The Washington times., 1922-04-30
FIGHT PEANUT
WAR; IN SUFFOLK
ASPR|CESDROP
Nansemond County Cleaners
Are Lined Up in Battle
Against Exchange.

NORFOLK, Va, April 29.-Bitter
warfare is being waged between
the peanut cleaners Of Nansemond
county, the center of Virginia's
peanut belt, and the Suffolk Peanut
Exchange. Both sides ;-e hurling
numerous charges, including breach
of faith, and both promise to fight
"to the DEATH" Several million
aires are active in the struggle,
which fast is assuming titanic pro-
portions and may involve the Fed
eral Government.
One of the features Of the fight
which has most enraged the clean
ers is the fact that the exchange
has received a 81 900, 900 loan from
the War Finance Corporation. This
loan, which was negotiated last fall,
has been the subject Of denunciation
by members of the cleaners asso-
citation, who declare the exchange
is taking unfair advantage by COM
peting with them on Government
funds.
King Sends Protest.
John King, one of the leading mem
bers of the cleaners association,
wrote the War Finance Corporation
recently, protesting against the ex-
changes use of the loan. He re-
ceived a reply which was not salts.
factory, and wrote a second letter,
to which he has received no reply.
Mr.. King has declined to make this
correspondence public.
Ten thousand peanut growers. sew
eral thousand employers of the pea
nut cleaning plants, hundreds of
country merchants and several banks
are directly interested in the out
come of the battle between the ex-
change and the leaners. HeadQuar-
ters for the opposing factions are in
Suffolk. Two periodicals devoted ex-
clusively to the peanut industry are
published in Suffolk. The Suffolk
banks are vitality interested. There
fore, Suffolk is talking Of nothing
else but the controversy which has
torn at the very roots of the peanut
industry in Virginia and North Caro-
lima.
So many charges and counter
charges have been made by the clean
ers and the exchange, both in print
and in utterances on the streets, that
1t is practically impossible for a
visitor to obtain an unbiased view OF
the situation. Everybody in Suffolk
is aligned with one or the other side.
There Is no middle ground
Monopoly Charge Denied.
The question seems to have boiled
itself down to whether a co-opera.
tive marketing organization. such as
the exchange Is, can co-exist with
private interests. Thomas II. Bird
song, general manager, thinks 1t can.
Cleaning plants can be con.
structed at so little cost" he said
last week, that IL would be impos-
sible to monopolize the peanut clean
Ing and mar rketing industry. unless
every peanut grower were in one
combination. Even IL all cleaning
plants should be controlled by one
organization, there is nothing TO pre-.
vent an outsider from building an.
other and dealing with the farmers.
Mr.. Birdsong admitted that the
peanut situation was not all that
could be expected, but expressed
confidence that the exchange could
weather the storm.
On the other hand, the cleaners
are confident that they will win out.
They have reconciled themselves to
losses this Year, and openly an
nounce that they will undersell the
exchange in the markets. regardless
of what losses they may suffer.
I'VE would have no objection TO
the Peanut Growers Exchange oper.
ating as a cooperative marketing
organization, for the purpose Of pool.
ing the farmers products" one
cleaner said. ''In many ways II
would be moro convenient for all
concerned IL the cleaners dealt with
the exchange, to which all the farm
ers would send their peanuts. Con.
siderable superfluous effort and eX-