The Donaldsonville chief., 1914-01-17
LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE,.
The Chief is not responsible for the
views expressed by correspondents.
The Miles Planting Company.
Burnside, La, Jan. IS, 1914.

The Miles Planting Company.
Burnside, La, Jan. IS, 1914.
Editor Chief:j
The Donaldsonville Democrat, II
one Of it's recent issues, printed ar
article which was reproduced in the
| Times-Democrat of the 7th inst.
captioned Have Corporations Souls?'
wherein the writer undertook
gratuitously and without warrant tt
speak in behalf of the employees o1
the Miles Planting Company, and II
their name and behalf attempted tc
censure and condemn this com
pany for the course it has seen
proper to pursue in the management
Of its own private affairs.
AS one Of the numerous employees
Of the Miles Planting and Manufac
turing Company for the past forty
two years, / feel in justice to the
company and its employees" that
something should be said in reply te
the article in question
| It is a well-knoWn fact that tbs
Miles Company, and also the indlVl
dual members thereof, have at al
times and under most adverse cir.
cumstances manifested the creates!
solicitude for the welfare and we'll
being and happiness of all its EN-
ployees, from the highest to the
lowest. This is so well known that
it is not a subject for discussion. 1t
is one of the planting interests in
this state that never, whatever the
conditions might have been, reduced
or curtailed the salaries of it's en-
ployees, nor the privileges enjoyed
by them.
Speaking from personal knowledge,
this company has made no money
since the years 1904 to 1908, in
elusive. It has lost heavily, caused
by various agencies, and not entirely
by the reduction of the tariff on SUI
gar.
In 1909 the result of the storm Of
that year brought and entailed con-
siderable losses. The freeze Of 1911
was so c'lamitous the losses We're
computed in the hundreds of thou
sands of dollars; and again, the flood
of 1912 left behind another fearful
hole in the resources of the company.
On account of the uncertainty of
the future of sugar, coupled with the
fact that the sugar trust brought On
a crisis in Louisiana two years be-
fore sugar is to go On the free list,
by fixing the price of sugar on a free
list basis, entailing heavy losses for
Fhn 1919 fhn rAa nf fhh
cessation Of the operation of the
company.
The filing of the numerous suits
by the sugar planters against the su-
gar trust, asking for the differences
between the real value of the product
sold to the trust and the sum they
were forced to accept, and those
above enumerated, are the main
causes of the deplorable financial
of this most worthy concern.
With regard to the reputed wealth
of the individual stockholders of the
this is mere assumption
of the writer of the article, and is
not worthy of attention.
In conclusion, I would state that
Of the many employees OF this COM
pany there is not a single one, man,
woman, or child, who does not feel
keenly the losses sustained by the
Miles Planting and Manufacturing
Company, and who does not know
100 well what it has done in the past
sor them, and that if it were pos
sibIe for it to continue its operations,
t would gladly do so for its own
profit and for the good, happiness
md welfare Of its most faithful and
employees.
The company always did all in it's
power to maintain the good will of
svery one Of them, and every one
# them knows that if it We're within
he power of the company, it would
le glad to retain them in it's employ. |
HENRY C. BRAUD.
-
Every philosophical citizen Of
and vicinity should at |
end the meeting Of the JGnt organ
zation of the Atchafalays ysSd e.
ourche Levee Boards to bdH
1is city at II o'clock next
orenoon, when some actid E3IIB
oubtless be taken with ri
the construction of locks in1
afourche. Be on hand and
iat you are booster for tt