spectators and
trust buyers. an interest which is
new born and had no existence
when the prices were low, when
the farmer was down-trodden and
the trust held undisputed sway in
the tobacco trade. This interest.
and these mis- statements and crit
icisms come from a few honest
people who believe the organza-
ton responsible for lawlessness,
and who have not looked deep
enough into the situation to find
out that this lawlessness is caused
by previous lawlessness on the
part of the trust, and is the blind
effort of a few unreasOning men
who seek to remedy one wrong
with another, and who strike back
because they themselves are hurt.
With this exception, these false
statements come from venal sour
ees, from men who for consider
alton, or from private interest,
seek to overthrow this organiza-
ton of farmers.
A great cutlery has beens made
about eXtravagant salaries: IL Is
sufficient answer to state that
though over four million dollars
have been distributed to the grow
ers not one cent of salary has been
paid to any member of the District
Board, the Executive Committee,
or the President himself. And
when salaries are voted and paid
they will be so reasonable that no
fair-minded grower will grudge
one cent of them to the men who
have done the work, planned the
business and stood the attacks and
criticism of those who wished the
failure of the movement.
OF the ten per cent reserve,
eight per cent is deposited in the
various counties where it will do
the growers the most good and at
no distant day the greater part by
far will be distributed to the indi-
vidual growers.
1t has been stated that too much
has been charged for handling to-
bacco-in only a few instances has
more been charged for this service
than is the usual charge for the
same. And in these instances
there were other benefits to the
grower which more than counter
balanced this extra charge, and in
no case has there beer any profit
to the Burley Tobacco Society or
its managers from such charges.
In most cases brought forward to
prove this, it has been shown that
the grower entered voluntarily in
to private contract to pay these
fees when he was free to have
made other and better contracts or
have done the work himself.
From some sources it has been
claimed that the tobacco has lost
too much in weight-mistakes are
liable to occur in any business but
it is a queer fact that such losses
are reported more frequently on
tobacco stored and sampled in the
old established warehouses of the
cities than on tobacco stored
in the equity warehouses in the
counties; this disproves the charge
or insinuation of acknowledgment
or graft on the part of the Society
The trust has used every means
to disrupt our Society. 1t has
paid the Independent grower more
money for the 1906 and 1907 crops
than they ever dreamed of getting;
it has tempted our own members
to violate their contract by offer
ing unheard of prices; it is offer
ing still higher prices for the 1908
crop. 1t has substituted inferior