The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1909-07-30
NoTE BOOK SKETCHES

'sss .
The drouth of nearly four weeks
duration has been temporarily broken
| in the tobacco sections of the state by
rains on Wednesday which in meas
ure allay immediate fears for the grow
| ing crop. Much of the late set tobacco
has made but little progress during the
dry spell and few of the earliest fields
have shown disposition to bud which
seems destined to impair the size and
quality of the leaf But the medium
set fields, which comprise by far the
great bulk Of the growing crop, have
been but little affected by the drouth.
The plants have sought deep roofing
and making headway all the time, SO
that these fields will now respond
quickly and as is generally the case fol
lowing drouth, make phenomenal
growth. There is yet chance for the
late tobacco to make good if the latter
end of the season is favorable. 1t is a
quick growing crop that is most desir-
able for binder purposes and conditions
now point toward that end.
An examination of the government S
crop report shows that while there has
been an increase in acreage of heavy
leaf tobacco, the area planted to cigar
leaf is less than last year. The agri-
cultural department estimates the de-
crease in Connecticut and Massachus-
etts to be 3 per cent. Pennsylvania re-
ports an increase estimated at per
cent, and Ohio 25 per cent, which is
questionable. In Wisconsin a decrease
of 10 per cent is given but the estimate
needs to be verified. Georgia and Flor
ida, the two states to which New Eng
land might look for competition in the
cigar wrapper industry, appear to be
going out of the business. The fact is
Sumatra tobacco does not thrive in this
country under shade. Farmers of the
Connecticut valley suffered heavy loss
in experimenting with Sumatra, but
not until the development of the Cuban
strain by John B. Stewart, government
expert at Tariffville, did the shade to-
bacco industry in the valley get on a
paying basis.
"A Washington dispatch says as near
- as can be predicted the outcome of
the difference between the House and
the Senate over matters affecting to-
bacco will be about as follows: The
free leaf amendment will stand in prac-
tically the form in which it passed the
Senate. A vote having been taken in
both House and Senate on this PROPOSE
tion and both bodies having accepted
it, the only difference between the two
Houses is in the matter of phraseology,
and to omit the item entirely would
cause a tremendous howl The inter
nal reveue taxes on tobacco will prob
ably be increased over the rates pro-
vided in the Dingley law, but will be
scaled down from the Smoot amend
ment. The Senate decreased the rates
on cigarettes as proposed by the House
and it is understood the House confer
ees are not specially favorable to the
proposed increase. Officials of the
l.
the great difficulty of keeping track of
the taxation on cigars when the rate of
taxation depends on the wholesale price
of the same. 1t is pointed out that
should the conference committee agree
to the proposed increased taxes on to-
bacco, the same could be repealed at
the next session of Congress, which be-
gins in December. The new tariff bill
will take effect on the day following
| its passage, which means the day after
| it is signed by the President, but the
| increased taxes on tobacco will not take
effect until July /, 1910. The sections
which are not to take effect until that
date are those providing for the addi-
tional packages, increasing the taxes
on tobacco and snuff, cigars and cigar
cites, providing for the sizes of cigar
cite packages and the anti-coupon sec
tions. The free leaf provision will be-
| come operative Immediately.
| From tobacco journals We hear that
cigar dealers in large cities are begin
ming to sit up and take notice of what
| is likely to happen If the proposed Phil
ippine tobacco schedule becomes law.
They are beginning to make arrange
ments, to handle the cigars. 1t is even
| suggested that for year or two the
demand may exceed the supply. Sew
enty millions of cigars will not go a
great way to meet a demand of 8,0OO,-
| 600, 600, and if the American smoker
| takes kindly to this invader the number
allowed to come into the country duty
| free will soon be absorbed. Of course,
much will depend on the cost of these
Philippine cigars. The cost must be
| low or they will not be a success. But
we know that labor is low there, and
! that both the tobacco and the making
of cigars is far less than here, so we
may readily suppose they will at once
enter into active competition with our