The L'Anse sentinel., 1924-02-15

thing about the grading Of tobacco
They seldom knew the grade OF theil
own stun. The new plan which Aaror
Sapiro brought to Kentucky was en-
tirely different. II proposed doint
away with the old auction system. !
was a plan to get the hurley growers
to sign a contract to turn their tobacco
crop, every leaf Of II, over to the co.
operative association for six years
When 20 per cent of the growers had
signed the contract would become ef'
fective.
Later the South staged the first big
drive for members. In little over
month $500 tobacco growers, pro-
ducers of 10 per cent of the 1920 crop,
had signed contract.
A board of directors was elected and
James c. Stone of Lexington was
made president and general manager.
Then the tobacco board got busy. Ken
lucky had no cooperative marketing
law. To save time they Incorporated
under the cooperative marketing law
OF North Carolina. But they didn't
have any trouble getting a marketing
law passed in Kentucky, once the leg
islature met.
Providing Warehouses.
The warehousing question wasn't so
simple. There had TO be warehouses
to receive the tobacco, but there was
no money or time with which TO build
them before the crop would be ready
TO move. Aaron Sapiro had thought
about that He had provided plan
which allowed for subsidiary corpo-
ration TO be formed for the purpose
of buying warehouses TO be paid for
over period of six years, the pay
ments being deducted from the pro-
cesds Of the growers tobacco. At the
end Of six years the warehouses would
belong 10 the cooperative growers.
Each grower would own a share based |
on the amount Of his deliveries. This |
plan was proposed 10 III warehouse /
men Immediately the association I
took possession OF more than s6.0o0.ooo 4
worth Of property without paying a
cent in cash.
Where 10 get the money for the \
first advance payment-that was the /,
biggest problem. After the first pay
nent had been met il would be easy. Z
The cost OF doing business would he
deducted from the proceeds Of the
yrowers. IL was at this particular
line that the banks offered their as
distance. Louisville and Cincinnati
'ankers offered to loan S1.SO0.OoO. in
pite OF the fact that one OF the lead
ne banks of the South gave out the
pinion that the whole cooperative
movement was Illegal. Judge Bing-
am offered a million dollars Of his
'ersonal fortune. The country bank
RS, too, hundreds Of them, loaned
heir limit. Altogether they sub
cribed s5.40OOO0.
A group of expert buyers worked
Ut system Of grading. The system
1t upon is declared to be the best one
yer devised. The tobacco was grad
d at the local warehouse where the
rover received a receipt which stated
hat he had delivered together with a
raft upon the association Of so many
ents per pound for the grade. The
zeal banker paid full value for this
raft.
After the tobacco was re-dried and
tored in the Lexington warehouse
resident Stone wired adj the buyers
} come and give their orders. And
e sent them samples of all the 50
rades. For the first time in history
ne buyer asked-"What are the '
rices?"
Within 40 days all the loans for the
rst advance payment had been paid
II and second payment had been
lade to growers based on sales. The
verage price received was 21h cents
er pound net after all overhead
harges had been deducted. The aver
ge price received by growers outside
the association was almost two
ents less. The average operating
ost during 1921 and 1929 was three
ourths Of cent per pound.
Many New Members.
Since the first sign-up more than
e'NNN e''"N'S nave Joihcu ticiT utlkf- Il
ors for cooperative marketing In the
urley district alone. The association
lnctioned in full blast with the 1871
rop. handling 120,OO0.OOO pounds of a
$4,000 0,OO0-pound crop. other tobacco
,rmers in other tobacco states haye
aken up the work. Their membership
dds threequarters Of a million more f
the cooperative ranks. In the
irginias and the Carolinas 5000
growers have organ
led the Tobacco Growers' Co-opera-
We association, handling 88.66 per
ent of the total crop. The 10000
lembers of the Dark Tobacco Grow
rs Cooperative association control rs
er cent Of the total crop. In the
astern states is the Connecticut VAL
~ Tobacco association. which has
yer $500 members producing "a per
ent Of the cigar wrapper tobacco
rown in Connecticut and Massachu-,
etts. In Wisconsin 78 per cent Of the
tate's crop is controlled by the mem
ers Of the cooperative tobacco pool.