The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1922-03-24
DARK WEED GROWERS
BACK SAPIRO'S PLAN
Large Crowds Hear Expert Tell How
Cooperative Marketing Has
Helped The West


past week. great crowds of growers
and business men attending meetings
which were addressed by Judge Rob
ert Bingham. Louisville publisher,
founder OF the Burley Cooperative;
Aaron Sapiro, California lawyer and
cooperative marketing expert; Col.
Joseph Passonneau, of Hopkinsville
and Lexington. organization manager
who successfully led the campaign in
the hurley district, securing the Sig
natures Of $4,000 members to con-
tracts; and X. f. Cooper, Hopkins
VILE warehouseman and tobacco ex-
pert. who declared himself convinced
that cooperation was the only wise
system of marketing tobacco.
Considerable enthusiasm was
eroused by the story of the success Of
the Burley Cooperative and the great
reduction i'm cost of handling made
under the new system of selling.
MIR. Sapiro. whom Judge Bingham
brought to Kentucky to help organ
ize the hurley growers, spoke at
Hopkinsville, Henderson, greensboro,
GAINESVILLE, Tenn. and Springfield,
Tenn. At most of his meetings the
farmers decided by unanimous vote
TO adopt the new system of market
ing.
Mr.. Sapiro maintained IN his
speeches that the project means bet
ter towns Is well as better farms. cit
ing the increased purchasing power
that follows the formation of coopera-
tive associations and increase in land
values.
There is no escaping the law Of
supply and demand. but we propose
. TO substitute the demand at the point
of consumption for the demand at the
point of production" the speaker
said.
Heretofore. the prices paid to the
growers have been figured on the lat
ter basis. Under the auction system
the supply at the point of production
is piled up suddenly during few
weeks of the year and exceeds the
demand there. Consequently the
prices go downward and the grower
wonders what has happened to him.
But the real demand for tobacco is
from the consuming public. We
propose to balance this demand with
the supply, instead of attempting to
retain an artificial system which Is
running the growers OF tobacco and
reducing the level of civilization in
these districts"
Mr.. Sapiro pointed out that coop
erative associations usually preferred
TO maintain existing channels OF
trade rather than disrupt commercial
relations. He said. however, 1t
would be possible to market the dark
crop II the present buyers refused to
deal with an association.
1.-THE largest manufacturing insti-
tuition in England is the English
Wholesale Cooperative Society, main
training 1900 or more stores. This
has intimated that IL would be glad
to undertake the manufacture of Ken
lucky and Tennessee tobacco for the
English and European trade. We
do not anticipate that the existing
buyers will reject our offers, be-
cause we can sell them tobacco more
efficiently than now sold, but even
II they do the growers would not be
lost"
STEADY incomes for farmers mean
steady incomes for merchants. A
stabilized agricultural market means
a stabilized mercantile market, ana
every merchant knows from expert
ence that. this Is invaluable. The.
farmer now is merely trying to do in
diligently for himself what mer-
chants do intelligently for themselves
all the time.
"Not only have the town people
profited from the tremendously in
creased purchasing power OF the
rural districts surrounding them, but
rise in land values in the town re-
Elected from corresponding rise in
value of farm lands. Farm lands
they have profited greatly by the rise
because the price obtained from the
products grown on them is fair
price under cooperative marketing,
and remains so not one year out
four as in Kentucky, but four years
out of four. Banks can lend money
on farm lands with greater safety
because they know that its value VIII
be stable. General business condi-
tions are easier"
Kentucky's schools will not rank
forty-fifth If cooperative marketing
is adopted for the whole State, he
declared. Its roads will be made
IA. kor,aa haitian ito TOWNS