Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-07-15
NEWS OF WEDNESDAY, JULY 9, 1918
DECLARES SUGAR INTERESTS
TRIED TO USE THE FARMERS

WASHINGTON. July 9-That the
sugar interests attempted to induce
the Southern farmers unions to pun
their chestnutS out of the fire in the
matter of securing a duty on sugar,
was the charge to-day of L A. Smith,
of Tennille, Ga, president of the
Georgia Farmers Union. before the
Overman lobby investigating COM
mittee.
Smith described a meeting called in
New Orleans by ]. d. Bowen, of Tex
as, in which sugar men monopolized
the meeting, named the committees
and attempted to give an impression
that the farmers unions of the South
were back of the demand for high du-
ties on sugar and cotton manufac-
lures. The meeting was called oS-
tensibly to aid "the greater consump-
ton of cotton"
Smith said Bowen paid Smiths ex-
penses. The witness declared he
wrote letters to Senator Bacon and
Senator Hoke Smith, charging them
to stay out of the Democratic eau
Gus on the cotton tariff.
1T appeared there were more men
there outside the farmers union than
members" said Smith, speaking Of
the New Orleans meeting. He as
serted he was a low tariff advocate
and that when he heard d. V. Call
cock and other sugar men advocate
high tariff rates he decided he was
with the wrong crowd. Smith de-
clared that cotton manufacturers
wanted the farmers unions to fight
their battles and he resented this.
Senator Overman read a newspa-
per statement that Smith approved
of what was done at the New Orleans
F11aatipor Smith dapiaI this
when l got home / found out that
1 had been mixed up in bad crowd"
said Smith. Bowen deceived me and
was there in the interests of sugar
men instead of cotton growers"
H S. Mobley, of Prairie Grove, Ark,
president of the Arkansas Farmers
Union, told the committee he was in
vited by J. D. Bowen to attend this
same meeting at Bowen's expense.
Mobley stated facts similar to those
related by l. A. Smith.
The New Orleans meeting has
been generally condemned by Farm
ers' Unions as a fake meeting?" asked
Senator Overman.
YES" replied Mobley.
William Whitman, Of BrOokland,
Mass, director in dozen textile fac
tories at Lawrence and New Bed
ford, Mass, Calhoun. S. c., and Paw
tucket, X l., which produce SILK, cot
ton and wooden yarns and cloths and
which have a combined capacity of
$20,000,000, was next called in COM
pany with Thomas A Marvin and
Winthrop l.. Marvin, of Boston, to
testify regarding the wool lobby.
Whitman said his factories had
been unable TO run full time largely
because of market conditions and not
because Of labor difficulties. Witness
was one Of the most aggressive fac
tory owners during the famous Law
renee strike, which began in one of
his mills. He-said the market had
been bad since 1909, but is worse to-
day than ever before. Whitman said,
however, yearly increases in the ca
pacity of the plants had been made.
Thirty aDay for Calls.
A. D. Baldwin, Cleveland, Ohio, the
first witness to-day, is an attorney
with sugar interests in Hawaii and
represents Alexander & Baldwin. OF
New York and Honolulu His salary
is $50 a day while in Washington.
Il don't think 1 earn it," said Bald
win, who declared his activities had
been limited to calling on about TWEEN
ty Senators.
He said all of the cane sugar in
terests made common cause of their
demands for duty on sugar.