The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1922-04-26

continued because it would give the
Farmers an opportunity to see both
plans in action. If the cooperative
plan is failure, he declared, the
warehouse will soon come back into
their own, while if the plan is a sue
fits whatever from the association ie
it slapped it in the face. He concluu-
ed that he was voting against the
resolution not because he favored
either system of sales, but because he
did not believe that the resolution
should be passed as an expression of
the citizenship of the city. +. E.
Winslow expressed practically the
same views, and the resolution was
then put to a vote with the close re-
suits as above stated.
f. S. Spruill Spcakcs
The first speech of the meeting was
made by Hon. T.. S. Spruill, promin-
ent attorney Of this city, who acted as
chairman and in preliminary remarks
stressed the Importance of the mat
ter before the meeting. Mr.. Spruill
stated that he did not know enough
about cooperative marketing to give
a concrete opinion and pointed out
that what he would have to say would
deal only with the machinery of the
association and not the fundamentals
OF cooperative marketing. He then
began Il discussion of the contract
which growers who become members
OF the association are cQuired to
sign, and discussed the legal phrases
and objections which study of the
contract had revealed to him, and
which he said ought to appeal to every
business man Of sense. Under the
terms of the contract, he declared,
those who sign commit themselves to
scrfdom for five years to an invisible
thing which has no capital and which
exists only in the mind and that all
funds which this invisible thing bor-
rowcd would be preferred claims
against it's members.
Mr.. Spruill took up specifically Sec
tions z, 8, 8, 16 and 18 Of the CO.
operative contract, declaring that the
baccO as it sees fit, that the tobacco
loses its identity and goes out from
the growers control absolutely. The
speaker also declared that the asso-
cation, this same ncbulous thing
which has no capital, might sell the
growers tobacco With or without
the United States, may manufacture
1T or put it through any process with
or without the approval of the mem
bcrs upon any such terms as it thinks
most profitable for the growers as
rs well as the public The speaker
dwclt upon the property rights as
guaranteed by the Constitution ana
declared that the associatin took
away all such rights. Strcssing the
financial responsibility of the grow
crS who joined the association and the
obligations which were placed upon
his tobacco in the pool, Mr.. SpruilI de-
clarcd that the man who endorses
uotrs indiscriminatcly is a wise man
compared to the one who allows the
organization to use it in borrowing
money as its own to pay some man i'm
Iltt county on some where else his
rroportionatc share. The speaker de-
ciarrd that Section lG delivered the
grower body and soul to the associa-
ton, "thiS atmospheric fictitious, un
certain organization" While the sec
non purportS to authorize the asSo-
ciatio" to build or buy warehouses
rc-drNlng plants, etc, this speaker
declared that not Il word Of il related
to IN" caption bat that the section
merely gave the association full power
Of attorney for The grower and the
llGnl 10 use ms tobacco as it sees fit.
The final section with which the speak
"r dealt provided means for enforcing
tn" contract He stated that if the
grower delivered his tobacco to the
@S$OclatiOn for two wears and then
could not deliver the third, five cents
pound was taken Off the tobacco
that h" had already delivered to COW
or what had been delivered and what
II was estimated should have been
delivered in the third year. He
pointed out that the contract provid-
"d that the grower, if any suit or
court action should come up regard
ING tn" delivery of. tobacco, the grow
or IS bound to pay the association all
costs of the litigation, the lawyers
costs on both sides while the bin is
made up by the other fellow who has
the tobacco to draw from. Before
conc lIinr bic talk with q c,,n,, Z, ,,,