Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1873-01-04
To the Tobacco Planters and Prixers
Of ClarksviIle and Hopkinsvilie Dis

To the Tobacco Planters and PrixerI
Of ClarksviIle and Hopkinsville Dis
tricts.
GENTLENsEN:-We desire to cal
your attention to some abuses, whic.
have gradually grown up in our dis,
trict, in the management of the to
bacco CROP, until they are now Sc
great, as TO cry aloud for remedy
We aflude to the mixing of variou.
qualities of leaf in one hogshead, and
In some cases to the unfair packing ol
same. Universal complaint was made
against our section the past season, q
tobacco district, which has hereto
fore held the first rank for fine tobac-
co, skillful management and honest
packing.
We appeal to you to give your earn.
est aid to check this evil at once, and
to recover again the oh-time honored
reputation of ClarksvilIe Tobacco.
To show how universal are the com
plants, we point to the few extracts
below. as giving the present opinion OF
the tobacco world, in regard to the
management In our section.
Messrs. Sawyer, Wallace q Co. oi
New York, in their circular of Dec
End, say: 1t is proper to mention
the frequent and loud complaints re.
ceived from Bremen, oftobacco bought
at the Clarksville and Hopkinsyille
breaks, turning out entirely different
and vastly inferior to the Western
samples. We have had some expert
ence ofthis ourselves, and if continued
another season, it must work great in
jury to these markets. We know
there is difference of opinion as to
what constitutes fair sample; wheth-
er it should include a portion of the
short tobacco priced around the turn
of the cask. Our inspectors, and
those of several Western breaks in
clude this, their samples representing
everything they find in the hogsheads
and any other course leaves open such
a door for fraud, that we are convinced
it is the only safe plan.
Now is the time, therefore, to mott
fly the planters, that if their hogsheads
are not of uniform quality, top, bot
tom and sides, it will all certainly ap-
appear in the sample"
Mr.. Verheyden of Belgium, who
held in 1872 Tobacco contracts from
Spain, France, and Italy, has expressed
himself as follows :. /" You may well
assure your planters, prizers, and all
whom it may concern, that we are deter
mined not to purchase next year, one
single hogshead of mixed stuff. They
have merelyfor us the value oflugs, as
they are only admitted by the Regie
governments under that classified
ton. 1t is then understood that we
shall only accept unmixed hogsheads,
and the crop will be fully sufficient to
admit of that, and supply the markets
with the quantities of selections un-
mixed, sought for by purchasers"
The we'll known German house of
Messrs. Chas. Luling Il Co. say.
Clarksville and Hopkinsville samples
this year, compared very unfavorably
with those of the Bremen inspection,
and frequent complaints have been
made, and every effort should be made
in the interests of the tobacco trade
of your cities, to check and adjust ir-
regularities, for otherwise, your in
spections will no more be recognized
as creditable."
Mr.. Heinr Riensch, tobacco broker
of Bremen, in his circular of Nov. 1,
says: =" The larger part of our stocks
of Kentucky tobacco in first hands
has been redrawn, holders finding great
reluctance ON the side of buyers, to
purchase on American samples, which
too often prove perfectly unreliable
The slight and wanton way, in which
sampling frequently seems to be done
abroad, severely damages trade, and
we are sorry to say that the former
in the good will Of Ameri-
can inspectors is greatly shaken, in
many instances, even changed into
open distrust." "
Messrs. Schultz & Lehmkuhl of
Bremen, say: The purchasers of To-
bacco have experienced too heavy
losses In consequence of the many false
samples, and it is quite
necessary that your inspectors should
give all their attention to this subject;
and that each sample should fairly
represent the whole hogshead. The
purchasers in this city have come to
the resolution, that the seller has to
pay for the difference of each hogs
head, which turns out to differ from
your samples, and the seller will of
course claim from the American ship
per. We, therefore, again request you,
to use all of your influence for the in
spectors to draw fair samples"
Mr.. L. w. Smythe of Liverpool,
England, says: Your planters and
prizers should be induced to change
their habit of packing short tobacco
around their hogsheads; our inspec-
tors regard such hogheads as an at
tempt at fraud, and always put por-
ton of the short tobacco in their sam
pies. African buyers refuse to take
such hogsheads; and they have to be
sold for export alta price near the value
IF the short breaks, entailing heavy
losses upon the shipper y
We quote from Mr.. Thompson
Circular of Oct. 1st, as
'ollows: To my Western friends:
| am aware that from decreas-
ID planting of late, they cannot assOrt
heir crops as carefully as formerly,
till they can, and ought to avoid mix
ng their fine, and packing the sides of
logsheads with short tobacco and
ugs. Careless prizing and mixing
lenders the purchase of fine qualities,
.isky and uncertain, particularly for
oreign account and manufactur
ng, where samples are drawn in their
interest; all tobacco priced by plant
RS and dealers, should be uniform IN
ength, quality and color in the same
logshead.
Thus bringing the trade back to the
roper proportion as in years past, Of
ugs, fine and choice, and | risk moth
ng in saying, that the average price
will be more than under the present
ystem, as well as more satisfactory
nd profitable to buyers and manu-
acturers.
We could add many more extracts
rom the correspondence of shippers
his year, which has been mortifying
o those who have the good name of
iur section at heart. But the above
rom well known houses is sufficient to |
Indicate the extent to which the evil /
las grown.
Much tobacco has been sold in
Bremen this year, by Clarksyille and |
Iopkinsville samples, hence the many
from that market.
In the old keel-boating days, habit
rose, of packing bundle or two of
nore inferior tobacco, in each course
round the sides, to protect the finer
L ] q Il