The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1922-03-31
TOBACCO GROWERS
HOLD 3 MEETINGS
Eddyville, Franklin and GreenviIle
Hear Cooperative Marketing
Plans Discussed.

| EuuyNlllci hSHluChy, MdTC0 Z TN. .
Mr.. L. E. Foster, Secretary Hopkins
willie Chamber of Commerce, address,
ed large audience of tobacco grow
ers and business men here today, Civ
ing in detail an explanation of the
plan of organizing the dark tobacco
growers into a Cooperative Selling
Association.
Mr.. Foster showed the fallacies of
the present marketing system and ex-
planned that so long as grower COM
peted against grower and tobacco
competed against tobacco, a circum-
stance which always results when
farmers dump their crops instead Of
merchandise them, nothing but de-
moralized markets and depressed
prices could be expected.
He explained further that the auc-
ton method did not permit the ex-
! pert grading of tobacco. that under
the present system, the farmer cannot
create new markets, that he has no
control over market supply. That
in short, he has nothing to say re-
garding the prices placed upon his
crops.
What we need, said Mr. Foster, is
plan of pure cooperation under
which the farmers will sell their to-
baceo collectively and thus maintain
decent price from year to year.
That is the only method, according
to Mr.. Foster, which will permit a
stabilized market and prosperous
agriculture.
Mr.. Foster predicted that the
success of the movement would be as
sured and that the dark tobacco
growers OF Western Kentucky and
Tennessee would, within a short time,
enjoy the same prosperity as was en-
joyed by the cooperative farmers OF
California where four farmers out
of five made money every year.
At Franklin
Franklin, Kentucky, March 9th:
More than four hundred Simpson
County tobacco growers gathered at
the Court House today to hear Mr..
r. E. Cooper of Hopkinsville explain
the plan for organizing the growers
lof Dark Tobacco into q Cooperative
Marketing Association, similar to the
Burley organization which has prov
en- successful in Central and East
ern Kentucky.
Mr.. Cooper stated why he was in
favor of the organization. He said
that he had gone to Louisville on
March 4th to a meeting of the bust
ness men and prominent growers OF
the dark tobacco district, expecting
that he would probably be against
the plan but that after hearing it ex-
planned he had become thoroughly
convinced that the formation of the
Association would mean so much to
the prosperity of the dark tobacco
growers, that he had been thoroughly
converted to the idea that he should
give all the influence he had in furth-
ering the movement.
The farmers of Simpson County
who were present at the meeting, as
we'll as the business men, were great
ly impressed with what Mr.. Cooper
had to say and the general belief is
that Simpson County will be among
the first to go lover the top"
At Greenville
| Greenville, KY, March 27-An
audience of tobacco growers and bu-
siness men which completely filled
the Court House heard Joseph Pas
sonneau, Organization Manager for
the Dark Tobacco Growers Coopera-
! tive Association, explain the plan OF
organizing the tobacco growers OF
Western Kentucky, here today. Mr..
Passonneau discussed the various
parts of the contract, explaining that
| the Association was to be made up
only of tobacco growers and that its
main object was to stabilize the
prices of tobacco from year to year at
a figure that should assure the farm
ers a reasonable profit in the sale OF
their tobacco. Explaining the func-
tions of the organization committee,
would be made up of influential and
public spirited citizens, headed by
Judge Bingham Of Louisville, and
that their sole duty would be that of
presenting the plan to the growers
of Western Kentucky, offering them
IN opportunity to pledge their tobac-
60 to the Association, along the same
lines that was followed in the Burley
district
He told how the duties of the COM
mittee would end upon the first OF
October when II is hoped the neces-
sary minimum of &C 2-3 per cent
will be obtained. He asserted that