The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1908-04-03

EQUITY SOCIETY'S
POSITION DEFINED.
Where A. S. of E. is Strong
est no Violence Occurs.
President c. M. Barnett Ably
Defends Society of Which
he Is the Head.

The following letter was sent tC
Hon. James p. Gregory, President Of
the Louisville Law and Order League
accompanied by request that he have
it read at the mass meeting held in
Louisville last Sunday. 1t was moi
produced then and was given to the
daily press Monday.
Hon. James p. Gregory, President
Law & Order League, Louisville Ky.
Dear Sir:-In view of the fact that
your organization is to hold mass
meeting in the City tomorrow after
noon, which / am unable to attend
and owing to the fact that the Ameri-
can Society of Equity, of which
have the honor to be the National Pre-
sident, has been made a target fol-
abuse and Misrepresentation, because OF
recent lawlessness in our State, de-
sire to submit, through you, to the
meeting, a frank statement which
should set our Society right with all
fair minded persons.
FROM the fact that persons are misin-
formed as to the true situation, or
from a wilful attempt to discredit
1t and its purposes.
The American Society of Equity is
organized and chartered under the
laws of Indiana, for charitable and
educational purposes. 1t has a men,
bership in forty (40) states and ter
ritories in the Union, being especially
strong in the great wheat section OF
the Northwest. In Kentucky, as will
National Secretary which was submit
ted to the National union held in In
dianapolis last October, the member
ship the first of January this year, in
good standing, was 1S,049. The high
est membership ever enjoyed by the
Society in the State, as shown by the
same report which is appended hereto
and made part of this letter, was
27791.
There are 923 local unions each &C
ting under a charter from the National
Headquarters at Indianapolis. The
1909 members are distributed over
seventy-one CID counties in only thirty
six 1861 of which are strong enough
to have a county organization, oil
county union, as will be seen by fl
CURE Immediately opposite the coun-
ties representing number of unions
Forty-eight (4S) counties in Kentucky
have no members at all. These are in
the mountains and in that part of the
State known as the "Black Patch
and occupied by the Planters Protec-
tive Association. In thirty-two coun-
ties the membership is less than one
hundred. In fourteen others 1t is less
than three hundred. In the counties
covered by the Burley Association we
have about 1000 members, while the
Burley Association claims over 10000
In the Planters Protective Association
territory, lying along the western
borders of Kentucky and covering some
territory in Tennessee, we have nc
membership while that organization
claims 10000 members.
In the stemming district our men,
bership is about 5000, while the num-
Der of persons pooling in that To-
cality will probably exceed 10000. The
Green River District has an Equity
membership OF about 5000, and probab
1y not many more than that number
pool their tobacco. 1t will be seen
that the four tobacco associations con-
tain about 900 adherents. Six time
as many membership of the Society
association, the Green River, acts
through this Society. 1t has no con-
troll or connection with the others, ex-
cept as individual members of locals
may pool with them. This Society has
no control over the Boards of those
societies and can not say to the Bur-
ley people you shall or shall not raise
a crop or when they shall sell their
pooled tobacco. These associations
have their ownboards of control some
of whom may be members of this
Society. / do not think President
Lebus, is a member. Nor do think
Mr.. Hawkins, who recently wrote the
card which caused so much comment
is member of our Society. Simply
pooling crop of tobacco with one Of
! the tobacco associations, or signing
= an agreement not to raise crop. does
not give membership In the Society