ANALYSIS OF TOBACCO GROWERS ASSOCIATION 



99 



the total receipts of association tobacco, but was 61.88 per cent of the 

 unsold tobacco on hand on June 19, 1926. Sun-cured, South Caro- 

 lina, and eastern Carolina pool tobacco sold best in the order named, 

 the percentage of stocks on hand to receipts being 0.98, 1.33 and 3.11 

 per cent respectively. 



Table 40. — Stocks of tobacco on hand (green basis) June 19, 1926, compared 

 with total receipts for the four ijear.s, 1922-1925 



Pool 



Total receipts, 4 crops 



Stocks on hand, June 

 19, 1926 i 



Stocks, 

 June 19, 

 1926, as 

 a per- 

 centage of 

 receipts 





Pounds 

 10, 689, 485 

 85, 706, 372 

 274, 296, 551 

 66, 584, 931 

 93, 925, 657 



Per cent 

 2.01 



16.13 

 51.64 

 12.54 

 17.68 



Pounds 



105, 165 



25, 956, 007 



47, 692, 348 



2, 070, 548 



1.253.637 



Per cent 

 0.14 

 33.68 

 61.88 

 2.67 

 1.63 



0.98 





30.28 



Old belt 



17.39 





3.11 





1.33 









Total 



531, 202, 996 



100.00 



77, 077, 705 



100.00 



14.51 







i The tobacco on hand at the date of the receivership, June 19,|1926 (appendix Table 14), was reduced to 

 the green basis^- adding 10 per cent^to the redried quantities. 



The board of directors has frequently been accused of holding the 

 prices too high. This accusation, although practically true, is some- 

 what unfair. The fact that stocks continue to accumulate in the 

 hands of the association might indicate that the prices were too high, 

 but the policy of the association was to maintain the prices origi- 

 nally placed on the tobacco in accord with the bankers' valuation. A 

 definite change of policy was not later entertained by the board of 

 directors nor generally demanded by the membership. The prices 

 originally placed upon the different grades of tobacco were not out 

 of line with the prices prevailing on the auction floors. 



In fact it would appear that the prices decided upon by the asso- 

 ciation determined prices paid at the auction-floor warehouses. 

 These prices were possibly higher than the tobacco buyers would have 

 paid with no cooperative association operating. It is more than 

 probable that the companies were prepared to make sacrifices in 

 order to embarrass the association and so hasten its collapse. This 

 practice has frequently been adopted in other fields of business and 

 there is no reason why the large tobacco companies would not have 

 followed it. In all fairness to the sales committee, it must be stated 

 that they fully realized the danger of placing too high a reserve price 

 on the green tobacco. In October. 1922, the general manager of the 

 bright-leaf department presented a letter to the executive committee 

 which pointed out the danger that would result from placing an ab- 

 normal price on tobacco and redrying it with a view to carrying it 

 over into another crop year. It was shown that the association would 

 be placed in a very uncomfortable position if the large tobacco com- 

 panies succeeded in obtaining all their requirements on the open ware- 

 house floors. He then recommended that as much tobacco as possible 

 should be sold in the green state. 



In the absence of reliable information about such purchases it is 

 difficult to ascertain what factors influenced the large tobacco com- 



