Tobacco Farmers Unite. Farmers throughout western Ky. and northern Tn. gathered in Guthrie on Sept. 24, 1904, in response to the tobacco growers’ economic hardship. Five thousand farmers participated in the formation of a cooperative to pool their crops in opposition to price-fixing actions by James Duke and the American Tobacco Co. Two more Guthrie rallies in 1905-06. (Reverse) The Planters Protective Association advocated state & federal policies more responsive to farmers’ needs. On May 29, 1911, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that American Tobacco Co. violated the Sherman Antitrust Act & directed James Duke to bust up his operation. Tobacco prices began to climb. The association disbanded in 1914.