The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1922-06-15

-NNbOh VI 30 OlONoEo at A1eeIIHS NEdII-
m0us-Canvasser Appointed TO Cover
Nearby Towns-About 40 Acres Al
ready Signed Up.
In union there is strength = was
the great principle upon which Benja-
min G. Southwick of Hartford, Conn,
based his appeal to the tobacco growers
Of this section to unite in the forma-
tion of a Connecticut Valley Tobacco
association last night in a meeting of
the growers held in the chamber of com
Inerce rooms. Mr.. Southwick put his
case strongly, and at the close of the
meeting the 4S growers present unani-
mously voted in favor of such an asso-
ciation
In opening his address Mr.. Southwick.
who IS agent for the Hartford Farm Br-
fcau, outlined the origin and progress
OF the tobacco association movement
Last December the Hartford farmers
elected a committee of growers to in
VesLlgate the ways in which the tobacco
growers might work towards a larger
return on their crops. When the report
OF the committee came in the biggest
movement advocated was cooperative
selling. With the plan of developing
this selling idea 1000 farmers of that
S00IJIK
the committee reported and started the
tobacco association drive. AS the
speaker put it, 'tthis is an honest-to-
God farmers movement from start to
fnish'
In this Hartford meeting the examples
OF the many cooperative marketing as
sOcIatlons IN California and the southern
state We're held up for inspection, and
out OF the study of these successful as
soclatIons the plan and contract for the
Connecticut Valley Tobacco association
were evolved. The speaker explained
the need OF an association in this way:
hen the tobacco crop has been har-
vested, every grower is in a tremendous
hurry TO realize some cold cash on his
crop. The hurry of the different grow
eTs to dispose of their crops leads to
competition and. the fall of the price
which the buying tobacco companys
have to pay. Mr.. Southwick said: We
should organize by the commodity and
then the dealers must come to us and
we can set the price. =
Then the speaker took up the associa-
ton as remedy for the evil of individ-
ual competition in selling. If on or be-
tore the first day of August 1922. rs
per cent Of the stalk-cut acreage of the
Connecticut valley is not signed on the
ASSOCIATION contract, all the contracts
signed are null and void, and the assoca-
ton will not be formed
The association IS non-profit and
uon-StOck association run by the farmer
growers themselves. The tobacco acre
age viii be divided into q equal dis
trIcts with a director to be elected from
each district to be a member of the gov
crning board, which will include q di-
Tectors elected In this manner and three
more. two of whom will be nominated
by the president of the Connecticut Az
rlcultural college and the other by the
president of the Massachusetts Agri-
cultural college This board of directors
will run the association.
In the association contract the farmer
agress to deliver all the tobacco he
raises in the next FIVE years to the as
sociatlon, IN return for which the to-
pacco viii he graded, made into po0Is
and sold by the association. The grower
viii receive the average price per pound
Tor the. tobacco which he has in each
Dool. Ihe association stores the to-
bacco, grades it and sells it for the
grower. The association also viii give
him certificate for the tobacco he has
stored in the warehouses in order that
he may borrow money, using the tobacco
as collateral, before the association sells
the product
After explaining the contract, the
speaker explained the teeth in the con-
tract which would make it unhealthy
for the farmer who broke it. First. the
contract provides for the issue of an
ELiJAit1L1o1A 70 IeSlidHl Ine grower from
selling his crop, and second. the con-
tract provides for a fine of six cents a
Tound on all tobacco sold in violation of
the terms of the contract.
In closing. the speaker asked for the
sentiment of tho meeting and spoke of
tho progress of the movement The
farmers present were unanimous in
their approval of the association. and
1he following canvassers were appointed
from the different towns represented at
the meeting to 90 among the growers
and secure signatures to the contract
ef the association: John P. Holmes of
Westminster. r. G. Loomis of Putney,
W. n. Pike of Hinsdale. Frank Williams
cf Mortified, Ellwin Clough of West
poreland. II. E. Powers of Vernon. OF
the ninetv-six and one-half acres of to-
baeco represented at the meeting last
right thirty-nine and one-half were
Signed up at the close of the meeting.
The association already has signed
IN slightly over $1,000 acres of tobacco.
which IS over half of the necessary IS
per cent of the acreage which the asso-
citation must sign UP to make valid the
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