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Show LAWSON'S PLAN TO -QONQUERJHE TRUST Would Overcome the American Tobacco Combine by Organizing Organiz-ing "People's Trust," Relieves his scheme . will prove successful Expects to Organize a Patriotic Society, in Which Stock Has No Voting Power, k . By leased Wire to The Tribune: BOSTON, Jan. 22. Thimaa W. Law-son Law-son started for Kcntuck3r today to consult con-sult with tho Burldy Tobacco society as to tho .formation ,of a 50,000,000 "People's "Peo-ple's Tobacco Trust,'' with which to tight tho American Tobaqco company. tr. Lawson today made -to the Publishers Pub-lishers Press the following signed' statement state-ment as to tho situation in Kentucky and the plans ho will lay before the Burley Tobacco society next week. BY THOMAS W. LAWSON. 'So much that is misleading has been said since my advent into tho Kentucky Ken-tucky tobacco.situntion that T welcome the opportunity to set tho public straight on a matter which in tho very near future is suro to play a most startling and important part in American Ameri-can affairs. fOn the outcome of the now deadlocked dead-locked issue between the people of Ken-lucky Ken-lucky aud ono of. the crystallized personifications per-sonifications of the deadly trust system sys-tem depends not! only the welfare of a great state, but. tho welfare of all tho pooplo of America. "The men of Kentucky and tho legal person of tbcjr Burley .Tobacco society havp been at. war for several years wiyi their would-bo stranIer, the American Tobacco trust. They have fought tho light of bravo men' battling for their all. The men of Kentucky have whipped whip-ped tho bruto tobacco trust to the placo where each rests upon its arms on the eyo'of the final battlo on tho outcome out-come of which depcuds permanent peace. ''The Burley society lias accomplished accomplish-ed all it started out, to do up to where it today absolutely controls tho Burley tobacco" crop which at a fair price is worth about $23,000,000. "If tho tobacco trust buys it at the fair living price the Burley society will have wou completely. "If. on tho other hand, the American Ameri-can trust, nbsolutoly controlling tho tobacco to-bacco industry, refuses to buy this crop (and continues to refuse until tho Burley Bur-ley society must surrender nud accept the trust price, the Burley trust and the people ot Kentucky will havo been whipped to a failure by tho tobacco trust and tho Burlc3' socicl- must dis-baud. dis-baud. "This particular Peoples' trust will start with $50,000,000; twenty odd millions mil-lions to buy this crop; the balance for factories, machinery, etc. How to Crush Trust, "All that is necessary to crush tbo tobacco trust is to have: First, an institution in-stitution which caunot bo captured b' the system. "This, our Peoples' tobacco trust will havo because its stock will not havo voting power. There will be no necessitv for tho stock to carry voting power "because the Peoples' Tobacet trust will bo controlled and man." by a board of twenty-ono -ublic-spirit-cd Kentuekians, a board similar to the savings bank of Massachusetts. These trustees will receive no salary and theii entire duties will bo tho selection of a board of tobacco expert, managers who will receive better salaries than tho tobacco to-bacco trust can afford to pay thorn. "Tho stock of tho Pcoplbrs Tobacco trust will pay 0 per cent annually, no more or no less, as all oarnuigs over 6 per cent: will bo returned to the people peo-ple in the form of reduced pay on tho goods they consume. "This "stock will show on its faco that it is absolutely safo from tho fact that all tho capital slock paid in goes first in tho hands of tho board of twenty ono -public ollicials, serving as a matter of honor. Next that it is only to the raisers for tho raw material and for factories and machinery at bedrock prices. "Tho People's Tobacco trust stock, for tho rcasous above given, will bo gobbled up by tho tobacco laborers, by tho tobacco consumers, because thoy will know that what they pay in on tho oue baud thoy take out, on tho other cither for their raw material, their labor, their services in reduced price of the goods they consume or in dividends. "After laying Iho a.bovo plans boforo Iho Burley society and their admitting their soundness 1 glial I say to them 1 shall tuke ohiirgo of their organrnt ion and r!l atfairs connected therewith free of all charge and that as soon as tho institution had .matured to tho placo where I hoy conld dispense with my services I would ccaso auy connection with it. Publicity Campaign. "Jn this connection 1 will go to Kentucky Ken-tucky and for tho first sixty days address ad-dress thirty monster meetings to bo held throughout the state. So confident confi-dent am I of the groat People's trust stock that; I will head tho stockholders' list for whatever amount tho board of governors allot me, paying, tho same as all other stockholders, 100 cents on tho dollar This, though, with tho understanding under-standing that I will not ask for a share if it is wanted 1)3 tho small investor. "Tho situation is now; T will next week in Kentucky formulate 1113' plans and in thoir formulation will show that, there can bo 110 backing and filling, oueo they havo been agreed, to. "If for an3' reason 1113- hard and fast plans should not be acceptable to the society we will part with what has been an agreeable and most pleasant experience experi-ence for mo. If, 011 the other hand, tlicy :ire agreeable, a commission will immediately bo inaugurated and carried to a finish. ; "Since leaving Kentucky 1 believe I have shown tho trust, tho futility of trying to confine a nrairie tiro with a nnsal atomizer. When 1 am with the Kentucky people next week I will bet 1 will show them that, it is a waste of timo and energy to attempt the changing chang-ing of a man-eater's spotswith a powder puff, and that, tho first gun wo will lire will clearly show to the. public that the only propor w.ay to apply tanning to a jungle hido is to tho raw sido." |