Fitzgerald leader enterprise and press. (Fitzgerald, Ben Hill County, Ga.) 1921-1964, 1926-02-11
Firms Not Blamed
In Tobacco Probe
GEORGIA GROWERS COMMENT
ON GOVERNMENT DECISION
WHICH GAVE CONCERNS 4
CLEAN SHEET.


Atlanta, Ga. - Georgia tobacco
growers, though not involved in any
wa yin the government probe of the
tobacco companies which, by the way
were given clean sheets, tday e%
pressed great interest in the officia
reports which have been received
, here.
In word the tobacco companies
the American Tobacco Company anC
] the Imperial Tobacco Company Of
! Great Britain--were declared not re
! sponsible for the difficulties and i'm
/ pcdcd progress" of the organized to-
! bacco growers in Virginia, North Car
! DINA and South Carolina in a report
! submitted to the senate by the fed
| eral trade commission. The whole
fault, it seems, was laid to methods OF
! the growers. There was no hint Of 3
trade plot. The cooperative sale.
methods were blamed for the grow.
ers' woe and the slow cooperative
payment was criticized.
A report inquiring whether the two
tobacco companies had any inter-re,
lation or were fighting the co-opera-
tive marketing associations, declared
no evidence had been found of ''al.
legged agreements, combinations OF
conspiracies" between them in buy
ing and selling of tobacco.
Nor was the charge substantiated,
it was said, that the two companies
had paid discriminatory prices for d.
vided or split-crop lots of leaf tobac-
co. Further, it was added, "the
charge that the Imperial Tobacco
Company has circuitouSly promoted
tobacco culture in Georgia was found
20 be entirely without foundation in
fact"
Exclude Experts
Taking up the Tri-State Associa-
ton methods, the report said there
was policy Of excluding exporters
and dealers as purchasers of free to-
bacco, resulting in larger shipments
to rcdrying plants which maniftsly
benefited number Of the co-opera-
tive's officials, including majority
OF its sales staff and several direc-
tors through their financial interest
in redrying plants.
AT least twcnty-seVen officials. y
it was added "were financially inter-
ested in and were deriving profits in
addition to their salaries from num-
Der of plants engaged in redrying as
ISOLATION tobacco. Eighteen concerns
in which these officials were inter
ested redried about 118 millions of
pounds Of tobacco for the association
during the three years investigated. "
Another Handicap
Another important clause, how
ever, Of this temperatures difficult
ties, the commission pointed out, man
ifestly lies in its merchandising and
operating methods.
This failure to sell in the green
state a larger proportion of its 1924
deliveries To exporters and dealers"
the report said, was obviously de-
signed by the association management
to exclude such customers and pur-
chascrs Of its green tobacco. Instead
Of holding or increasing its large
clientele Of buyers who purchased
in the green state more than half of
this associations first-year deliver
les, its officers later began an arbi-
trary policy of restraint and cXclu-
sion which reached its climax in 1924.
Exporters and dealers were in 1924
IL effect actually prohibited from
pt' chasing association tobacco in the
form in which they preferred and
were equipped to buy it,"