Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1888-02-28
The Tobacco Policy Of 1888.

[Courier-Journal.l
An exceedingly important matte
in commerce will soon be settled b!
Kentucky farmers. These farmer
who produce GO per cent. of the lea
tobacco crop, of the United States
and with the adjacent States whicl
we wish TO be considered as includin!
in all our references to Kentucky to-
bacco, produces within a small frac.
ton of four-ffths of the entire lea
crop of the whole country. They
therefore, easily control the markets
of the United States and Europe foi
American leaf tobacco which is large
Iy the major part of all the tobacco OF
commerce.
These farmers can put all markets
up or down any year they please to
do so and act in concert in Pursuance
of bearish or bullish policy. Ifthey
produce a material surplus above
what the world is in the habit of con-
Stunning they will all the markets
dow, If they produce just enough
they will keep all the markets steady,
but il they produce less than the
markets are in the way of taking and
distributing they will advance prices
aud the rise in price will be proper
tionate to the shortage in supply.
The tobacco trade had an illustration
of this principle in 1887, when our
crop shortage increased the prices of
Burley 100 to 300 per cent .-.ot
The crops o. 1885,. 8"%ofid's i'm
lllEgeiG Wants, and from this accu- :
mutation of larger surplus than
ever before known, there resulted the
ruinous depression in prices which
caused the Western tobacco planters
in 1887 to resort to the most mastery
strike in the history Of the trade, and
acting in unison, to cut down their
planting about GO per cent.
That was an extreme measure, but
1t was called forth by an equally ex-
IRENE exegency. The stock of West |
ern tobacco in the markets of the
United States and Europe at the end
of 1886 amounted to l36, 366 hhds., or
sc, 39l hhds, more than the average
at the end of the four preceding
years. This was an excess over the
average stock of Al per cent. at the
end of 1885, but at the end of 1886,
the stocks of Western at all points
amounted to lS2, 0jG hogsheads, show
ing an increase from the surplus yield
of 1856 of $3.50 hogsheads over the
stock at the end of 1886, and an in
crease of l03,lSl hogsheads, or l2S
per cent, over the average stock al
the end of the four years preceding
1886.
But with one stroke this glut OF
the markets was abolished, and the
Kentucky staple was put in an ex-
ceedingly strong position. Mainly
by voluntary act of self-restraint on
the part of planters, but partly alsC
by damaging drouth, the crop OF
1887 fell short of the late average by
10000 to 10000 hogsheads, accord,
ing to different estimates, and this
deficit was 10000 to 1880 hhds. more
than the excess in the stocks in this
country and Europe over the foul
years preceding. The aggregate sup
ply, therefore, carried over from 1881
was by tens of thousands of hhds
smaller than the average of the dec
ade.
This review of the market RECORD
is full of meat to farmers, and If they
will study and digest it, and act OF
1t, it will do them {
vast amount of good. 1t il
their true policy, one and all, to for
bear yielding to the blind impulse
which we fear is threatening tC
seize them, and to adhere strictly ant
rigidly, one and all, toa planting
limit not an acre above bare aver
age. This will be fully accomplished
If each Western planter will honestly
limit his crop to what is a bare aver
age on his own farm.
If this isdone, the trade year 1885,
will be another year of high and re
munerate prices.
An average crop in the position
which 1887 has placed prospective
supplies will leave sellers more com
pleie masters of the situation thai
they have yet been, for by the mex
tobacco harvest the surplus in tn,
worlds supply of the old type
will have been much more thar
abolished, and sellers will be more
favored by the markets for the ole
types.
IL the United States and Europe
require only 100000 hogsheads o
Western tobacco for years trade, 4
yield of 100000 hogsheads will be u
per cent. of surplusage, and the whole
value of that surplus will be assessed
in the course of trade to each seller
according to his individual interest
in the 100000 hogsheads. A crop o
$4,000 hogsheads would be a thirt
more than enough on that assump,
ton, and nobody would buy into
that surplus except at such low
prices as to make large losses to pro
ducers. But if only 100000 hogs
heads be raised, that would be a de
ficinecy of 20 per cent. and would ado
20 TO 30 per cent. more 10 prices.
So that any surplus of production
Is even worse than waste of the la
Dor which made il, because it becomes
setof against the value ofthe whole
crop.
II is fortunately the case just now
that there are high prices with grea
scarcity in all the Western leaf tobac,
co States in corn, oats, hay, hogs, etc
and farmers can employ very profit
able in those lines all the land and la
Dor they may save from the work O
overcropping tobacco.