The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1909-09-02
Why Common Tobacco Is Low.
Greenville Reflector.

Elsewhere in this issue is an article
taken from the Southern Tobacco
Journal OF Winston-Salem, relative
to the loss of trade in leaf tobacco
between America and Japan. The
article is based upon figures in q re-
cent government report, and is there
fore accurate. Any one reading this
article carefully will see that the pres
ent low price OF common leaf tobacco
is not without reason. A buyer can
not be expected to purchase an arti-
Gle for which he cannot find a sale.
In the early years OF the tobacco
industry in Eastern North Carolina
the farmers did not trouble to save
much of the low grade under-prim-
ings, but when it was found that q
demand had been created for low
grades more attention was given to
saving every leaf that could be cured.
While there was no domestic demand
for any manufactured product from
these low grades, a sale was found
for it in Japan, and that country be-
came large user of it. The figures
in the report referred to show how
rapidly this demand grew, until ia
pan was purchasing nearly seven
and three quarter million pounds of
this tobacco in single year, and
also that by the Japanese Govern
ment going into the cultivation of
tobacco and making a grade that
took the place of the purchases made
in America, resulting in the Ameri-
can trade falling back to a little
more than two million pounds in
year.
1t is also a fact as The Reflector
learns from reliable sources, that
Eastern North Carolina alone pro-
duces about eight million pounds a
\year of this common tobacco, and
with Japan now using only about
two million pounds of this, and prac-
tically no demand for it elsewhere, it
is seen at a glance that there is a
great overproduction of it and the
price cannot be other than low. 1t is
folly to abuse anybody because the
price of an article is low when there
is no demand for it.
There is a remedy for this, but it
lies mainly with the farmers them
selves. They must stop saving this
common tobacco and give attention
only to better grades for which there
is demand at profitable prices. Time
and again the farmers of Pitt and
surrounding counties have been adj
vised to prime off the lower leaves of
their crop and throw them back to
the enrichment of the soil. as there
was no profit in curing and market
ing it. In this connection it is not
amiss to refer lin addition to what
this paper has said editorially) to
articles written by Mr.. E. B. Ficklen,
and especially to those by Mr.. o. L.
Joyner, president of the Farmers
Consolidated Tobacco Company.
The latter, in keeping with the prin-
ciples of his company to always pro-
tect the interests of the tobacco farm
ers, has not only been a liberal user
OF newspaper space but also, at large
expense, sent out thousands of circu-
lars advising farmers to curtail their
crop and to strive to produce the
higher grades. He has repeatedly
urged the farmers that the only rea-
sonable way to control the price of
tobacco is to control the price of pro-
duction, and make the quality re-
quired by the trade. The farmers
must make up their minds to act upon
the advice of such men who are la
boring so earnestly in their behalf, or
else continue to sell their crop at less
than it costs to produce it. No relief
is going to be obtained by a contin-
uance OF overproduction, and then
listening to a cry of abuse OF others
and misrepresentation of the real
facts.
We hope that every tobacco farm
er into whose hands this paper falls
will turn to the article referred to and
give it a careful reading, and from it
get an insight into existing condi-
tiOnS.