Henderson daily dispatch., 1939-03-08
Warehousener
Ask Relief AS
Collectors
Daily Dispatch Bureau,
In the Sir Walter Hotel

Raleigh, March 8.-Lawyer mem
berS of the senate's No. 2 judiciary
committee wondered yesterday aft
ernoon whether they were consider
ing SB188, dealing with tobacco
warehouse, or $1,000 dealing with
the unauthorized practice of law.
Warehouseman p. l. Satterfield, of
Durham, speaking in favor of the
pending bill to give some relief to
operators of tobacco warehouses in
the requirements that they collect
accounts due time merchants and
others who lend money on crops,
quoted law and cited Supreme Court
decisions with all the facility of a
seasoned barrister.
The present law, written back in
the "horse and buggy days before
farmers learned SO much about crop
production loans and when they sold
and traded near at home, imposes
upon tobacco warehouses the obliga-
ton to hold up checks made payable
to sellers of tobacco which has been
mortgaged to secure money to raise
the crop The proposed new bill
would relieve them Of this obliga-
ton, except when notified by the
mortgage while the tobacco was dis
played on the floor.
Senator Joe Eagles, of Wilson, led
the fight for the bill. He is a large
Warehouseman and declared the
present law to be discriminatory and
unfair. Frank E. Guion, of the Inter
mediate Credit Bank at Columbia,
through which crop production cred
it associations rediscount their paper,
spoke in opposition.
Most effective argument for the
proposed bill was that offered by Mr..
Satterfield, who showed from Su-
preme Court decisions that tobacco
warehouses are public, in the sense
that they cannot select their patrons
but must serve all who come with to-
bacco for sale.
Satterfield argued that production
credit associations, time merchants,
banks, etc., could select their clients
and that it was grossly unfair to re-
quire warehouses, which could not
make any selection, to assume re-
sponsibility for finding out who owed
which and collecting the same.
Amendments suggested by the pro-
ductiOn credit folks didn't help much
in the opinion of Warehousemen.
Those amendments would have al
lowed lending agencies to make up a
list of all their debtors and send it
to the warehouse anytime before the
sale, and that notice would be bind
ing on the warehouse. 1t was brought
out in the discussion that such list
Tor all Of the tobacco counties in
North Carolina might reach as many
as half million names, and that
checking it would be physically i'm
possible for the warehouse.
Upshot of the whole business was
That a subcommittee composed Of
Senators Price, who introduced the
Dill offering relief; Gibbs, who is bit
tnrly opposed to it, and Lumplin,
who didn't have anything to say
about it, was named to work out a
substitute.
Several members of the legislature
are directly interested in tobacco
warehouses, and this measure will
nave more than usual personal at
tentlon.' In the Senate Joe Eagles. of
wilson, and in the House of Repre-
Sentatlves Bill Fenner, of Rocky
mount, are rated among the biggest
in the State. Besides |
tnese two, there are a dozen or more
members who have some seasonal
interest IN warehouses. There aren't
so many supply merchants, and at
ulis Time IL appears that the ware
tlouSes are going to get some relief
- vi! tnelr present situation.