Henderson daily dispatch., 1939-09-22
Raleigh, N. c.,
SeDtember 20. 1889

september ~, 1859
His EXcellency Franklin d. Roosevelt
President Of the United States,
The White House,
Washington, d. c..
Dear Mr.. President:
| am sure you know that l hesitate
to mention to you the situation here
in North Carolina with respect to our
tobacco crop at this moment when
matters of the graVeSt concern are
demanding so much Of your atten-
ton. But after conference with Gov
ernor Hoey, we have agreed that the
situation demands that we present it
to you.
Our tobacco farmers, having made
a great crop, in the midst of the SELL
ing season have met with the sudden
withdrawal of the British buyers
from our market Those buyers take,
as a rule, about thirty-five per cent
Of our crop of bright tobacco. In con-
sequence Of this withdrawal and the
rapid decline in prices, our sales
warehouses have been closed The
tobacco is on the hands of the far
mers. They cannot hold it long, but
if they sell it, they will sell 1t at a
great loss. 1t is a question whether
a considerable portion could be sold
at ALL
Another consequence of the with
drawal Of the British buyers has been
the dismissal of from fifteen to
twenty thousand people from their
occupations in connection with the
sale of this tobacco and the prepara-
ton of it for export and for the
manufacturers. This refers largely
to what is known as the stemming
of tobacco which provides seasonal
employment for great number of
people who otherwise would have
no opportunity to earn livelihood.
Already our WPA Administrator has
called upon the National Administra-
ton for more assistance on this ac-
count.
AS you know, the production of to-
bacco is the principal occupation of
North Carolina farmers and the drop
in price and the closing of the ware
houses affects, l should say, about
two hundred and fifty thousand
families. The situation presents the
prospect Of a real calamity
II lids OCCulIeu 10 me IndC we
should at once ascertain the specific
cause of the withdrawal of the Brit
ish buyers and should find out
whether the withdrawal is likely to
last many weeks or lonoer. The with
draWal followed the Ou.Oreak of the
war and the depreciation of the dol
lar value of the pound sterling. 1 am
inclined to the view that the stabili-
zatiOn of the dollar value of the
pound sterling might tend to induce
the buyers to return to the market.
and it appears that the United King.
dom will continue to encourage the
import of tobacco as it is the source
Of great deal of revenue which is
greatly needed. AS to this pubic
statement by Mr.. Secretary Wallace
indicates that at present the action
Of the British buyers is as yet unde-
termined
We may consider steps tending
generally to provide some stabiliza-
tiCn for the pound sterling at a rea-
sonable value in terms of our dol
lars, and / think we might provide
credits through the Reconstruction
Finance Corporation, or otherwise,
for the British buyers and manufac-
turers. l know that under the john
son Act we cannot lend money to ma
tions indebted to us, but understand
the Reconstruction Finance Corpora
ton can do so. And it may be there
are other means Of providing the nee
essary credits. In addition to this, we
have our immense stabilization fund
and | am sure it will be wisely en-
ployed under the direction of your
self and the Secretary of the Treas