The Bourbon news. [volume] (Paris, Ky.) 1895-19??, 1922-04-21
OPPOSITION TO hurley MAR
KET PLAN EXPLAINED

TODacc0 Growers Cooperative ASSO-
citation are persons who expect to
make money off the grower, we shall
have no trouble in making our or
ganization 100 per cent. strong"
said President James C. Stone, of the
Burley Association, in response to
an inquiry as to propaganda being
circulated quietly by mail among to-
bacco growers of the district.
''These men have lived, just as the
rest of us who were in the ware
house business used to live" said
Mr.. Stone, "off the business brought
to us by the grower. They are
hardly to be blamed for desiring to
continue to live off the work of the
growers, but it is only fair to the
grower that he should understand
exactly what is involved in his stay
ing out of the Association.
There can be little doubt that
the formation of the Burley Associ-
alton was factor in the better pric-
es paid this year on the Independent.
markets This fact is generally rec
ognized now even by those who, re-
naming out of the association, prof
tied by it's organization
Supply and demand, indeed, do
regulate tobacco prices, Or would
regulate prices but for the system of
every farmer competing with every
other farmer. In case of the pro-
duction of a surplus Of tobacco this
year, under the old system of mar
keting, the surplus, which would be
thrown on the market, of course,
with the actual needs of the manu-
facturers, would break the price of
every pound of tobacco sold, and UNI
der the old system there is no way
of preventing this. Under the CO.
operative marketing system, on the
other hand, the manufacturers are
offered only what they need and at
the time they need it. There is no
expense of auctioneers, in fact, it is
my belief that the selling expense
will be cut in half by the new sys-
tenn, if not more. Of course, the to-
bacco grower pays this expense. 1t
is taken out of his crop, when he
sells it. If he does not rush his
crop to market, but delivers it to
the Burnley Tobacco Growers Asso-
citation to be sold for him, does not
pay these warehouse charges. He
pays nothing except the expense of
conducting the association, and that,
in my opinion, will be very much
less than the expense of conducting
warehouses under the old system, in
which the profits of the warehouse
business went into the pockets of the
warehousemen.
Il have no fear that the growers,
once they understand the facts in
this matter, will fail to take adj
vantage of this opportunity to free
themselves from the shackles of a
marketing system that has demon
strated that it can set aside the law
of supply and demand, as it did last
year. Tobacco interests of Licking
ton and Central Kentucky, at con-
siderable expense, made a careful
survey of the situation in the win
ter of 1880, few weeks before the
market opened. We proved, not only
to our own satisfaction, but the
satisfaction of government experts,
that the crop of 1920 was consider
ably higher than that of 1919, which
averaged 3S1a cents. a pound. In
the face of this fact, and in the face
of the further fact that the demand
for tobacco products passed all pre-
vious records, the crop was literally
taken from the growers at prices
but little more than third of those
of the previous year.
''If the tobacco growers will heed
the advice of those who are inter-
ested in their welfare, those whose
prosperity depends upon the prosper
ity of the tobacco growers-the
bankers, the merchants, the lawyers
the doctors, the preachers of their
communities, we haven't a doubt
they will come with us in the Bur.
ley Association. If they are hon.
estly in doubt as to what they
should do in regard to joining OF
staying out of the association. we
urge them to ask of their neighbor.
who have delivered their crops tt
the association as tn their expert
ence and as to whether they are sat
isfed with results.
ct is my firm conviction that tn.
new system of selling tobacco ha
come to stay, that the growers will
never go back to the old way o.
dumping every man for himself
and every grower lin competition
with every other one, selling thei
crops without regard of the manu-
facturer or the cost of producins
tie crop. In the words of the funn,
page in the papers: Them days ar
gone forever I am convinced.
Under the system of marketfn,
tobacco comparatively, the grower
receives every cent his crop brings
} after the expense of operating hi