The Mt. Sterling advocate. (Mt. Sterling, Ky.) 1890-current, 1920-11-09


has been practically the whole show
in the tobacco business. There are
at least five interests worthy of con-
sideratiom We omit the retailers,
because prices are usually fixed by
the manufacturer, so that the re-
taller is part Of his machinery.
These interests, the growers, the
warehousemen, the manufacturers,
the federal government, the con-
sumner.
"The present crop Of tobacco has
cost the growers not less than one
hundred million dollars. The ware
housemen will add their charges of
something like three or four million.
The. government will receive one
hundred and twenty-five to one hun
bred and fifty millions in revenue
from it, and the manufacturer will
add the cost of reducing to mer-
charitable packages, plus a percent
age of profit sufficient to pay 20 to
so per cent dividends to its numer-
Gus stockholders. The consumer will
pay approximately half a billion an
nually for his Burley. With the
warehousemen the grower is at
peace.
"The consumer and the grower
have no quarrel. The government is
no doubt entitled to revenue from
the tobacco crop. / do not believe
that the tobacco grower should de-
pend entirely upon the federal gov
eminent for the protection Of his
industry. He should expend some
energy, some money and some
thought in self protection. However.
it seems strange that the govern
ment which received millions in rev.
enue annually from it should per-
NIT the manufacturer, of Burley to-
bacco to drift into the hands Of a
few corporations. Some of the rev.
enue it receives, expended in the
growers interest, would probably
return to the federal authorities the
investment many times over.
eve shall not deal with this sit
uation now. The main purpose of
this address is to point out to the
business man of Central Kentucky
that we, as a people, dependent upon
Burley tobacco as our main money
crop, must handle this business in a
business-like way.
at is not our purpose to inaug-
urate fight against the manufac-
turers. 1t took years for the com
mercial interests of Mt. Sterling to
grasp the fundamental fact that
their interest and success was de-
pendent primarily upon the prosper
ity of the Montgomery county farm
ers. In the same way the time will
come, in our opinion, when the
manufacturers Of Burley tobacco
will realize that their business is
dependent more or less upon har-
monious cooperation with the Bur-
ley growers. The men who have their
money invested in tobacco factories
are intelligent, sane business men.
They are mostly American citizens
and work many people in their fac
tories. For our own good we must
study their ways and their paTt in
this industry.
"Under present conditions the
American Tobacco Company, Lig-
gett & Myers Tobacco Company, the
Lorillard Company, the r. J. Rey-
nolds Tobacco Company and the I'm
perial Tobacco Company probably
handle as much as so per cent of the
Burley crop. They are not supposed
to be a trust, and are in one sense
probably not. Their methods of OPP
GRAFTON, however, have left in the
minds of the average tobacco grower
that they are to all intents and pur-
poses tobacco monopoly. This may
or may not be true. 1t is up to us to
ascertain the facts in the case and
know whereof we speak if we brand
them as such. The Burnley grower has
not always been treated fairly by
the manufacturer. AS one Of the
links in this tobacco industry chain
we are entitled to know something
Of the other links. We shall from
time to time, after a careful study.
endeavor to give to the growers of
Burley some information as to the
manufacturers end of the industry.
These companies have been indulg-
ing in some light financing recently.
Suffice it now to give an illus
tration of what We believe to be the
fundamental basis for this sudden