The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1902-02-28
THE
Wisconsin Tobacco Reporter,
Edeerton. Wisconsin.
NOTE BOOK SKETCHES.

risks subject to a general raise of % per
cent in premiums asked for future in
surance. The insurance business seems
to be peculiar in some respects in that
whenever the business of any one year
shows loss, the managers Immediately
resolve to raise premium rates. This has
occurred several times in recent years
right after some disastrous losses on to-
bacco risks. Other lines of business do
not seem to have the ready remedy to
recoup their losses, but with insurance
men little furry of unusual losses rat
ties the whole fraternity and the Jump
ing up of rates is the result. The tobac-
co trade will probably have to submit to
the raise, which is said to affect all risks
and will have no just complaint to make
if all localities are alike effected by the
increased rates. Wisconsin dealers will
scarcely care to submit to higher rates
that does not effect the packing points
of the other states, for their storage
business would suffer thereby. So far as
Wisconsin is concerned tobacco insurance
has been profitable business. No serious
losses on these risks have occurred in
the state since 1886, when the rates went
a flying right afterwards. What is like
ly to affect local tobacco men more than
the general increase Of premiums is the
re-rating of warehouse risks that has
been going On in the packing points of
late, taking into account the exposures,
methods of heating and lighting and the
means Of extinguishing fires, etc. When
the regulation test is put upon all risks
many warehouses, we imagine, will be
found to put out of commission for stor
age purposes on account of the excessive
premiums charged. All this, of
course, will have tendency to drive the
handling of tobacco into the better class
of warehouses.
As an instance of the possibilities of
trade to be opened up in the Orient the
Record Herald of Sunday notes that 500
Car loads of tobacco has been routed
over the transcontinental lines for ship
ment from Tacoma to Japan. Later in.
formation calls out the fact that the
is Virginia leaf and is be-
lieved to be the first large shipment of
American tobacco to an oriental country.
The movement is supposed to be induced
by the American Tobacco Co., who have
arranged to establish several cigarette
factories in Japan that will supply the
demand for goods in that part of the
world. There has been great rivalry
among the railways to secure the car
riage of SO large shipment, but the
business has been secured by the North
ern Pacific and Great Northern lines via
Chicago and st. Paul. Up to this year
the finished product of tobacco and
principally the latter has
been shipped to the orient in preference
to the raw weed. The big trust now
prefers the crude leaf to make their own
cigarettes. Japan is the bigger market
for American tobacco, though the trade
with China has increased considerably
during the past six or eight months, or
since that country has been opened
more freely to the products of other
lands.
*.*
A Connecticut Valley grower wants
the experimental department of the gov
ernment to explain why it did not sug-
gest remedy to prevent pole sweat in
their last seasons crop. Here is his
The most dreaded foe of the tobacco
grower, with the exception of the tariff
and hail storms, is pole sweat.
Nearly every crop has been damaged by
it more or less this season, the earliest
cut crops more than the late cut. Some
plants have rotted entirely, others were
blackened and thickened, some lost the
life and finish, and canker attacked 9TH
ers; in short, the percentage Of fine light
wrapper is very small, and a large
of waste and rubbish is picked
up by buyers at about l cent pound,
and these are the remains of the finest
crop in the field for years. The Connec-
ticut experiment station has bravely
tried to enlighten the grower how to pre-
vent pole sweat. These experts even got
as far as to have pole sweat proof barn, |
but then the whole calamity burned up,
and that is the last the growers ever
heard of it; they dropped experimenting
IN that line. But it is an i'll wind that |
blows nobody any good. So this year
the continued rainy and cloudy weather |
that ruined the tobacco hung up with |
the stock, proved to be. just right for the.
primed leaves of the Sumatra tobacco.
But how dry, clear fall will cure this |
,lass of tobacco will be found out later.
Meanwhile, we have to take our chances |
on pole sweat, tariff tinkering and hail |
storms the same as in years gone by.
~
The report has gone abroad that the |
q. f. Adams Tobacco Go. of Milwaukee, |
he oldest manufacturing concern in the |
vest. was about to be absorbed by the |
pig trust. Members of the firm Geny |