Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1914-08-29
TRUE FACTS
ABOUT POOL
AgriCulturiSt Morgan Gives Re-
port of The Saving To
Farmers.
STATEMENTS CORRECTED.
Pool a Success and Real Saving
Is 81 50 a Ton To
Members.
STATEMENTS CORRECTED.

Hopkinsville, KY, Aug. 26, 1914
Editor Kentuckian:
Dear Sir;-I have read, with q
great deal Of surprise, your report
Of the Fertilizer Pool which was pub
lished in your paper on August 18th.
If your article had been printed in
its proper place in your paper, name
ly in the column headed Jokes, " il
would have been appreciated and
passed by, but as it appeared on
your front page | have been asked,
by several members Of the Fertilizer
Pool, TO reply TO it. To me it is re-
Imarkable how you managed to get
so many mis-statements and errors
in so short an article.
You state that the purpose of the
Pool was TO protect the farmers from
a combination of fertilizer manufac-
turers." This is about the only cor
rect statement in the article.
You state that the lowest bid was
submitted not by a wholesale house
but the Yost Co., a local house."
This is a distinct mis-statement.
The following bids were made: The
National Fertilizer Co., $3.50 per
ton. The Tennessee Chemical Co.,
l$15.70. The Virginia-Carolina Chem
ical Co., $3.50. The F. A. Yost Co,
$3.50. The Forbes Manufacturing
| Co., SIC. The Standard Guano Co.,
I$S.75 FOB. Baltimore. The Ivey
Co., $500, Fob, Savannah, in bulk.
! Excessive freight rates prevented US
from accepting the last two bids, but
they show what the farmers should
be paying for Acid Phosphate.
You talk about asaving Of 3Ocents
a ton. The truth is that Acid Phos-
phate sold last Fall for $1,000 per
ton. 1t is legitimately $50 per ton
higher this Fall, so that without the
Pool it is reasonable to expect it to
have sold this Fall for Sl75 per ton.
but thanks to the Pool the farmers
can get it for $3.50 or a saving of
$3.50 per ton.
You state that 'the saving does
not appear to compensate for the
risk of destroying the local agen-
cies."
The fact that the Pool was hand
led through the F. A. Yost Co., a To-
cal agent, is sufficient answer to that
statement.
You state "The Kentuckian doubts
the wisdom Of forming pools, the eff
feet Of which is to array the country
people against the business men of
the city" The country people are.
not arrayed against the business men
of the city, and we do not believe
any city people are arrayed against
the country people. The facts in
the case are as follows: Before start
ing the Pool a conference was called
between representatives of the Az
ricultural Bureau at Washington and
representatives of the three hard
ware houses in Hopkinsville. The
representatives of the hardware
houses approved The Pool in all Of
its details and the writer was in
structed to proceed with it.
You tell, with a great deal of
pride, about the way in which the
business men co-operated, when they
discovered that they were being
charged too high rate on coal and
after the costly fight succeeded
in getting the rate reduced. You
do right to be proud of this achieve
ment and the country people are
deeply grateful to the business men
for what they did. Then why, in
the name Of common sense, should
we not be equally proud when the
farmers cooperate with the business
men in the fight to get the price of
fertilizer reduced.
You state 1T is always best for
the city and county TO work in har-
mony and pull together.
Ukuk -