The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-01-27

| WV AAOu5tt Po6'aSASA*
Some exceedingly interesting infor-
nation regarding the development of
| the tobacco industry of the Hawaiian
| Islands and the competing tobacco
| crops of the world is set forth in a
communication received by the com
| mittee from Jared G. Smith, manager
of the Kona Tobacco Co., Limited, of
| the Island of Hawaii, as follows:
H'There are three de faeto tobacco
growers in Hawaii November, 1909,
the Kona Tobacco Co., operating in
Kona and Hamakua, on the Island of
Hawaii; one farmer in South Kona.
| and one farmer in Hamakua. The
crop already harvested is $500 pounds,
| and 1000 pounds additional will be
| cured by December 81
"One new corporation has been
for1 ID which expects to begin opera
tions about February, 1909, with a
capitalization of 100000. Two other
corporations are in the promotion stage,
one on Hawaii and one on Maui.
1.-THE Kona Tobacco Co. is capital
lied at $4,000. Officers: J. G. Smith,
H. P Wood, A. Coyne, C. L. Beal and
r. w. Perkins. The Kona Tobacco Co.
and the two farmers who are growing
for us under contract produce only
Cuban leaf Two of the corporations
forming on Hawaii plan to grow only
Sumatra leaf, and I believe the Maui
company intend growing Sumatra only.
1.-The Kona Tobacco Co. will harvest
sixty acres of Cuban leaf in 1909.
1.-THE tobacco plant is believed to be
a native of Cuba and other West In
dian islands. Cuban tobacco is con-
sidered the best cigar leaf grown any
where.
"Cuban tobacco is both filler and
wrapper and is distinguished by it's
high flavor and aroma, fine texture and
usually good burn.
"There are two main types of Cuban
leaf: Vueltas, including all leaf grown
on the western end of the island, and
Remedies, from the Santa Clara dis
trict. Remedies are cheap, heavy fill
| er tobaccos of high flavor, dark in
colors and usually poor burn. Vueltas
comprise three-ffths of the crop and
comprise the best Cuban cigar leaf,
| both filler and wrapper.
"Ihe estimated crop of Cuba for
| 1908 is $50, 900 bales (of ninety pounds
each). 1t is the first good crop, as far
as quality goes, in four years.
"The Cuban area planted in tobacco
is 10000 acres.
"The duty on Cuban filler is twenty
eight cents gold per pound; on wrap
! per, $1.4s per pound; and on stemmed
| V wrapper, So per pound, Cuban duties
| being twenty per cent. less than those
on goods from other foreign coun-
| tries. The duty on unstemmed wrap
per is practically less than $1.4S, be-
cause filler may contain fifteen per
| cent. of wrapper leaf and still be ad-
mitted on payment of. filler duties.
Filler containing more than fifteen per
cent. wrapper leaf pays the higher
duty.
England is the largest buyer of
Cuban tobaccos. Germany is second in
quantity (buying mostly Remedies and
other cheaper grades) and the United
| States is second in values and third
in quantity.
Hawaiian grown tobacco from Gu
ban seed is of the Vuelta type, of fine
| texture, unexcelled burn, good body
mild aroma and flavor, and running
largely to light colors, making it an
| excellent wrapper leaf.
"There are 10000 acres of virgin
tobacco land in Hawaii, capable of sus-
| tanning a large and profitable industry.
The best tobacco lands in Cuba have
| been cropped continuously in this crop
| for one hundred years or more, so that
| there has been marked deterioration in
yield and quality. The 1908 crop is
| the first crop of good, sound, workable
| leaf since 1904.
"The yield of Cuban leaf in Hama
| lxua in 1908 has been over 1000 pounds
per acre, while the average Cuban
| yield does not exceed 600 pounds.
EsThe superior burning qualities OF
| the Hawaiian grown Cuban leaf will
/ sell it in any market, and four years
out of five Cuban leaf will not burn.
"The maintenance of the present
| duties on tobacco are necessary if a
tobacco industry is to be built up in
Hawaii. Brazil grows just as good to-
bacco as Cuba and has twenty times
the area of tobacco lands in Cuba
Porto Rico and Hawaii combined. A
reduction of the duty on tobacco would
| bring ruin to the whole tobacco indus
try of the United States, and Brazil
alone would do to the whole of the
American tobacco industry what she
has done on smaller financial scale
to the coffee industry of Hawaii, Porte
Rico and the Philippines.
''The American tobacco industry is
an enormous one. the total production
of the United States exceeding $50,
100000 pounds The production OF
domestic cigar leaf exceeds 300,000,00C
pounds annually. This gigantic indus
try would be wiped out if the duty
should be removed from foreign to
, baceos
Sumatra Tobacco.
stThe Sumatra tobacco coming to the
American market is a wrapper Leaf
only. The United States imports about
/ 10000 bales (of 10 pounds) annually
''The total yield of the Deli district
of Sumatra in 1900 was 223, 900 bales
amounting to 36,915,000 pounds valued
at thirty-seven cents per pound.
"The duty paid is $1.S5 per pound
on wrapper and $3.50 per pound OF
stemmed wrapper.
England is the chief buyer of Su
matra wrapper leaf; then. in order
Germany. Austria, the United States
and France The duty on Sumatra to
baeco imported into the United State