The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1922-04-21
TENNESSEE LEAF
MEN PLAN DRIVE
Montgomery County Growers Indorse
Sapiro System; PassOn-
neau Speaker.

GAINESVILLE, Tenn, April ITO
bacco growers of Montgomery County
Saturday decided to organize for the
cooperative marketing of dark to-
bacco, Endorsed Judge John T. Cum
bingham and Claude c. Cooke to
lead the movement i'm the county,
Judge Cunningham as executive COM
mitteeman and Mr.. Cooke as county
chairman, and by rising vote, which
was almost Unanimous, backed the
Sapiro plan of organization.
The action followed dinner at the
Woman's Club given by committee
composed of leading Clarksville and
Montgomery County business men
and tobacco growers who had partici-
pated at the request of Judge Robert
w. Bingham, of Louisville, in the
Louisville conference of March 4. The
hosts were Judge Cunningham, La
( rem Edmonson, C. w. Bailey, Claude
| c. Cooke and l. r. Peterson.
Reports from all of the twenty-five
magisterial districts of the county
were made. With but few exceptions
these told of the almost unanimous
sentiment in the county for the Sapi-
no plan of organization, and in those
in which some growers were report
ed as not favoring the plan it was
coid tbot 10 ~ x-ao nroDarIxy axn1ofpod
it was believed the growers would
support it,
Previous to the reports from the
districts of the county Joseph Pas
sonneau. organization manager, ex-
planned the proposition, told of the
success of the Burley Tobacco Grow
ers Cooperative Association, and
said with the same kind of manage
ment, the dark growers could do as
well. He allayed the fears of some
of the growers that GAINESVILLE would
lose its identity as a dark tobacco
market by stating that the GAINESVILLE
sales probably would be under the
mittee and that the new system would
not interfere in the least with the
growers of Montgomery County re-
ceiving for their high-class tobacco
the prices heretofore paid.
He said there would be no mingl-
ing of GAINESVILLE tobacco with to-
bacco of lower grade, and, in fact,
no mingling of any tobaccos with to-
bacco of lesser quality, and that no
market would suffer loss of prestige
through the adoption of the method |
of marketing.
CIV. Bailey and Sterling Fort, !
GAINESVILLE bankers, pledged their |
support to the movement if it is Civ
en- the proper management and direc-
ton.
Mr.. Passonneau explained how the .
hurley growers had organized. fl
nanced their warehouses, paid adj
vances on their crops thru loans made
by banks, these same banks offering
to loan the individual growers still
more money on their receipts given
with their first advance; of the offer
of the War Finance Corporation of a
loan of $4,000, 200, afterwards rails
ed to $15,000,000 and of the success
sold over the loose leaf floors.
He said that by the time the to-
bacco was all paid for the growers in
the organization probably would re-
ceive 2 cents a pound moro than the
growers who remained oltside and
sold over the loose leaf flors.
He told how the loans from the
banks, made for ninety days. were
paid back within forty days from
money received from the sale of to-
bacco. |,
Mr.. Passonneau said there would
be separate pools in each of the dis
tricts in the "black patch" each with
its own selling committee and in
charge of its own directors, and said
that neither Clarksville nor Spring
field, principal markets an Tennessee,
would lose any advantage it now had.
He said tobacco that mad been sold
A. Clarksille and Springfield still
would lie delivered at these places !
AMI be at all times under the c0nIo. {
of the sales committees of thti: re- {
:pectiye districts.
He stressed the promise that Ten I
iessee growers of extra fine tobac- {
20 would not be compelled to mix {
heir product with leaf Of lesser
quality from other sections of the ,
lark district. I