The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-01-06
Tobacco War Has Reached
Acute Stage After Two
Years Of Bitterness
-
WARFARE Being WAGED
UfON TOBACCO TRUST
Work ,r1r 4 Riders Has Brought the
Situation 20 a LawIess Period and
Tobacco Growers Deny Re-
sponsibility for Raids.

Louisville KY, Jap'~ry 5.-The raid on
Russellville, Kentucky, early Friday
morning by the might riders" which re-
suited in the destruction of nearly $780,,
900 worth of property and the wounding
of three persons; the refusal of the to-
baceo growers to accept the proposition
of the A-7lericaI tobacco company for
the purchase of the tobacco and the an
nounced intention of the growers to pro-
eeed against the American Tobacco COM
pany in the courts, following Governor
Wilson's statement that the lawless ele-
ment will be dealt with. however, brought
to an acute stage condition which has
existed in Kentucky and Tennessee fe :
two years. Conferences the past two
days at Frankf,rt between representa-
tives of the american Tobacco company
and the, to,sacco growers have resulted
only in \ ans ,erring the matter to the
head of tie company in New York for
consideration.
The situation is the result of a fight
of the growers of the tobacco against
the American Tobacco company and 9TH
er purchasers and the complications are
best explained by the following recounted
sequence of events in chronological or
der.
Sequence of Events.
First-The APPARENT passage of the leaf
tobacco market H. Kentucky and Ten
nessee into the controi or the American
Tobacco company with the consequent
elimination of nearly all the middlemeIi
or Independent tobacco buyers and re-
handlers.
Second-The awakening of the farmers
to the situation and the formation by
them of the American Society of Equity
and the two subsidiary organizations, the
Burley Digit colored leaf Tobacco as
sociation and the Dark Tobacco associa-
tion with the purpose of pooling and hold
ing their crops until they could obtain
what they claimed would be fair price
from the American Tobacco company and
affiliated concerns.
Third-Tne failure of the attempt by
the farmers societies to win over a suf-
ficlent majority of the growers of to-
bacco to their pooling plan to enable
them to Immediately compel the COM
pany to pay the price demanded.
Fourth-Petty opposition directed
mers who were unwilling or unable to
pool and hold their crops of tobacco and
who sold to the trust"
Five-Whipping of the tobacco buyers
and farmers who sold their crops; de-
struction of beds of young tobacco plants;
burning of tobacco barns containing the
harvested crops of independents; shoot
ing into homes and wounding of inno-
cent persons, among them being women;
the warning of refractory dependents to
leave the country.
Sixth-The elimination of the mob spir-
it in bold attacks on Princeton, Hopkins
vile and Russellville, towns of from 1000
to 10000 inha abitants, which raids resulted
in the dynamiting and burning o. tobacco
warehouses lptrolled by the American
Tobacco company. The killing of several
of the raiders, the wounding of a num-
ber of citizens and the destruction of
property owned by innocent neutrals be-
cause the raiders refused to allow the
fire departments to work.
Trust Not Hard Hit.
AS to the tobacco trust so-called. it has
suffered less than the men who have
sold their leaf tobacco to it and if the
antitrust societies claims be true less
monetary loss than the men who have
pooled their crops. Officers of the Amer
ican Tobacco company have during the
past few days declared under oath at a
New York hearing that the company and
its allied and subsidiary concerns do not
control the tobacco trade Of America.
When two years agc .Strs company put
buyers into the Kentucky and Tennes-
see fields to deal direct with the pro-
ducers after it had made arrangements
dispensing with the system of buying
from rehandlers and independent middle
men, it also denied that it controlled the
raw leaf markets of Kentucky and Ten
nessee. The antitrust growers vehem-
entity deny this and claim that 1t does
control the market in the two states. AS
tof the claim that the trus growers are
compelled to accept an Nnfair price.
neither side has produced any figures as
to the cost of production and farm values
In the tobacco districts which would bear
out the statements pro or con. The trust
has suffered the loss of a number of
warehouses and their contents, the esti-
mates on the direct gross loss running
from $125,000 to $2oOOOO.
Warehouses Closed.
Fourteen of their warehouses have been
closed This loss, however, undoubtedly
falls below the aggregate damage sus-
tanned by the .hen who have refused to
Join the faf ners' associations or pool
their crops. pme OF them were too inde-
pendent to coerced, while most are
unable to holi their crops had they SO
aesired On this latter class of 'inde-
oendents" the pooling movement has had
most disastrous effect. large num-
Der of them are renting farmers and are
compelled to market each crop promptly
n order to provide sustenance until the
following crop is raised. Some OF them
<CONTINUED ON PAGE 81