The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1919-04-18
Friday, April 18th, 1919
IF FARMERS WOULD UNITE.

IF FARMERS WOULD UNITE.
Last year the farmers of South
ern Maryland enjoyed unpreced-
ented prices for their staple crop
tobacco. In fact the average
price for the crop, as compared
with that of the preceding year,
was too high to warrant the hope
for its continuance. Tobacco,
which two years before brought
fifteen cents per pound, sold last
season for fifty cents, and as
high as fifty-four cents. The
market was unbalanced and alb
normal, due, in great measure,
to the war, and in some degree
to competition among buyers, be-
cause Of the fact that a new firm
came on the market. established
warehouses in Southern Mary
land, and made it possible that
tobacco could be handled locally
and shipped to markets other
than that of Baltimore city which
has controlled the sale of the
Southern Maryland product for
many years.
The war is over now, however:
economic conditions are seeking
a lower level; the readjustment
is at hand, and prices for all pro-
Outs must, in the natural course
of events, undergo reductions.
1t would not be logical, therefore
to reason along the theory that
tobacco should be made an excep-
ton in this readjustment. The
price for the product will under
go changes, and it is but reason
able to expect that. these changes
will be in the direction of a lower
schedule of prices. What the
farmer has most to fear is, that
the reaction will be greater in
the case of tobacco, than in other
avenues of production; and this
fear springs from the fact that
producers or manufacturers in
nearly every other line of bust
ness are organized for their nlu-
tual protection, while the tobacco
grower occupies the unenviable
attitude of being at the mercy of
a few buyers, who fix the price
on the product, regardless of con-
ditions, or the cost of production.
It is not difficult to discern.
wherein the trouble lies, if the
farmer is willing to keep on pro-
ducing tobacco, and ship it to
Baltimore with the simple in
struction to his commission house
to sell the product for the best
price obtainable. He should go
a step further and place his own
price upon his product, which
price should be based upon the
present cost of production, plus
a reasonable living profit. If he
can't get such price for tobacco
then he had better cease grow
ing itzuntil such time as the buy
er and consumer are willing to
give his price-to do otherwise
means that he will go back to old
conditions when farmers often
grew tobacco at from three to
five cents below the actual cost
of production and kept up the
practice until nearly every farm
in Southern Maryland was mort
gagged and nearly every farmer
was overwhelmingly in debt.
The past few years of just
prices have placed our farmers
upon a more independent plane,
In most cases they have paid off
their Indebtedness, and they are
in a position to move..forward on
an independent basis. What
they need now to do is to main
tain that advantage-they cannot
afford to do otherwise. With
higher labor fertilizer and mater
ial conditions confronting them,
they cannot grow tobacco under
a 20 cent minimum price, and
they can only maintain thai mini
mum against organized buyers,
through being organized them
selves. Whether they will orga-
nize is a grave question. If
history repeats itself, they will
not do so; they never have and
they have paid the full penalty
for their indiscretion. But if
they would only reckon with con-
ditions; if they would form an
association, covering the five to
bacco-growing counties of South
ern Maryland. big enough to hold
the product in the hands Of the
farmer, and advance him, if
needs be, until reasonable living
prices were maintained, they
would be we'll repaid for their
decision in matter which grave
ly confronts them-they would
have some reasonable assurance
of knowing when they planted,
what they would reap. Times