Newspapers / The Farmville Enterprise (Farmville, … / Sept. 21, 1934, edition 2 / Page 4
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I^iiiiiiii I Iiiiii|i|iiiii Iii lii limi I ill"!111'1 Tobacco Farroors! fm of the I send my I to the to wn North |so full of Bpe of returning ? to directly In con ?ilieture which con ?k-twelve months ago Hp for ua to compre Hp early days of Sep ^Hbour committee, on Bp honor to serve as Hgt to Washington the confronted the grow was dark indeed. The had been disposed of HBgner pert of the South a* well, at prices which pilly bankruptcy and de Bk border markets in North K the brief period in which ^BHBh selling our early Htlnd witnessed the same spec ^?Marvation prices, and gloom, BgnSM and despair was every M e prevalent. We closed the mar Ba North Carolina and sent tele ?Bb appeals to Washington which ^MBpotily the response that noth ?f.could be done about the crop HHkeing marketed except the im Hpa' of the processing tax which Kpfen announced. This, however, Hal Bot possibly add to the price KaUxation of that year's crop or re Km the immediate distress. In reply Hpidlitod only an opportunity to be Hpjtd and present our case; and hav R|Ef: secured the assistance and coop ^ntion of the Governors of South Barolinn and Virginia, who sent their ?prn representatives and tobacco ?powers, we went to Washington to I present our case. After careful con ^ federation of every suggestion made, Hps proposal which I had the honor p$> make and which was simple and I acceptable to all partie^ was unani I rfcucsly adopted. It was called the |;North Carolina plan and it proposed ; two things only: K&, "First, that the growers would fwillingly accept such prices for the p|rop then being marketed as Gov geniment officials, after investigation, |j|cAerrained to be a fair price and, | Second, that the growers would agree | contract to limit their crop for j 1934 to scch size as the Government, H)Wn investigation, should say was a I proper and needed crop, even to the Latent of not raising tobacco for one Sj|e?r if the Government thought wise. -All other suggestions of dealing with |Sb situation were simply referred to Bpe, Government for its consideration, nt suggestions merely, leaving the I AAA free to chose any method, upon H&Mtigation, it thought l*est or to gHMmge methods if the one first tried Kjjthould fail to accor /lish the fair or Hnrity price which .as being sought. ^*The fairness of this proposal B^hallenged everyone. The Govern Emient agents administering the AAA at once the justice of the pro pMjfcl and eagerly accepted limitation ??tracts reducing acreage by approx imately one-third. We returned to Bailh Carolina and put on a cam paign for this purpose, which was: ^^pfendidly successful and enthusiast! eally carried out. The results are now history. The farmers of North Carolina, when the markets reopened, received a greatly increased price for their 1933 crop,?an increase measur ed in millions and conservatively es timated to be double the price at which tobacco was selling when the markets were closed, and the fruits of that activity and the crop limita tion then proposed and carried out have been carried over into this year and are now pouring their golden harvest into the pockets of the grow ers. "It is entirely accurate to say that by virtue of last September's activity the tobacco grower is today just twelve months ahead in the program of agricultural recovery because, but for that activity, we would be this year just where we were at the same time last, and the prices we are re ceiving this year are a direct re sult of the cooperative action of last. "The lesson of all this is simple but very, very vital. For many years I have thought that the only hope for agricultural recovery was to dis cover some means of applying the principle of cooperation to the prob lem of production. I have preached and advocated this on many occa sions. That is exactly what was pro posed in the North Carolina plan and that is exactly what was carried out by the crop limitation agreements. We have learned also from our ex perience in the past twelve months that, contrary to history of the past and a rather general conviction, the farmer can cooperate and that in this cooperation lies his salvation. The great danger which must be guarded against alwtays is that we may forget the lesson of this experience and lapse into old methods which brought us only disaster and ruin. Govern mental experts can keep us informed of the needs and the probable de mtands for the tobacco crop each year and the farmers themselves, follow ing equitable and mutually coopera tive methods of crop limitation, as this year, can see to it that such a crop is raised as will command a fair "I salute you in the dawn of your you the fullest measure of the reali zation of your hopes. In the midst of this prosperity let us not repeat the mistakes of the past Let us conserve the returns from our crops and use them wisely and well. Waste and extravagance in spending must be avoided; utilization of incomes for constructive purposes must be en couraged. Turn your back on the man wJio tries to inveigle from you your dollars in thriftless and un soundly speculative investments. Plan and build for yourselves an enduring prosperity." J. C. B. EHR1NGHAUS. GOV. J. C. B. EHRINGHAUS FARMVILLE RECEIVES VISIT FROM GOVERNOR AT GOLDEN WEED JUBILEE HELD IN HIS HONOR Celebration Given Credit For The Full Cooperation Of This Section In- Production Ad justment Program Outstanding among the momen tous events that marked the past to bacco season was the Golden Weed Jubilee, celebrating the signing of the higher price agreement with the buying companies, and heaping a tribute of warmest praise upon the Governor of North Carolina, J. C. B. Ehringhaus, the committee of forty two farmers, L. V. Morrill, Congress man Lindsay C. Warren, of this dis trict, and J. Con Lanier of the Agri cultural Adjustment Administration, all of whom labored unceasingly in behalf of the relief of the tobacco farmers. Celebration Held In Farmville With the pledge of co-operation in the marketing holiday, given here in the meeting of warehousemen on September 2, it was fitting that an event of such great magnitude as the Golden Weed Jubilee, portent in its purpose and lasting in its benefits, should be held here. The celebration, in November, was sponsored by the 14 markets of the Bright Leaf Belt and brought thousands of people to Farmville. ? ^Aoannn? Vioifa MokItoIQ w UVTVtllVl f UJI?0 iltOiBVfcO After visiting several markets on his motor trip from Raleigh, Gover nor Ehringhaus, and party of twenty, reached the Farmville market about 3:30 in the afternoon and witnessed a sale of several hundred pounds of tobacco, which ranged in price from 22 to 80 cents a pound, and which was offered by the Major Benjamin May chapter, D. A. R., whose regent, Mrs. T. C. Turnage, a woman of bril liant intellect and staunch patriotism, contributed to Eastern Carolina the idea of the celebration and worked indefatigably night and day towards the development and successful cul mination of the program. From here the Governor continued his journey to other markets return ing for a dinner, tendered him by the warehousemen at 6:00 o'clock, with places laid for aixty guests, and ex pertly served by members of the Junior Woman's Club, of which Miss Lucy Johnston is president. Greetings Brought From Various Groups The exercises, which were held in the school auditorium at 7:30 o'clock, began with the processional, "God of Our Fathers," sung by the Farmville, Choral Club with Mrs. Haywood Smith accompanist. Mrs. T. C. Turn age graciously presided over the af fair. Rev. C. B. Mashburn pronounced the invocation and Mayor John B. l^ewis extended a cordial welcome, to which William Anderson of Wilson responded. J. W. Holmes spoke in behalf of the business men of Farm ville, and John T. Thorne for the to bacco growers of the community, with Mrs. W. B. Murphrey of Snow Hill, as lieutenant-general of the National Recovery Administration in North Carolina, presenting greetings. Dr. J. Y. Joyner of LaGrange, Rep resentee Graham Barden of New Bern and J. Y. Monk of Farmville, brought echoes from the conference held several weeks ago with heads of the agricultural administration. L. V. Morrill of Snow Hill, one of the principal figures in the movement for better prices, was scheduled to take part on the program but was prevented from being present by ill ness. Preceding the address by Governor Ehringhaus was a vocal solo, "A Birthday," sung by Mrs. Knott Proc tor, of Greenville, with Mrs. M. V. Jones at the piano. Governor Assures Farmers Of His Help Though the preliminaries preced ing the main event, the Governor's speech, had been going for two hours before the Governor rose to speak, he remarked that he had a message and he was bound to deliver it. And de liver it, he did, to an audience, which listened spellbound to his resume of the tobacco conference and the re sultant rise in prices, together with his expression of confidence in the growers carrying out their limitation pledge. "In this connection" he stated, "It is well, that we remember the lesson^ of our fight and, above all, the im perative necessity for continued co operation in production. Even though we may not have realized the ulti mate of our hopes in price for our entire crop, when we remember that at the time the markets were closed, tobacco was selling at an average of 9c, 'and the price going lower, when we remember the experience of the Georgia farmer whose crop had all been sold, and our South Carolina brethren, a large part of whose crop had already been dis posed of, when we remember that tobacco today is selling for the high (Please turn to page 24)
The Farmville Enterprise (Farmville, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Sept. 21, 1934, edition 2
4
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