B 



are wortJi small fortunes each year. No wonder 

 that pastures that had been pazed by thor- 

 ou<i,hbrcdsfor a century have been plowed up 

 and planted witJi the weed. 



lack Patcli War 



AioiiikI the turn of the cciitiii) most of tlic tobacco 

 farmers in Kentucky were lia\ing a difficult time. Sev- 

 eral lactors were ad\ersel\' affecting the prices they had 

 been recei\ ing for their hard-earned crops. Overproduc- 

 tion, resulting occasionally in poor leaf quality, a reduc- 

 tion in foreign market demand for Kentucky tobaccos, 

 and a swing in consumer interest to tobacco products 

 that did not depend on Kentucky leaf— cigars and ciga- 

 rettes—brought prices down. 



Faced with the hard realities of economic facts the 

 planters rationalized their difficulties by blaming the 

 most immediate apparent cause— the bu>ers of leaf. This 

 attitude, a traditional one among farmers, was pretty 

 general in all Kentucky tobacco-producing areas. It was 

 most \ igorousK expressed in the Black Patch districts of 

 western Kentuckv and Tennessee. 



Congress had been petitioned by Black Patch farmers 

 to eliminate the federal ta.x on cured natural leaf. This 

 tax, applied onh' when the tolxicco was sold at retail 

 directly to consumers, had been in eflect since 1872. The 

 House had acted fa\orably on the petition but the bill 

 was killed by the vSenate Finance Connnittee. Had the 

 repeal been effected, it is doubtful tiiat it would Iia\e 

 benefited farmers directK , at a period of extremely low 

 prices. 



Thereupon a number of energetic planters decided 

 that tiie\ could force prices up if they pooled their crops 

 and their resources. The constitution of Kentuckv had a 



51 



