The Carlisle independent., 1920-11-11
TOLL AGREEMENT IS NEEDED TO AVERT RUIN, GROWERS
 SAY
Small Merchants of the Rice Belt Also Will Be Affected, District
 Attorney Wooten Told

Dire predictions of the utter ruin of the rice growers, in turn spelling ruin and disaster for the country banks and small merchants of the rice belt, unless the Southern Rice Growers Association was allowed to put into effect this present toll agree ment with the mills, were uttered Saturday morning at the conference called by United States District At torney June P. Wooten for represen- tatives of the association and rice mills The toll agreement between the mills and the association calls for the rice to be milled on foliage with the sale of the product placed in the hands of the millers.
 That some people had complained to- the office of the district attorney that such an agreement would give the association complete control of the Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas rice crop, was explained on the open ing of the conference by the district attorney, who declared that he had called in the representatives to hear arguments as to whether this agree ment was in violation of the Lever control act. If such an agreement does fall within the control act it will have to be done away with the dis trict attorney said.
 Because of the agreement with the Southern Rice Growers Association it is complained that the outside grower is unable to have his rice milled unless he signs contract al- lowed the mills to dispose of his rice at their discretion. E
 While admitting that it was not an ideal agreement E. A. Eignus con- tends that such an arrangement stood between the grower and ruin as the overproduction and under consump- tion of rice this year made it impossi- ble to stabilize the price in any other way As it was he said the directors of the Southern Rice Growers Ass ocia- tion had decided to sell rice on basis of from 75 to 80 per cent of the cost of production.
 In view of the threatened condition to country banks in the rice belt, rep resentatives of the state banking de- partment, were on hand for the con- ference, and though taking no part manifested considerable interest in the arguments advanced by them. No definite action was taken Saturday,
 it being decided to hold consulta- gal aspects of the question. In one ruling Saturday District Attorney Wooten held that mills were public utilities under the Lever act.
 In relating history of the Southern Rice Growers Association, MT. Eignus stated that it was the farmers orga- nization, organized in 1910 with cap ital stock of $10,000 and 4,500 stock holders, and that it was not the pur- pose of the association to make profits but to help the growers. There is no present market for rice, he said, as the mills would not buy on declining market and that the per capita con- sumption of last year, while the reduc- tion was greatly increased. The rice crop of the United States is only one half of one per cent of the worlds sup ply, he stated.
 The present time is a crisis with rice growers, Mr. Eignus said, and de- clared that 95 per cent of the growers were going broke, dragging down with them the country banks and merchants of the district, unless the price was stabilized. He gave an interesting and extensive account of the worldsrice sit uation with explanations of the Cuban embargo on import and export of rice as the result of the disaster caused there by the arbitrary fixing of prices by the controller of rice for India, the worlds greatest producer of rice.
 President Wrinkler of the Missis- sippi Rice Growers Association was asked to explain the situation in the p9IgIo9p puB '1ISq so!I IsA!1 !dd!ss!ss!W the toll agreement with the mills the only salvation of the rice growers. The conference, with arguments from at torneys and officials of the association, interspersed with questions from Dis trict Attorney Wooten and Assistant District Attorney Wilson, continued from 10 o'clock through 12:30 before adjourning.
 MT. Eignus arrived Friday night and held conference with several Arkan- sas rice growers and representatives of mills at Stuttgart, Wheatley, Lon oke, and Carlisle, all of whom had been summoned to Little Rock by the district attorney. MT. Eignus declined to comment on the investi- gation or it's probable outcome, but said the rice growers were not at tempting to evade any law in their efforts to hold the market up to a point that would prevent ruin to the rice growers.
 The agreement entered into at New Orleans provided that all the un- sold portion of the rice crop should be turned over to the Southern Rice Growers Association and by it dis tributed among the millers of the entire rice belt, the rice to be milled on foliage basis. At the time of the agreement, it was said that arrangements had been made with banks for loans to farmers up to S3 barrel, pending the sale of the clean rec. The price of the clean rice under the agreement, would be fixed by a central committee at New Or leans. The plan it was stated at the time, was intended to give the