Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1908-08-19
EQUITY SOCIETY NOT TO BLAME
Mr.. jennings Replies to Reporters stsry
of Janesyille Tobacco Fire

EDITOR CENSOR: In last weeks
paper your copy from the Edgerton
Reporter and their criticism of the Am
erican Society of Equity is so unjust
that feel it Is no more than just for
the CENSOR to state the plain facts. In
the first place the Society, in forming
every pool in the state, has taken pains
to impress on the grower the impor-
lance of taking out insurance on their
individual holdings as sood as they get
their warehouse receipt, and for the
warehouse man to carry insurance
enough to protect him in case of fire be-
fore settlement with the grower. In
the VirOqua pool these instructions were
| followed almost to a man. No insur-
ance company is supposed to insure for
more than IS per cent Of the value.
Now, if the Reporter or any dealer IN
the state had set that value last Janu-
airy, how much more than cents per
pound could the grower have got in in
surance? But the Reporter seems to
be mistaken in the amount of insur-
ance carried. A large part of that to-
bacco was grown in Crawford county,
and here is what the Crawford County
Independent says:
"A meeting of those tobacco growers
of Utica and Freeman whose crops
were destroyed in the GAINESVILLE fire
recently, was held at Mt. Sterling Fri
day last and two of their number will
perhaps go to Madison as delegates to
look after their interests in ajusting the
insurance. Sam IyersOn and Ole A.
Helgerson were appointed. Those who
had insurance will not be heavy losers
as the tobacco was insured at from to
Zoe per Id. The cost of sizing, casing,
freights, premium, etc. amounts to
only about &c per ~ leaving the
net proceeds from per Id. The
Edgerton Reporter IN is criticism OF
the Equity movement states that the
insurance carried was only sc per 70.
and it cost Sc to case it, etc. The re-
port predicts dissatisfaction among
growers who were unfortunate also but
we think that perhaps Crawford county
growers were hit as hard as any other,
and not word of complaint is heard.
Those who had insurance will, If loss is
properly adjusted, receive more than
twice what they could have sold for
last fall, hence they have no reason to
complain. Those who had no insurance
are to blame individually, as the Equity
management took special pains to adj
wise every farmer who placed his crop
in a pool to take out insurance.
Now just few words in regard to
this pooling of tobacco: Do the people
of the city of Viroqua know that for
every pound of tobacco pooled in your
city means that at least sc on every
pound so pooled viii be spent there
than if it was sold to some dealer from
the city where the Reporter is pub
lished? In other words the local deal
ers will get all the tobacco they want
or would pack in any event, and what
the Society of Equity packs would be
shipped out in the bale, if it was not
pooled here. In some towns there has
been an effort made to lease and leave
idle warehouses to keep the Society
from getting them, where we would
pack the tobacco and leave the money
for labor, insurance and taxes in the
home town. Edgerton fthe home of
the Reporter, by the way) owes large
measure of her prosperity to work done
or tobacco shipped in from other points.
DO you know we ship out in the bale
many times as much tobacco as is sized
in Viroqua? Win it not be better for
all to have that work done here and
leave the tobacco here until sold in the
case, paying taxes and insurance in the
county where raised?
Very truly yours,
Il. j. JENNINGS.