The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1905-07-07
THE TOBACCO CROP AND
THE FRENCH CONTRACT.

THE TOBACCO CROP AND
THE FRENCH CONTRACT.
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 reduc-
ton of the acreage of the crop in the
future and of this years yield. The
principal customer of the Maryland
planter is the French Government. A
particular quality Of Maryland tobac-
co is extremely popular in France,
and the French smokers will not use
any other kind if they can. get that
from this State. In this connection
the name of no State in the Union is
as familiar to the rural and provincial
people Of France as Ia the name OF our
own State. In France the sale of to-
bacco in every form is Government
monopoly. The growth 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 profit, dealing with this
commodity as South Carolina deals
with spirituous liquors. The tobacco
is supplied to the French Government
nv contractors. Bids are asked Tor
and the dealer offering to furnish the
amount required at the lowest rate re-
ceiyes the contract to supply so many
hogsheads, and then the contractor
proceeds to buy at the lowest possible
price, his profits consisting, OF course
in the difference between the price he
receives from France and the price he
paws to the planter. Unfortunately
for the Maryland planter, there seems
to be no other customer for this par
ticular quality of tobacco, and he must
accept what is offered. Ut course
France desires to get her supply as
cheap as possible. But in fixing the
price too low they may be killing the
goose that lays the golden egg. The
Maryland planter may quit the cult
walton of tobacco and engage in more
profitable agriculture. In that case
the French supply will have to be
purchased in some other State, and in
no other tobacco State is the price as
low as in Maryland except In Penn
sylvania, Tennessee and kentucky.
One would suppose that with single
customer in the market to buy l6,OOO
hogsheads year-near half the entire
crop-would make prices high. But
it seems that so far from regarding
the French contract as an advantage
the Maryland planter attributes to it
the Improbable prices he now re-
ceives.
The cultivst on of tobacco was in
early times general throughout Mary
land. There is no part f the State,
except, perhaps, in the Allegheny
Mountains, where it will not grow.
But all the counties except five have
abandoned it as a crop and have be-
come more prosperous by SO doing.
There is ne locality, we believe, where
the people have returned to it's cult
walton after having once given it up.
Tobacco growing is now mostly con-
fined to the five southern counties OF
the Western shore. Montgomery,
which used to produce large quanti-
ty, has not more than 400 or 500 acres
planted each year, and Howard about
a fourth as much-indeed, Howard
has less than Frederick. It seems to
be absolute folly for the Southern
Maryland planters to be raising tobac-
co for France at less that the cost OF
production. There are two courses
open to them. One is to give up to-
bacco and raise SEINE other crop, as
the people in the other counties have
done. The other is to produce quail
lay of tobacco which will attract other
buyers. Whether this can be done or
not we do not know. 1t is certain
that at this time there is a great COM
plant of lack OF profits among the
planters, and some remedy seems to be
manded.-Baltimoy Sun.
The State Bureau of immigration
is now very busy receiving visitors
who have taken advantage Of the low