The Mt. Sterling advocate. (Mt. Sterling, Ky.) 1890-current, 1921-10-11

enough leaf TO keep their plants run
ming, the organized hurley growers
declared for q cut-out Of the crop
for 1908, that is in favor Of move
ment to plant no crop during zoos.
II was recognized that If such move
ment proved successful the manu-
facturers not only would buy the
pooled crops, but that the failure to
grow acrop in 1905 would result in
considerable enhancement in the
prices 1t would bring
During the two pool years Of 1906
and 1907. the counties which re-
NAMED outside the pools enjoyed .
higher price than which the pools
brought about. These included the
larger counties Of the Blue Grass
section, an large producers of bur
ey tobacco. Public sentiment. how
ever, was with the union growers
in 1908 and large because Of this
fact the cut-out proved to be al
most unanimous. In scattered sec
tons growers outside the pool at
tempted to plant, but their plant
beds were scraped and other svf-
dences Of violence II crop was put
out proved q powerful inducement
to refrain from painting, so that the
crop Of 1908 was practically elimi-
mated, as the union growers had
planned.
{ As soon as planting time was past
and it was seen that the hurley dis
trict would grow no crop, negotia-
tons were opened by the manufac-
turers which resulted in the sale OF
the pooled holdings of the farmers
at a price twice as high as the price
of 1905 on the loose leaf market.
Not only did the manufacturers pay
the price asked by the growers, rep
resented BY President Lebus and the
district board Of the Burley Soci-
ETY.. but they paid SO hogshead ad-
ditional in the final settlement with
the growers. The 1906 crop sold on
the Lexington market averaged
$40. The 1909 crop brought Sail.
The Burley Society. however.
found difficulty in holding its lines
together. In 1910 tobacco. under
the influence of large crop and no
organized effort to maintain prices.
dropped back to 1886 hundred
pounds. Efforts we're continued.
however. to maintain an organiza-
ton. with carrying results until the
breaking out of the world war start
ed prices upward again. In 1917,
the year the United States entered
the world conflict. hurley leaf aver
aged on the Lexington market S2S.6O
hundred pounds. In 1918 the av-
erage rose to 1850 and the 1919
crop brought an average of s46l7
a hundred, the average for the dis
trict being 1880 a hundred pounds.
Encouraged by the three excep-
tionally good years they had enjoy
ed the growers planted the largest
acreage in the history of the indus
try in 1920. Had the crop season
been favorable the largest crop in
the history of the district would
have been grown. Drouth when
rains were needed during the grow
ing season, rains when dry weather
would have helped the crop and to-
bacco diseases, among them wild
fire." cut down the crop heavily,
and what promised at the outset to
make a crop of 100000 pounds,
weighed out on the warehouse floors
of the hurley district at about $685.
100000 pounds. o
In spite Of this shortage, it was
evident from the opening Of the
southern markets in July and August
that Burley prices would be low, for
North Carolina and South Carolina
tobacco usually sell higher than
burey. These indications were veri-
fed at the opening Of the market,
when prices were so low that an ef-
fort was made for time to close the