Richmond daily register. (Richmond, Madison County, Ky.) 1917-1978, 1920-12-04
JEFF MORGAN TALKS
ON WEED PROSPECTS
Former Richmond Man, An Au'
thcrity, Says Foreign Trade
is Hopeless

Kentucky farmers are facing a
financial crisis because the smOk-
ers of Europe are getting into the
habit of filling their pipes and
rolling their cigarettes with to-
bacco grown in Macedonia and on
the Island of Java.
The sweet aromas of tobacco
grown in Kentucky are beginning
to be missed where the devotees
of the smoke god foregather on
the boulevards of Paris. Spanish
dons noW must do without the
consolation OF pure Kentucky
hurley ,as their favOrite tOreador
imperils his life.
This is because the European
governments are unable to bOr-
row money for the purchase Of
tobacco III this country, according
to Godfrey Morgan, secretary Of
the Kentucky Farm Bureau Fed
Grafton. America, said Mr.. Nor
gan, who formerly lived in Rich
mond, is teaching Europe to
smoke inferior tobaccos, because
American bankers haven't extend
ed credit for the purchase Of to-
bacco. Mr. Morgan discussed the
tobacco situation at length in Sat
urday's Courier Journal.
The governments of Spain, It
ally, France, Austria and .Germa-
my conduct large tobacco bust
ncsses of their own, he explained.
They have been accustomed to
buying large quantities of Ken
lucky tobacco Early this year
these governments were obliged
to order their brokers in Ken
lucky not to buy tobacco because
they couldn't borrow money over
here. AS a consequence the price
Of low grade tobaccos that the
Europeans want dropped from
about 80 to as low as 10 cents a
pound.
1--WE are facing the same sit
uation again this winter" Mr..
Morgan declared Tobacco is
the farmers money crop in Ken
lucky Nearly all the tobacco
grown in Western Kentucky hith-
efto has been bought up by the
Europeans, as well as a large
amount of the crop in other parts
of the state. Many Kentucky
farmers will be ruined if the Eu-
ropean buyers are recalled again
this year.
Also, there is the danger that
the Frenchmen, Italians and Span
iards will get the habit Of smoking
the Macedonian and Javan tObac-
COS, though they prefer Kentucky.
Then our farmers here will lose
one of their most valuable crops.
Their purchasing power will be
bankrupt And ii there is anyone
who does not understand the pur-
chasing power of the farmer in
! Kentucky, he only needs tp be
shown that bank deposits in
Louisville during state fair week
increased $0,O00,O0O."
The farmers of the state, Mr..
Morgan said, are appealing to
Louisville bankers to make loans
to the foreign tobacco buying
governments. The point out that
export trade shows that these
governments are obtaining credit
/ for purchase of ther commodities.
The bankers of the south recent
! ly have joined together to finance
the purchase by European buyers
of low grade cotton, he said.
Bankers of Louisville said Fri
day night that they could see no
way for the Louisville banks to
lend money to foreign govern
ments on account of the demoral-
lied rate of exchange. They have
a great deal to take care of, also,
in the matter of lending money
Ito domestic tobacco buyers, they
declared. One of them said
saw hope for the Kentucky tobac-
co growers in the proposed revi-
val-by the government of the War
Finance Corporation with a capi-
talizatio of $5OO,OO0OOO.
The bankers advise the farmers
to place their high grade tobacco
on the market, first holding the
low grades for later sale. If the
market is flooded, they point out,
the farmers cannot expect a fair
return for their tobacco.
1 NnTVCE