The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1908-07-03
NOTE BOOK SKETCHES

SLOWLY the tobacco trade is g0CElng
back to normal conditions again. The
greater share of the people who were
loaded up with high priced stock when
the panic struck the country six months
ago have accepted their losses, balanced
their books and are ready now to do
business on a more conservative basis.
The liquidating has cut deep into the
capital of some concerns for many pack
ers were carrying stock on which loss
of SO box was accepted. The worst is
believed to be over, the limit of the sag
in prices reached and already the indica-
tions are that better figures can be real
lied. The general public have but little
idea of the sacrifices the trade has
passed through, and the wonder. is that
failures have not been more frequent. A
lesson has been learned that will leave
deep and lasting impression. 1t ought
to be many years before the errors of '06
will be repeated. Neither do dealers
need to be so often reminded that the
reckless buying of tobacco in the fields
is 10 lightly risky business
*xx
Information reaches us that there are
some tobacco growers in this state who
have yet to learn the art of securing
plant beds in time for the usual trans
planting season. Wherever there has
been failure to get the crop into the
fields before July 1st the fault has been
in the seed beds. This seems largely
unnecessary, as the great bulk of grow
ers have been able this season to pro-
cure plants in abundance at an earlier
date than usual. The complaint does
not occur, either, in the older growing
sections.
***
In the neighbornood OF 200 acres of
tobacco will be raised ander cloth in
New England this year, showing that
the industry is about holding it's own.
Less than dozen growers are sticking
to the business, constituting all that is
left of hundred or more enthusiasts
who five or six years ago dreamed rare
dreams of getting wealth out of shade
tobacco The pertinacity of those New
England farmers still cleaving to tent
tobacco is to be admired. Ii dogged de-
termination and steady trial can find
good profits in the business here these
growers richly deserve to succeed. The
bulk Of the New England tent tobacco
crop of 'OS is being raised by the Con-
necticut tobacco corporation at CRANKY
and East CRANKY. General Manager
Marcus T.. Floyd writes the New Eng
land Homestead as follows: "We have
planted this year 100 acres under cloth.
OF this total 150 acres are set to Cuban
seed and 10 acres to broadleaf." At
Bloomfield, Ct., Olds & Whipple are still
handling leaf under cloth. Manager w.
L. Carncross reports: I'VE are growing
7 acres under shade this season which is
ready for second hoeing. We grow Gu
ban variety. We finished setting our
full 105-acre crop June 9th and have
good stand Above all things in shade
grown we get perfect leaves. You can
readily understand what this means by
watching anyone harvest the outside to-
bacco in the old way. Leaves that are
not bruised by the hands in cutting
down and spearing are knocked against
the ground and sides of the wagon, so
that it is hardly possible to find per-
feet leaf in the crop. This fault can be
overcome, however, by picking the out
side tobacco as in shade. In fact we
picked two acres last year at an addi-
tional expense of &c per pound and sold
it in the bundle at 2715c, while we were
glad TO accept 10c for the remainder of
our crop. This year we shall pick IL
acres. We do not now intend to ever
cut any more of our outside tobacco"
~
In the opinion of a leading manufac-
turer who has canvassed the situation in
the night-riding sections of the south,
the combination to raise the price of to-
bacco has overstepped itself, for be says:
| "The harm that has been done IN this
movement that has eliminated in the
night-riding is beyond the power Of hu--
man calculation. Overlooking, for the
moment, the spirit of lawlessness and
anarchy that has been engendered, when
we consider that forty peaceful and law
abiding citizens have been -blooded-
ly murdered, that others have been tar
red and feathered and driven from their
homes, that others have had their homes
destroyed, it is not very easy to speak IN
moderate terms. And what vas 1t all
for? The reason they gave was that
they wanted to increase the price OF to-
bacco to the so-called trust. Well, they
have accomplished it, and they have IN
creased the price to independent manu-
facturers also, with this effect: The
American Tobacco Go. is an enormously
wealthy concern and can stand It; the
independent manufactures is not nearly
SO wealthy, and he is struggling for an
existence, for he is bound to lose money
on his products if he has to continue to
pay the prices for BUrley that are now
being demanded. Instead of injurlng
the American Tobacco Go. they have
played into their hands By one method
and another, none of them excessively
admirable or lawful, the pool controlled
the 1906 and 1907 crops. In each of the
tobacco growing counties of Kentucky
there are on an average about 2,7L0
farmers The pool has about 200 mem
bers in each county, leaving 1900 nom
Equity farmers, who are controlled by
intimidation, threats and outrage, in
each county; and for fear of bodily harm
or worse the 2500 farmers dare not