The Brunswick news. [volume] (Brunswick, Ga.) 1906-2016, 1913-08-16
WRITES OPEN NOTE
ON NAVAL STORES
GEORGIA OPERATOR SAYS SOME
POINTED THINGS ABOUT
RECENT MEETINGS.

A Clinch county operator writinj
an open letter on the situation in tn
naval stores trade says some YER
pointed things and incidentally ask
some very pertinent questions. Her,
is the letter:
To the Commission Men of the Nava
Stores Business:
In addressing this short letter t.
you II is with the best of feeling anG
good wishes to all | notice that the
operators Of the turpentine belt con
tinue to hold meetings, claiming for
the benefit of the operators.
They have been holding these
meetings for the past twenty-five
years to my knowledge. I must say
they are a farce: they never have
done any good and never will. I
also notice that some of the commits
sion men attend these meetings and
encourage them.
| Now, | will ask the question:
why don't the commission men
hold meetings of this kind?" They
are the parties who have the money,
and control the larger half of the
operators.
II | must say that you are to blame
for the condition of our business to-
day. II looks TO me that each COM
mission firm tries to see which can
handle the largest number of the op-
orators regardless of whether the OPP
orator has the ability to do business
or notA
\ You know 1t Is fact, two or three
years ago anyone, regardless of his
past experience or business ability.
with 81 900 in cash or with a lease
on two or three lots of back boxed
timber could go to Savannah. Bruins
wick or Jacksonville, and get all the
money and help necessary TO open
up turpentine business on large
SCALE, and try to see how much
spirits he could produce, irrespective
OF the cost of production. Conse-
qsently, the market is flooded with
spirits and rosin.
Twenty or twenty-five years ago
there were hree stills in Clinch
county Now, there are thirty.three
In operation. Who Is to bIameq
fou. of course. You have taken In
SO many new operators, and have adj
Vanced so much to new men in the
business. that you are loaded to
Where you cannot take care of your
old customers that have been stick.
ing TO you for many years.
You have advanced money on In.
mated prices, and taken securities
with inflated values until you are n
sbout as bad fix as we are. Seventy
per cent. of the turpentine places
today that under mortgage will new.
err lift the mortgage. Consequently
the operator can make no money at
the present prices, and you will lose
enough on the places that go under
TO eat up what you make out of the
man that pays you. / am not an ad.
vocate of depressing the little fellow
and shutting him out. but | do think
you commission men should use
more diligence and inquire into n
mans business ability before you
set him up in business and give him
the opportunity to flood the market
and run the price down. What we
need in the naval stores business is
operators that know how to make
cheap spirits and rosin and not the
man that can make so much in guam
tity, regardless of the cost OF pro.
duction
do not advocate the boycott plan,
but ! do think that the factor, who
advances money the coming fall and
winter to an operator to buy cups or
cut boxes ought to be boyeotted. and
put out of business. These opera
tors meetings are all a farce, have
attended a few. but | hope to be for
given for that. and | will attend no
more. In the meetings they will
make great obligations to reduce the
output. and before they get home
they are trying to recruit more hands
and preparing to cut more boxes or
put up more cups than ever.
II In conclusion, will say that the
situation is in your hands and unless
you keep an eye on the situation, and
stop such reckless advancing. the
prices will never be better and our
timber will be butchered up at prices
III ubara mona rap mako ypDA n