The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1922-01-18
DARK I0B0cc0 GR0WERs
PLAN ORGANIZATION
Farmers Pack Owensboro Court
House to Hear BurIey
Growers Counsel.

Owensboro, KY. Jan. 15. "A
crowd of toacco growers that filled
the Daviess county circuit court
room almost to capacity, after hear
ing the eloquent address of Virgil
Chapman, of Lexington, assistant
general counsel of the Burley Tobac-
CO Growers Co operative Marketing
association, Saturday afternoon vot-
ed unanimously that Judge r. W.
Bingham and other organizers of the
Burley pool be invited to come to
Western Kentucky as soon as possi-
BILE to launch a campaign to form a
similar organization in the Green
River. One Sucker and stemming
districts.
Almost to a man the tobacco
growers, by rising vote, pledged
themselves to become members of
such an organization and to work
to organize it. They then by ap-
plause and a rising vote thanked Mr..
Chapman for his talk.
The opinion was expressed that
some of the organizers of the Bur-
ley association would be free to
come here this month to address a
mass meeting of farmers and that
the drive to organize the farmers of
this section of the state could be got
ten under way by next month. In
this event 1t is felt the organization
can be completed. by the time the
next crop of tobacco is ready, to be
cut.
Benefits To Be Gained
Mr.. Chapman made very elo-
quent address in which he showed
a thorough understanding of the
Burley growers association.
Commenting on the benefits of
cooperative marketing Mr.. Chap
man said that before the fruit grow
ers organized they received eight to
twelve cents for every 81 spent by
the consumer for their products.
Now they receive forty-eight cents
out every dollar paid for their prod
ucts. In-one of the richest of the
fruit growing counties the farmers
had S1,000,000 in banks before CO.
operation and now have $24 100000
deposited. he said. The fruit grow
ers receive now S25,O00,000 annual
ly for their products and the sales
have been increased several hundred
per cent They spend s2.000.000
annually in advertising their pro-
ducts and have therby increased
the demand enormously.
Methods in Burley District
Mr.. Chapman. explained the de-
fects@in the present marketing sys-
tenn which he called "blind" sys-
TEN and said the cooperative system
would replace it by matching sales
manship with salesmanship and sub
stituting merchandising for dump
ing.
He pointed out that under the
present system the tobacco manu-
acturer and buyers borrows money
with which he buys tobacco, pays
facturer and buyer borrows money
etc, adding these to the price he
asks for his tobacco but not taking
into consideration the cost to the
farmer of growing the crop. Under
the cooperative system, he said. the
farmer would figure land values, de-
probation. labor. interest on his in
vestment. and base the price for his
tobacco on the actual cost of raising
1t plus reaonable profit.
Every safeguard has been provid-
ed to protect the organization from
failure, he said. The members we're
required to sign five-year contract;
the contract was not binding. until
signed by seyenty-ive per cent of
the growers. They had secured the
signatures of approximately eighty
five per cent'of the growers. he said.
and 1t is now upsto the tobacco COM
panies to buy from them or go out,
Of business. The companies realize
this" he said. ''and. when Mr.. Stone,
president Of the association. went to
New York to interview the heads of (
the big manufacturing companies re-
Gently he was assured that they
would not fight the association but
would be in the market for its tobac-.
20.
Plenty of Warehouses !
Some of the warehouses did not
want to lease us their property" he
said, "but they are now coming to {
a -