56 CIRCULAR 10 0, tT. S. DEPARTMENT OE AGRICULTURE 



tained that this militated against the smooth working of the asso- 

 ciation. The fact that the administrative office was located in Rich- 

 mond and that most of the salaried officials of the association were 

 drawn from Virginia did not tend to aid in the best of coordination 

 or of cooperation between the States, pools, and districts. On several 

 occasions at least the field-service department published statements 

 which were not strictly in accordance with facts. Officers of that 

 department stated that it was difficult to obtain data from the head 

 office. Data, when secured, were not always reliable. Officials of 

 the head office maintained that statements were sometimes published 

 on the basis of information obtained from other sources and without 

 any request for information from another department. 



Some of the employees submitted claims for such heavy expenses 

 that they were disallowed by the auditor. This led to so much 

 friction that the auditor was dismissed. It also happened that sug- 

 gested improvements in records and methods were often delayed be- 

 cause heads of subdepartments would not admit that systems pre- 

 pared by them could be improved. An unfortunate aspect of the 

 situation was that records and forms were prepared frequently by 

 one department which did not fit the requirements of another de- 

 partment. After great expense in printing had been incurred, such 

 record forms often had to be discarded. 



An outstanding case illustrating this point came to notice during 

 the course of the study of the records of the association. Certain 

 forms were drawn up by the head of a subdepartment and were 

 printed at a cost of over $3,000. Before one book of the forms 

 had been used it was found that they did not meet requirements, 

 and their use was abandoned. In other cases sufficient forms and 

 record sheets to last for twice the period of the contracts of the 

 members were printed. Such expenses were practically inevitable 

 when there was a lack of close contact between departments and 

 individuals. 



SELECTION OF PERSONNEL 



One of the first problems that confronted the organizers of the 

 Tobacco Growers Cooperative Association in 1922 was to set up, 

 before July of that year, a business organization adequate to handle 

 the anticipated delivery of about 300,000,000 pounds of tobacco. 

 Selection and hiring of the desired personnel constituted the greater 

 part of this work. Most of the detailed work of obtaining suitable 

 managers and personnel for the different departments was delegated 

 by the board of directors to the executive committee. Great diffi- 

 culty was encountered in obtaining the services of suitable man- 

 agers for the various departments. It was necessary that men with 

 an intimate knowledge of tobacco and of the tobacco trade be 

 selected for these positions. Owing to the growing opposition to 

 the association and to the uncertainty of its ultimate success, men 

 who had proved capable in the tobacco trade were loath to re- 

 linquish their positions. It did prove possible, however, to obtain 

 some men who had made good in the tobacco trade and whose ability 

 and services seemed valuable to the association. 



