The Breckenridge news. (Cloverport, Ky.) 1876-1955, 1909-04-07
President Berry Urges Reduction
of Acreage. Asks Growers
to Heed Warning
WOULD FORCE PRICES DOWN
Declares that More Tobacco Can.
vas Has Been Purchased
Than Ever Before.
To the Tobacco Growers of the
Green River District;

To the Tobacco Growers of the
Green River District;
Will you heed word of warning,
and let common sense guide you, or
are you willing to act like mad men and
destroy the work of five years of organ
ization2
Just what each of you will do indi-
vidually, all of you will do collectively.
Will you, individually plant a big crop
of tobacco, hoping that your neighbors
will plant a small CROP We all thinl;
pretty much alike, so just what you do,
you can depend upon your ne:ghbor
doing also. Does any sensible man
think we can maintain the maximum
price of 50, 50, s., in the face of an
overwhelming surplus, such we will
surely have if we only carry out the
proposed plans that have already been
made for the crop?
Let us do not deceive ourselves and
look for Providence to help us out Of a
bad fix, if we, with our eyes open, get
into one, for Providence helps those
who help themselves.
There is not any doubt that there is
an effort being made for big crop of
tobacco. If there is, just look at the
. empty houses in Greensboro, the num-
bers of wagon loads of furniture and
people moving to the country See the
hillside and fence rows covered white
canvas. See the number of people
coming to town hunting for more can
vas. Every merchant will tell you that
more canvas has been sold than ever
before. Will you, in spite of all this
preparation for a tobacco crop, and the
certain consequences of a big crop,
plant such in the face of what you
must know we'll to be the result? 1t
is not yet too late. Will you turn back
and plant moderate crop and let US
maintain the present prices, or will you
madly rush to certain destruction?
You have again honored me to lead
you, but am only human, and all the
efforts of mine and those who have been
chosen to assist me will be for naught
if you do not act nationally and cut
down the contemplated crop.
tell you frankly that no organiza-
ton can live in the face of the contem-
plated crop and the surplus. Surplus,
that great bugaboo of low prices, who
is to carry it? The buyers will, if they
can get the price low enough. Certain
ly, our plan of selling is an admirable
one, but the plan that we had in the be-
ginning of organization was an I'M
popula. one, for it made us carry our
own surplus Cor least part of us had
to carry it. } and we could not today
get people to pledge to a plan other than
for full pay on delivery. The sentiment
for 10, 600 hills less tobacco and a pro-
htable price is overwhelming in the
Green River district. The little farmer
back on the hills may not be as smart
'on every proposition as his brother
farmer on the rich level lands, but he
has tasted more keenly the effect Of
low prices and is smart enough to know
that big crop by everybody will also
mean small price to everybody.
You on your rich level farms do not
have to depend on tobacco, but can
compete with the great West, in the
growing of wheat, corn, grass, hogs
and cattle. The man on the hill farm
can get modest living out of patch
of tobacco, but if he had to compete
with the West in the growing of wheat,
corn and other crops he would soon be
driven to starvation.
The little farmer in not asking that
the big farmer quit entirely growing
tobacco, but he is begging his more
fortunate brother to limit his crop and
do his share of keeping down the crops
that the price will remain profitable.
Looking over the prices of farm crops
we see that all are good with the excep-
ton of tobacco. They promise to re-
main good because there is no extraor-
binary effort to overplant any crop but
tobacco