The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-12-12
THE TOBACCO CROP AND PRICES

Kentucky, made up OF tobacco grow
ers who had been reduced to penury
and poverty by the tobacco trust
Before the organization of the truss
no farmers were more prosperous
thar the tobacco growers. They re
ceived god prices for their crops, but
when the trust became the only pur-
chaser it Put the price down to star
walton rates. When educe to eX-
tremities, the Kentucky tobacco
farmers met the lawlesSneSs of the
trust by like lawlessness in their re
solve to compel all farmers
to pool their crop as h only way
to secure living prices. Their stand
ing together forced the trust to
double the price it was paying for
their tobacco, and last year they got
twelve cents for it. The courts dis
solution decree has caused a further
increase in the price for yesterday
the Associated Press printed the fol-
lowing telegram:
Lexington, KY, Dec. st was an
nounced here today hat the Ameri-
can Tobacco Company had purchased
IL VIC Do1lC AoDoSS ooSAOtS -
sixteen and a half cents a pound all
the tobacco remaining in the 1909
pool, about eight million pounds.
This closes out all the pool holdings
and marks the end Of one of the most
novel industrial wars ever waged.
The Burley Tobacco Society was
organized i've years ago and has
pooled tobacco four times. In the
course of it's fight for higher prices
the night riding Outrages that terrified
many counties in Kentucky, southern
Ohio and Indiana, took place. h
price Of tobacco rose from three n
five cents a pound to as high as twen-
ty-five cents and many tobacco grow
ers have become comparatively
wealthy.
A pooling arrangement to last ten
years is now being made.
The North Carolina bright tobacco
is really more valuable per pound
than the Burley, and though the
prosecution of the trust has compelled
a substantial increase in the price
this year, the unorganized farmers
could not compel the trust to pay
them as much as the organized Ken
tuck farmers received.
North Carolina manufactures more
tobacco than any State in the Union,
and only Kentucky raises more Of
the weed. In 1909 Kentucky pro
duced more han one-third Of all the
tobacco grown in the United States.
The States acreage in that year was
469,795 as compared with 3S4,SO5 in
1899; the production was 39S,4S2,301
pounds as against 314,2SS,O5O in
1899; the value was $~39,S6S,753 as
compared with a value of s1S,541,-
982 in 1899. The increase in acre
age in the ten years was 22.1 per
cent; the increase in production 26.8
per cent; the increase in value 115
per cent.
North Carolina is next to Kentucky
in tobacco growing, while Virginia
holds third place. Tennessee was
fourth in 1899, but had given place to
Ohio in 1909. Nearly every State in
the Union grows some tobacco, but
in many of them the amount is
negligib1e-. In a number Of the far
Western States the area devoted to
the plant is less thar an acre. Wyom-
ing and Nevada report no crop at
all. Missouri, which has been much
discussed as a future great tobacco
State, had only 5,433 acres in 1909,
as against 1851 acres in 1S99. Mis-
sourians, however, are growing bet
ter crops as the production in 1909
was 5,372,73S pounds, compared with
3,O41,996 in 1899. There was also
an increase of 2OS.9 per cent. in the
value Of the Missouri crop in the
ten year period. Indiana's acreage in
1909 vas 1864, compared with s.
219 in 1893. The increase in the valu
of the crop was 3S1.4 per cent. and
the increase in production was 210.S
per cent, showing that dia is
making no slow progress in tobacco
growing, although tenth in the list