R4 AMERICAN TOBACCO CO. AND IMPERIAL TOBACCO CO. 
On account of the misinformation and eriticism in regard to the association's 
policies of redrying its tobaccos, the committee hag gone very thoroughly into 
this matter. ° 
It seems that all of the tobacco which is received by the association and not 
sold immediately in the green state is redried and stored in bonded, insured 
warehouses for safe-keeping. We find that of the 1922 crop the association has 
redried 46,644,817 pounds of tobacco at an average cost of $1.80 per hundred- 
weight, and of the 1923 crop it had redried 102,810,137 pounds at an average cost 
of $1.74 per hundred pounds. The contract which the association had with 
these various redrying establishments is a standard contract by which the re- 
driers are bonded over a period of two years, and in which they agree to take 
responsibility for all damage to tobacco incurred in processing. 
Thirty-six different firms redried tobacco for the association out of the 1922 
crop. However, the bulk of the business was given to the following firms: 
The Edmondson Tobacco Co. redried 11,435,677 pounds at a cost of $1.75 per 
hundredweight; the Southern: States Tobacco Co. redried 6,429,989 pounds 
at a cost of $1.78 per hundred, and John E. Hughes & Co. redried 3,499,466 
pounds at a cost of $1.82 per hundred. Several other firms redried from one to 
three million pounds each of the 1922 crop for the association. 
Forty-five redrying firms did redrying for the association of the 1923 crop. 
The largest part of the redrying of this crop was done by the following firms: 
The F. R. Edmondson Tobacco Co. redried 23,911,035 pounds at a cost of $1.75 
per hundred pounds; the Southern States Tobacco Co. redried 17,250,713 
pounds at a cost of $1.77 per hundred weight; and the Winston Leaf Tobacco 
& Storage Co. redried 5,975,827 pounds at a cost of $1.75 per hundred. The 
highest price paid for redrying of the 1923 crop was paid to Dibbrell Bros. (Inec.), 
who redried a million pounds for the association at a cost of $3.22 per hundred. 
This price was paid for the redrying of especially valuable grades and types 
which have to be handled in a more expensive manner. The basic price of 
redrying for 1922 and 1923 was $1.75 per hundred. 
The above figures are given in detail on account of the criticism which certain 
officials of the association have received on account of being engaged in redrying 
tobacco for the association. The committee has gone into this criticism very 
thoroughly and finds the following: 
During the first year of its operation the officers of the association succeeded 
in getting the redrying of its tobacco done at a basic price of $1.75 per hundred 
pounds, but when it came time to make contracts for the redrying of the second 
year’s crop, it appeared as if the principal redriers would not undertake the work 
for less than $2 per hundred pounds. Some of them wanted as much as $2.25, 
As the 1923 crop was a very large one, the association was faced with the prob- 
lem of redrying at least two-thirds of the erop, and this increased price meant an 
additional cost of several hundred thousand dollars. The matter was considered 
of such importance that it was taken up with the board of directors, and the sug- 
gestion was made that the association erect its own redrying plants, After care- 
ful consideration this suggestion was turned down by the board on account of 
the fact that the association had already assumed large obligations in the matter 
of purchasing warehouses, and the board did not believe that it was in a position 
to assume further obligations for capital outlays at that time. The proposal was 
then made that the directors and officials of the association raise money among 
themselves and the members for the purpose of erecting redrying plants. The 
members of the board did not subscribe for stocks to accomplish these ends. A 
plan was then presented by Mr. Tucker C. Watkins, director of warehouses, in 
which he proposed to the board that he and one or two other officers of the asso- 
ciation would operate a couple of large redrying plants at South Boston and 
Chatham, in which they would agree to redry tobacco for the association at a price 
not to exceed $1.75 per hundred pounds. The board accepted this proposition, 
and the redrying plants were operated under the name of the F. R. Edmondson 
Tobacco Co. 
The officers of the association who engaged in this redrying business have come 
in for considerable criticism. The board of directors has also been criticized for 
permitting officers who were already receiving salaries to engage in redrying the 
tobacco for the association. From its investigations the committee believes 
that the association saved its members at least 25 cents per hundred pounds in 
redrying costs on the 1923 crop, and perhaps 50 cents per hundred in redrying 
costs on a part of the 1924 crop. The association got a large part of its tobacco 
redried at a cost of $1.75 per hundred in 1923, due to the fact that redriers came 
bo this basic price. During 1924 the Edmondson Tobacco Co. further reduced 
its charges for redrying to $1.50 per hundred pounds.