Richmond daily register. (Richmond, Madison County, Ky.) 1917-1978, 1921-09-12
Organization Only Way To
Save Tobacco Grower:


One hundred and fifty million
more dollars was paid for the 1919
crop of Kentucky hurley tobacco
than was paid for 1913 crop. One
hundred and seven million dollars
less was paid for the 1920 than for
the 1919 output, difference of
two hundred and ffty-seven mil
lion dollars to forty or fifty
thousand landlords and tenants in
two years.
During no two consecutive
years since 1910 has there been
less than fifty million dollars diff
ference in the amounts paid for
the two crops. Part of this fluc-
tuation may be attributed to
quantity produced and part to
consumer demand. but the law of
supply and demand can hardly be
credited with all the difference.
At any rate the producers are
firmly convincedAthat some force
| other than supply and demand is
back Of it an These fluctuations
cause confusion and loss and suf-
fering; and can be avoided. Just
now the possibility of a further
drop of thirty to fifty per cent
from the price paid for the 1920
crop is causing unusual effort on
| the part of grower, banker and
merchant alike to avert the i'm
pending calamity.
Whether the unprecedented
amount of money paid the grow
er for his 1910 crop was by way
of a gift" to avoid excess profit
| tax, was meant as an encourage
| ment, or was the real value of
that particular crop is of little
| Importance now. Certain it is
that it could have been purchased
| for much less money.
| The result of that gift" is now
| apparent to all. Some of it was
| saved but most of it was squan-
dered in riotous living. 1t caused
| fictitious land values, unwarrant-
ed building of new barns and haz-
ardous increase Of acreage that
| mounted into millions of dollars ;
all due to the golden bubble of
the winter l9l0-192O.
Because of increased expense
at all points the cost of the 1920
| crop was far in excess of any
heretofore grown, making the SO
| per cent cut doubly severe. AS has
happened time and again in the
last fifteen years the acreage OF
the succeeding year, 1921, was cut
almost in half. If some uneX-
pected gift" or miracle should
cause the 1921 crop to bring I'M
expected profit, the year 1922 will
see double acreage again: and SO
on, adinfinitum, until the grower
himself puts stop to it.
That stability can be secured
and that stability of the big cash
crop of Kentucky means tremen-
dous benefit to the entire state of
kenucky is a fact now recognized
by all thinking men. Nothing
adds more to. ones credit and
peace of mind than the certainty
of the outcome of an investment.
This of itself will be worth more
than. the advance in selling prices.
+ The fact that cooperative mar
keting associations are now and
have been meeting with success
in oranges, prunes, lemons, rails
ms, apples and grain in western
states and, that fact that bankers
merchants, and editors see ant
endorse the wisdom of the plan
submitted by the Burley Tobacco
Growers Marketing Associations
together with the signatures an
endorsements of leading farmer
in every one of the hurley grow
ing counties should cause the
growers of Madison to fall in line
1t is the only thing that can b
done to save the industry from
wreck.
Under the old order, if they"
should give" a good price for the
1921 crop, in order to hold some
| of the growers out of the associa-
ton, these growers will be COM
PEELED to give it back the next
year. There is nothing to lose
and all to calmly at once signing
the contract of the Burley Tobac-
co Growers Marketing Associa-
ton.
These contracts can be secured
at the banks, at the county clerks