Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1905-07-20
COMMUNICATED.
The Tobacco Crop and Preach
Contract.

Koch POINT, CHARLES Co., ND
Editors Beacon Il enclose you
clipping from the Baltimore Sun O
July 9th on the Maryland tobacct
market, which l take the liberty O
asking you to publish. My hope il
that the Southern Maryland papers
will take up this matter and educate
our farmers on this important sub
iect TO the end that by concert of &C
tion among the tobacco growers we
can induce the commission men who
sell our tobacco to leave of their
present method of fighting each 9th.
or over the division OF the crop and
form trust for the farmer 5 benefit.
Nothing could be worse than the
conditions at present. Only one
buyer to fill the entire French con.
tract, and he to pay whatever be
pleases. S. S. LANCASTER.
The present low price of Maryland
tobacco is giving the planters of the
southern counties good deal OF con.
Germ and may result in a large re.
duction of the acreage of the crop in
the future and of this years yield.
The principal customer Of the Mary.
land planter is the French Govern.
ment. A particular quality of Mary.
land tobacco is extremely popular in
France, and the French smokers
will not use any other kind il they
can get that from this State. In this
connection the name of no State Ia
the Union is as familiar to the rural
and provincial people of France as is
the name Of our own State. In France
the sale Of tobacco in every form is
/ q Government monopoly. Thegrcwtt
of tobacco is not permitted except by
a special Government license. The
Government buys tobacco in great
quantities at the lowest price and
then sells it to the people at a profit
dealing with this commodity as South
Carolina deals with spurious LIQUORS
The tobacco is supplied to the French
Government by contractors. Bids
are asked for and the dealer offerine
to furnish the amount required a
the lowest rate receives the contrac
to supply so many hogsheads, anC
then the contractor proceeds to bu,
at the lowest possible price, hi:
profits, of course, in the differenc,
between the price he receives from
France and the price he pays to til,
planter. Unfortunately for the Mary
land planter, there seems TO be M
other customer for this particular
quality Of tobacco, and he must &C
cept what is offered. OF cours,
France desires to get her supply a.
cheap as possible. But in fixing tn,
price too low they may be killing Oh,
goose that lays the golden egg. TIL,
Maryland planter may quit the cul
tivatior of tobacco and engage il
more profitable agriculture. In tina
case the French supply will have 3,
be purchased in some other State
and in no other tobacco State is tn,
price as low as in Maryland excep
in Pennsylvania, Tennessee ant
Kentucky. One would suppose tina
with o single customer in the marke
TO buy $1,000 hogsheads a year
near half the entire crop-woul,
make prices high. But it seem
that so far from regarding the Frencl
contract as an advantage the Mary
land planter attributes to it the un
profitable prices he now receives.
The cultivation of tobacco was Il
early timesgeneral throughout Mary
land. There is no part OF the State
except, perhaps, in the Al.eghan,
Mountains, where it will not grow
But all the counties except five hav
abandoned it as crop and have be
come more prosperous by so doing
There is no locality, we believe
where the people have returned 3
its cultivation after having ono
given it up.
Tobacco growing is now practical
ly confined to the five southern coun
ties of the Western Shore. Mon,
gomery, which used to produce
large quantity. has not more thal
400 or 500 acres planted each year
and Howard about a fourth as muc
indeed, Howard has less than Fred
erick. Ii seems 10 be absolute foil,
for the Southern Maryland planter
to be raising tobacco for France a
less than the cost of production
There are two courses apparentl
open to them. One is 10 give up C
bacco and raise some other crop, a
the people in the other COMMITTEES hav
done. The other is to produce
quality of tobacco which will attrac
other buyers. Whether this can b
done we do not know. 1t is certai
that at this time there is a great CON
plant Of lack Of profits among Oh
! planters, and some remedy seems 3
be demanded.