116 CIRCULAR 10 0, U. S. DEPARTMENT OE AGRICULTURE 



19. Warehouse officials and managers incompetent and. lacking in tact and 

 courtesy (1922) ; since 1923, there has been a gradual elimination of the 

 officials criticized. 



20. Too much overhead expense (1922) ; there has been a gradual reduction 

 in total overhead expenses from $2,405,658.59 for the 1922 crop, to $1,385,303.79 

 for the 1925 crop. However, there has been an increase in overhead expense 

 per hundred pounds of tobacco received. 



21. No full-time general manager (1922) ; a general manager was elected 

 in April, 1924, who was succeeded in May, 1926, by an appointed board of 

 managers. 51 



22. Too many departments and lack of coordination among departments 

 (1922) ; the warehouse and field service departments were consolidated on 

 March 10, 1925. 



23. Lack of foreign sales contacts (1922) ; a commission was sent to Europe, 

 in 1923, to make sales contacts. 



24. Separation of offices at Raleigh, N. C, and Richmond, Va. (1922) ; no 

 change. 



ATTEMPTS AT REORGANIZATION 



During the years 1925 and 1926 attempts were made at organizing 

 four separate associations in the tri-State area. These associations 

 were to be : The Sun Cured Tobacco Growers of Virginia, the Vir- 

 ginia Dark Tobacco Growers' Cooperative Association, the Old Belt 

 Tobacco Growers' Cooperative Association, and the South Carolina 

 Belt Tobacco Growers' Cooperative Association. The associations 

 were to be organized on a more or less similar basis with similar 

 terms in the agreements and marketing agreements. These associa- 

 tions were to begin operation immediately following the expiration 

 of the then-existing association and to operate for the five years, 1927 

 through 1931. Organization committees had been formed and mem- 

 bership campaigns launched without the help of the old association. 

 Either because of failure to secure a sufficient percentage of the crop 

 (only 28.2 per cent was signed in South Carolina) or because of 

 inadvisability of attempting to secure members during the receiver- 

 ship suits and after the receivership, all of the attempts were given 

 up or postponed. 



In the attempts at reorganization the policies of the organization 

 committees were to avoid the mistakes of the old association and to 

 benefit by the experiences learned through the four years of opera- 

 tion. The changes in many of the policies are those which had 

 already been made in the Tobacco Growers' Cooperative Association. 



RECEIVERSHIP GRANTED 



The receivership for the association was granted by the United 

 States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, 

 June 19, 1926. The association was solvent at that time, but, be- 

 cause it had lost the confidence of its members and because of the 



51 Upon the resignation of the general manager in April, 1926, the hoard of directors 

 appointed a committee from its members of one representative from each of the three 

 States. This cemmittee assumed all duties of a general manager of the association, and 

 was empowered to make all changes found necessary in the affairs of the association, and 

 to investigate and recommend for appointment a general manager of the association. 

 This committee of throe, on May 18, 1926, presented a resolution, which was adopted by 

 the board of directors, vesting the general management of the association in a committee 

 of five, consisting of the three directors, of the naming committee, and two other advisory 

 members. This board of managers had vested in it unlimited power to conduct the affairs 

 of the association and to act for and in behalf of the association, subject to the control 

 of the board of directors and subject to the charter and by-laws of the association. In 

 addition, a financial and business advisor to the board of managers was appointed. This 

 advisor and one of the advisory members of the board of managers were to be paid 

 salaries of $10,000 and $6,000 per year, respectively. 



