Albuquerque daily citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1895-1903, 1903-04-01
TOBACCO CULTURE.
Meeting Held Last Night at Com
merciaI Club.
STOCK COMPANY TO ORGANIZE.

A large number of prominent bust
ness men of the city held an open
meeting last evening at the CONNER
cial club to consider the feasibility OF
tobacco culture in the Rio Grande val
lev and the best method of promoting
interest in and the development OF the
industry. The following report OF the
committee was adopted by a unani-
nous vote:
Albuquerque, N. NJ, March 30.
To the Executive Committee of the
Commercial Club:
We, the undersigned, your commit
tee appointed to confer with Mr.. Ed
munds regarding the culture of to
bacco in this valley. beg leave to re-
port as follows:
From all the information that we
have been able to gather in our talks
with MIR. Edmunds, we are convinced
that the raising of tobacco can De
made a success in this valley; that II
would pay handsomely on the invest
ment.
We would therefore recommend that
"a company be formed to raise, re-han-
die. buy and sell, export and manu-
facture tobacco, with a capital stock
of twenty-five thousand ($25,OO0) o
lars. divided into W thousand, five
hundred (2.500) shares of ten $4,000
each. And that the company be or
ganized at once, getting as many of
our citizens as possible to take stock,
SO that the interest might grow
throughout the whole community.
Mr.. Edmunds will be with us and
will go more into details about the in
vestment, etc.
e. S. SLOWER.
THOMAS ]. CURRAN.
S. E. Edmunds, of Cincinnati, in
his talk before the meeting, gave an
outline of the best method for the cul-
ture of tobacco. 1t was mis- opinion
that the culture of tobacco could be
made one of the leading industries oil
the territory when the intelligent co
operation of concentrated efforts oil
the people are put into the project. He
was In favor of forming a stock com
pany in Albuquerque to attempt the
culture of tobacco on a scale large
enough I O demonstrate that 1t can b'
made q commercial success. 1t wal
his opinion that A plan should be form
ulated whereby every farmer and Ian
owner in the valley will know how t
20 about the culture of tobacco in al
intelligent manner. According to tn
Investigations made by Mr.. Edmund
the conditions in the Rio Grande va
ley are favorable, and that in introdu
ing tobacco into New Mexico is merel
planting 1t in a soil to which 1t is nj
tive.
A plan of the proposed company wa
outlined by T. j. Curran, by which NJ
Edmunds would be employed for 81
months and that in that time he coul,
with the assistance of the industri;
department Of the Santa Fe, give pra
teal instructions to every farmt
along the valley between BernalilI
and Belen. There is no doubt in ii
minds of the promoters that the !
vestment will make satisfactory +
turns. Mr.. Curran stated that Il
present plan was to plant forty acr'
in tobacco in ter acre lots at differe
points along the river, and thus te
the soil in all parts of the valley
tween Bernalillo and Belen. The es
mate of the cost of the first plantil
and harvest was $4,000, this to inclu
a salary Of $500 to Mr.. Edmunds I
the first six months for his servic
in experimenting the planting and C
ture and giving instructions to t
farmers of the Rio Grande valley. II
man Blueher presented photographs
tobacco grown on his farm in Old .
buquerque and passed around cigs
made of that tobacco. He heartily
dorsed the plans of the promoters a
it vas his candid opinion that tobac
raising can be made a profitable indu
try in the Rio Grande valley. II
seed from which the plants will
grown has already been ordered by Il
promoters, and the plants will
ready for planting by the time the col
pany is prepared for active work.