By KEITH STRANGE
"If I fight Stabilization and I lose, I can accept that. But if I fight and I win, then I have helped other warehousemen stay in business to make a living for their families," said Mac Bailey, CEO of S&M Brands, which manufactures Bailey's cigarettes.
Many warehousemen and producers are angry that Stabilization used what they feel is their money to fund 14 marketing centers for the 2002 flue-cured tobacco growing season, and are planning a lawsuit to combat what they feel is an injustice to the warehousemen.
Bailey said that the only way there would not be a lawsuit against Stabilization is if every legal scholar around tells him that he has no chance of winning.
Warehousemen aired their concerns during the 44th Annual District 10 meeting held Wednesday at American Legion Post 88 in South Boston.
"For Stabilization to get involved with the marketing system before trying to talk to the warehousemen and finding out how many were able to stay in business, to me, is unbelievable," Bailey said.
Baily feels that Stabilization should have conducted a survey to determine whether enough warehouses would be able to operate, if they had and determined a need for action, he would have agreed with the decision.
Bailey is planning a meeting on February 6, in Raleigh, N.C., to see what interest there is in suing Stabilization.
"I believe that there has been a wrong done to the warehousemen.
"I know that a lot of them don't have the money for a lawsuit, so if they want to put in a token amount and join me, I'll foot the bill," the Lunenburg County warehouseman and manufacturer said.
"I hope that they don't throw away their money on (a lawsuit) because I don't think that they can win," Shepherd said.
South Boston warehouseman Charlie Payne feels that Stabilization's entry into the marketing system is nothing more than direct competition for existing warehousemen.
"These farmers have participated in (Stabilization) all along," said Payne of the New Planters Warehouse.
"What they are doing is taking the farmer's money and running their own warehouses while at the same time putting other warehousemen out of business," he charged.
Payne said that although Stabilization claims it is trying to save the auction system, "the South Boston market is trying to save the auction system, too."
Andrew Shepherd, who was re-elected District 10 Director during the meeting, said that Stabilization is taking the necessary steps to protect the auction system.
"I think that we're doing the right thing," Shepherd said. "We may have been able to do some things differently to not have ruffled some feathers, and could have handled it a little better, but I think that what we are doing is necessary."
"They say that now. But if the auction system makes a comeback, then they have 14 warehouses..." Bailey said.
The CEO said that in his work, he knows that some of the manufacturers are not completely satisfied with the way contracting went last year.
"Stabilization has been controlled by the big companies since I can remember.
"The tobacco that is sold to Stabilization, where does it go? To Stabilization," Bailey added.
Payne feels like everyone that was left after last year should have had an opportunity to get a Stabilization contract if they wanted one.
"They didn't give me or the South Boston market any consideration," he continued.
Shepherd said that he didn't know whether any of the other warehousemen were consulted before the decision was made.
"The board made the decision," he said.
Stabilization tried to economically and geographically locate the marketing centers so that the farmers wouldn't have to drive more than 50 miles to sell their tobacco, according to Shepherd.
"It was a hard decision for our board to make," he said of opening just 14 marketing centers.
Bailey questions whether that criteria was the true yardstick for choosing which centers to keep open.
"They said that they were searching for a modern facility. But in Danville, Motley's Warehouse is nice, but Holland's is much newer.
"That leaves me to wonder what is going on behind the scenes," he said.
Bailey said that this is just one example of the farmers being misinformed as to the criteria Stabilization used.
Shepherd said that the Stabilization staff determined where the centers should be located.
If Virginia had only had one center, Shepherd said, it would likely have been in South Boston or Clarksville.
"But we didn't want the producers to have to travel so far to market their tobacco," he said.
"It was pretty cut and dried as to where to put them," he added.
Former warehouseman Wylie Farrar thinks that there may be another motive.
"I think that they are trying to save the auction system, but they're also trying to save some high-priced jobs over at Stabilization," he said.
Bailey agrees.
"I think that they are protecting their own jobs," he said.
One of the major complaints related to the 14 marketing centers is that Stabilization is a grower-owned business, and the 14 centers will be turning a profit.
"I don't think that you should take our money and put it into a free-enterprise business while at the same time putting others out of work," said Farrar, a former warehouseman.
"The bottom line is that they are going to have 14 warehouses that are turning a profit for somebody," he added.
Shepherd said that the funding for the centers would come from interest accrued from Stabilization's holdings. Farmers have been paying into the fund since the 1940s.
Shepherd said that using the interest wouldn't take any principle away from the farmers.
"We are not going to make any money operating these centers. We just want to keep a viable auction system in place for the producers," he added.
Farrar disagrees.
"I agree with keeping the auction system alive, but not at the expense of the other warehouses.
"They've shut a lot of people down doing this," the former warehouseman said.
Payne said that being put out of business is one thing. But he feels more disappointed at the way he's been treated than anything.
"I was never considered when they were making this decision.
"They're going to put us out of business, and I've had a contract with them every since we've been in operation," he added.
Payne feels that Stabilization isn't using fair business practices.
"They broke me. And they are taking the livelihood away from a lot of us in the warehouse business," he lamented.
Payne said that although he doesn't have the money left to take Stabilization to court, he thinks it is a viable option.
Farrar agrees that litigation may be the only recourse.
"I think that they are using stockholders money to open these warehouses without stockholders approval.
"And I would look at a potential lawsuit and make a decision after hearing what they have to say," he said.
While the legality of Stabilization's action is in question by some of the former producers and warehousemen, Shepherd said that they had their attorneys look into the question before opening the marketing centers.
"We also had an independent firm look at our proposal and neither saw a problem," he said.
Shepherd said that he had a conference call with a few warehousemen Wednesday night about the possibility of a lawsuit.
"I told them that they need to see what their chances are."

A cloudy steel tariff proposal on President George Bush's desk could claim 64 South Boston jobs.
The President's decision is due March 6.
This threat comes on the heels of 1,000 textile job loses announced here within the past six months.
In the tariff cross hairs, Bohler-Uddeholm Speciality Metals' high speed steel supply from its parent company in Austria.
The South Boston facility, located on Eastover Drive, reprocesses the material from Austria to make it suitable for its customers. The high speed steel is used for a variety of metal cutting tools.
"The threat is real," said Speciality Metals President George Kelley yesterday," but we have legal counsel and lobbyists working in Washington, D.C."
Kelley and Marvin Morris, vice president of operations at the South Boston company, went to Washington several weeks ago to meet with congressmen about the tariff issue.
Contacted previously, 5th District Congressman Virgil Goode immediately sent a letter to the President in support of the company's high speed steel proposal.
The duo contacted U.S. Sens. John Warner and George Allen during their recent trip.
Earlier this week, Halifax County supervisors, as well as South Boston and Halifax town councils, endorsed a resolution from the company urging the President to decide against any restrictions on tool steel products manufactured in Austria.
The resolution also supported the Austrian request for exclusion on stainless steel flat bar.
The resolution was forwarded to the President, Sens. Warner and Allen and Congressman Goode.
If President Bush approves the proposal, Kelley said it would add an additional 15 percent tariff as well as a quota to the product.
Previously, International Trade Commission members voted 3-3 on the high speed steel tariff proposal, but 6-0 in favor of protection of carbon steel, explained Kelley.
"High speed steel is a niche," Kelley said yesterday. The company president wants to have high speed steel taken out of the tariff proposal.
If the tariff proposal passes with high speed steel included, Kelly said that his company can't survive.
In addition, he said the negative impact will filter down to his customers.
Section 201, which is before the President, was designed to protect American carbon steel mills that felt injured by imported products, Kelley explained.
Speciality Metals main domestic competition, according to Kelley, is Timken Latrobe, which makes high speed steel in Pennsylvania.
Latrobe employs about 600, according to Kelley. But he said that ten times that number could be adversely affected by the President's action.
Kelley said that France and Asia are his company's competitors.
The Specialty Metals president said since Bohler Uddeholm purchased the South Boston facility in August of 1998 that they have added $1 million annually to the local economy through plant expansion and equipment.
He described the company as offering "good paying jobs" in South Boston.

Halifax County again experienced double-digit unemployment in December, with a rate of 10.9 percent, according to figures provided yesterday by the Virginia Employment Commission (VEC).
The VEC reported that 1,987 out of a total labor force of 18,204 were looking for work in December.
December's unemployment rate is slightly higher than November's rate of 10.8 percent, reflecting the sweeping effects of textile plant closings during 2001.
It is also twice as high as the rate reflected in December 2000, when an unemployment rate of 5.2 percent was recorded.
To the west, the cities of Danville and Martinsville, as well as Henry and Pittsylvania counties, also experienced high unemployment, according to the VEC.
The City of Danville had an unemployment rate of 7.5 percent, compared to 7.4 percent in November, while Martinsville had a December unemployment rate of 12.2 percent.
Pittsylvania County had an unemployment rate of 10.2 percent while Henry County had an unemployment rate of 10.1 percent for December.
Neighboring Mecklenburg County experienced a large jump in its umemployment rate in December, while Charlotte County's rate remained stable.
Mecklenburg County's unemployment rate shot up a full percentage point, from 6.7 percent to 7.7 percent, probably due to the closing of Russell Stover in Clarksville.
Charlotte County's unemployment rate for December was the same as November's rate, at 4.3 percent.
As a whole, Virginia's unemployment rate dropped in December to 3.6 percent from November's rate of 3.7 percent, according to the VEC, with almost 134,000 people looking for work.
That is almost twice as high as the 1.9 percent unemployment rate recorded in December 2000.

A new board of directors and a new director will be elected this afternoon when the Flue-Cured Tobacco Cooperative Stabilization Corporation holds its 44th Annual District Meeting for District 10 tobacco farmers in South Boston.
Andrew Shepherd, Stabilization's director representing the district, announced Tuesday that the meeting will be held at the American Legion Building, 1710 Jeffress Blvd., South Boston today at 2 p.m.
District 10 includes all flue-cured producing counties in the state of Virginia.
Stabilization is a farmer-owned organization administering the price support program for flue-cured tobacco.
"Stabilization's flue-cured marketing centers and the future of an auction marketing system will be the key topics at the annual district meeting this year," Shepherd said.
"Significant data from the 2001 tobacco season will also be presented by representatives from Stabilization, Tobacco Associates, and USDA's Tobacco Division Agricultural Marketing Service."
Shepherd said that ample time will be provided for comments and discussion at the meeting.
A brief business session will be held immediately following the regular meeting to elect the director to represent the district on Stabilization's Board of Directors for the ensuing three-year term.
The selection of Advisory Committee members from each of the flue-cured producing counties in District 10 will be held during the business meeting.
"I encourage flue-cured farmers to make every effort to attend and participate in this important meeting.
"Critical issues regarding our tobacco program will be discussed and we would appreciate insight and input on these issues from our farmer members," Shepherd said.
Among the issues discussed at the meeting is the question of using UDSA graders in all flue-cured tobacco sales.
The referendum is set for vote in June, according to Shepherd.
"I see the vote as a very important issue within the price support system," he said.
Sheperd said that although many farmers have been raising tobacco for years, they often don't know what they are selling.
"Since farmers can't grade their own tobacco under current policy," he said, "if you don't have graders, the farmer has no way of knowing what price their product is bringing."
Shepherd said that the importance of the vote cannot be stressed enough.
"If we let the historic gains that growers have fought for get away from us, we won't be able to get these benefits back," he said.
Shepherd said that the meeting is important to all growers.
"This is an election meeting for Virginia. The farmers will have a chance to elect a new director as well as a new board of directors," Shepherd said.

Dr. Ronald Ware Starnes

Dr. Ronald Ware Starnes, 68, of Odessa, De., died January 24 at his home.
Dr. Starnes graduated from Ferrum College, Lynchburg College, Westminster Seminary, and Nova University where he received his doctorate. He was a United Methodist minister for 10 years, than a full professor of Philosophy of Eastern and Western Religions for 27 years. He had served as a chaplain in the US Army Reserves.
Survivors include his wife, Martha Nash Starnes; three sons, Lincoln M. Starnes and his wife, Mary of Atlanta, Ga., Daniel B. Starnes and wife, Connie of Sierra Vista, Az. and Benjamin W. Starnes and wife, Margie of Bethesda, Md.; three granddaughters, Nancy Elizabeth Starnes, Cary Amy Starnes and Shaelyn Cheyenne Starnes; his mother, Isabel Coleman Starnes of South Boston; and one brother, F. Coleman Starnes and wife, Linda of Fredericksburg. Dr. Starnes was preceded in death by his father, Oscar B. Starnes.
A memorial service for Dr. Starnes was held at 2:30 p.m. on January 27 at St. Paul's United Methodist Church in Odessa.

Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider the American Cancer Society, 92 Reads Way, New Castle, De. 19720.

Helen Gertrude Smith Doss

Helen Gertrude Smith Doss, 91, of 1214 Washington Avenue, South Boston, died January 30 at her home.
Mrs. Doss was born in Halifax County on June 23, 1910, the daughter of Richard Walker Smith and Ada Jane Long Smith and was married to Harry Allen Doss. She was a member of McCanless Memorial United Methodist Church.
Survivors include one daughter, Jane D. Newton of South Boston; six grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by one daughter, Katherine Davis; and one grandchild.

Graveside services for Mrs. Doss were held January 30, at 4 p.m. at Halifax Memorial Gardens with the Rev. Dr. Robert Fox officiating.

Clyde Edward Lawson

Clyde Edward Lawson, 86, of Philadelphia, Pa., formerly of South Boston, died January 26.
Mr. Lawson was born February 17, 1915, to the late Aaron and Susie Lawson in South Boston and was married to Alice Walker Lawson.
In addition to his wife, survivors include six children, Shirley, Edward, Clarence, Brenda, James and Linda; six grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; four sisters, Alease Tuck, Mary Owens, Annie Crawley and Beulah Murphy; four brothers, Daniel, Otis, James and Walton Lawson.

Funeral services for Mr. Lawson will be held today, February 1 at 11 a.m. at Shalom Baptist Church in Philadelphia. Burial will follow in Ivy Hill Cemetery.

Frank Dudley Moorefield

Frank Dudley Moorefield, 90, of Hurt, died January 29 in Gretna Health Care Center.
Mr. Moorefield was born May 30, 1911, in Pittsylvania County, the son of the late Monroe Moorefield and Olivia Roach Moorefield. He was a member of Piney Grove Baptist Church, Polk Lodge #61 A.F. & A.M., the Renan Fire Department and Virginia Farm Bureau. He was a dairyman and tobacco farmer.
Survivors include one son, Everett Moorefield Sr. of Hurt; three sisters, Willie Crews of Altavista, Minnie Shelton of Lynchburg and Frances 'Susie' Rowland of Hurt; one grandson, Everett Dudley Moorefield Jr. of Fort Campbell, Ky.; a niece, Bettie Allen and her husband, Steve and family of South Boston; a special friend, Hattie Hall and her children; and other nieces and nephews.
Funeral services for Mr. Moorefield will be held at 2 p.m. today, February 1, at Piney Grove Baptist Church by the Revs. Chuck Haley, Bert Johnson, Charles Wickham and Rudolph Jacobs. Burial with Masonic rites by Polk Lodge #61 A.F.&A.M. will follow in Gretna Burial Park.

Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider the Renan Fire Dept., 232 Camp Branch Rd., Gretna, or the Gretna Rescue Squad, PO Box 14, Gretna, 24557.