The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1922-03-20
CONTRACT MADE FOR
CLEANING PEANUTS
Arrangement With Suffolk Company
Is Big Event in History of Ameri-
can Industry.

The first cleaning OF peanuts in
America by or for a growers organi-
| cation will begin Monday, March 90
when the Suffolk Peanut company the
Oldest peanut plant in Suffolk and one
of the the three largest in this coun-
try, will start on its contract with
the Peanut Growers Exchange TO
clean q large portion of the peanuts
held by this association of more than
5000 grower members in Virginia and
North Carolina. The announcement
that this association had perfected ar
rangements with this large cleaning
plant to clean the bulk of the 100000
bags of peanuts held by it on milling
basis is generally interpreted here in
Suffolk. the largest peanut market in
the world, as the most significant
event in the history of the peanut in
dustry in America.
This arrangement for the cleaning OF
peanuts by the Peanut Growers Ex-
change is in accordance with the pro-
visions of the growers contract, which
binds each signer to sell his peanuts
through the exchange for a period OF
seven years. On account OF the late
ness in getting a sufficient number of
signers to represent so per cent of the
peanuts grown in these two states so
as to complete their organization, and
also on account of the promise of an
unprecedented short peanut crop at
the time Of the beginning of opera
tons, the board of directors of the ex-
change decided that during this first
year they would cooperate with these
20 III ri Inv IA
peanuts of it's members to them in
stead Of trying to establish it's own
selling agencies. However, it soon de-
veloped according to the confidential
reports of more than third the ex-
changes own members that the total
production gof peanuts in these two
states for 1921 was from one-fourth
to one-third larger than in 1920, and
that a considerable portion of these
peanuts were OF such poor grade as to
be classed as Smelling stock. AS the
result of this increased production and
the low price of all vegetable oils,
prices on peanuts dropped a few days
after the first offerings of the new
crop from 25 to SO per cent less than
the prices prevailing at the end of the
Virginia peanut year in October. But
for the fact that the growers exchange
refused to sell any peanuts at the
prevailing low prices and withheld
from the market its holdings OF SOC, 900
bags, the general concersus Of opinion
among the business and professional
interests of this section is that the
price of peanuts would probably have
gone decidedly lower.
Another strong factor TO keep the
prices of peanuts from going still low
er has been the duty OF three cents a
pound on peanuts provided for in the
emergency tariff and still in force.
though the bears on the peanut mar
ket have made full use of the uncer-
tainty surrounding the action OF con-
gTess as to the permanent tariff bill
now pending and which provides for a
tariff of three cents on unshelled and
four cents on shelled peanuts. The
one saving feature of this unfortunate
situa ton has been the recent advance
in the price of vegetable oils, which
has caused a large quantity Of low
grade peanuts to be sold for oil in
stead OF for candy and peanut butter
Through arrangements perfected by
Manager T. H. Birdsong, OF the Peanut
Growers Exchange, the cleaners have
sold their entira output Of No. and
No. Virginia shelled peanuts for the
next six months at prices from one
half to one cent a pound higher than