The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1910-05-20
NOTE BOOK SKETCHES

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A slightly improved tone is noticed in
the eastern leaf markets of late, which
brings measure of encouragement to
holders of old stock. 1t has been long
and tiresome wait for business reviv-
al in this trade and every symptom
touching Improvement is cheerfully
entertained. If conditions do not get
back somewhere near normal during
the coming fall months leaf dealers will
have almost lost faith that business
will ever become safe and remunera-
tive vocation again.
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Cool weather and freezing nights
prevailing almost throughout April and
so far into May has made the growing
of plant beds rather precarious busi-
ness. While the damage from the fre-
quent frosts has not proven SO much of
a disaster on properly protected beds,
the growth of the young plants has
been slow and unsatisfactory. In fact,
all vegetation has hardly progressed
for the past month. Despite all these
setbacks growers report that their
young plants look healthy and are gain
ing good, strong roots, so that all that
seems to be needed to bring the beds
up to the standard of other seasons is
warm days and suitable weather when
the plants will be in readiness for the
fields at the usual transplanting season.
Thirty days of fairly good growing
weather is sufficient to bring plants
that now show on the beds to size
suitable for the fields. 1t is other crops
rather than tobacco that have so far
suffered from the unreasonable wealth
er. One thing at least has been DEM
onstrated this season and that is early
spring indications are not always reli-
able.
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With the prospect of another large
acreage of tobacco to be planted In the
Burley district this year, the question
of pooling it with the Burley society
again comes up, with the chances that
the plan is losing cast. Recent inter-
views with Kentucky growers published
in the Shelby Record show the trend of
opinion:
One of the most prominent farmers
and largest Of the tobacco growers IN
Shelby county was asked if he believed
the growers favored the idea of pooling
tfseis year under the contract that the
Burley society has formulated. His
answer was: 81 speak for myself and
| say no, unless those who have not
heretofore pooled take the initiative
and come forward solidly and agree to
pool their crops / am tired of doing
that which is of no benefit to me and
let the outsiders reap the benefit. =
Another said: 81 shall not pool
again, because the solicitor who got my
signature to the contract did SO by mis-
representation. / was told that there
would be no pool unless at least Is per
cent of the entire crop was pledged,
and | believed that was in the contract,
but it wasn't. Less than 40 per cent
of the tobacco in Shelby county or in
the Burley district was pledged, and we
poolers are holding the bag. My
neighbors got good prices and | could
have sold my crop for spot cash for 3
cents more per pound than | now ex-
pect to get net for it, and no telling
when it will be sold. The new contract
is much worse than that Of last year
and l shall pool no more. =
Still another said: 81 am pooler,
and, like others, l am fool. We fol-
lowed the Burley society officers like a
flock of sheep, and what is the. conse-
quence? Our stuff is all tied up. not
ready for market, and no market II 1t
was ready. Fifty per cent more tobac-
co has already been marketed than
there is in the pool, and that IS 80 per
cent more than the big buyer ever
manufactured in any year in its history.
What will we sell to? And here comes
the society asking us to sign a contract
that is worse and more binding than
that of 1909 / have been fool in the
past, but don't propose to be drlvel-
ing idiot in the future. Will pool this
year under the new contract that will
be presented to the growers? Not on
your life."
The twelfth annual convention of the
National Cigar Leaf Tobacco associa-
tion was held in Hartford, Conn.,, Mon
day and Tuesday last. 1t authorized
the engagement of professional assls-
tance to fight for better insurance
rates; listened to speeches warmly de-
nouncing the conduct of President Taft
in the bleeding of the trade through
the free Philippine clauses of the
Payne-Aldrich-T Taft tariff act; passed a
feeble resolution of protest on the same
subject in preference to a more out.
spoken indictment of the nations chief
executive, which was offered to the
resolutions committee but shelved by
the administration; reelected Mr.. JOS
eph F. Cullman, Jr., as president; and
enjoyed the happiest of times as the
guest of the hospitable young Connec-
ticut Leaf Tobacco Dealers associa-
ton. This in brief is the Journals ac-
count of the convention. The discus
sions, however, led to the opinion that
| if the association was to accomplish
much good its members should be unit
ed on lines of policy. A move in that
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