The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1910-08-26
NOTE BOOK SKETCHES


The decision of the attorney general
in the WatertoWn matter mentioned in
this column last week, which construes
the home where tobacco is stemmed to
be factory under the meaning of the
law, deserves more than passing at
tention. One thing is certain if the
law relating to child labor is so strin-
gent as to prevent the employment Of
minors at their homes under supervis-
ion of their parents, then the law should
be amended and it lays with those en-
gagged in the tobacco trade to see that
is DONE We understand at Watertown
two or three hundred people are en-
ployed at their homes stemming for the
Pinkerton branch located there and
| with the help of the minors in the fam
lilies are able to earn quite respectable
wages. The rule laid down by the at
torney general deprives them of this
privilege as we'll as effects other points
in the state where stemming operations
are carried on. In our opinion the law
should permit the employment of min
OrS IN the tobacco warehouses during
the school vacation months and the
present law modified to that extent.
The CHASING Of a tobacco warehouse or
home even, as factory seems en-
tirely wrong and slight change in the
law would rectify the mistake. The
tobacco men of the state ought to
go the next legislature asking for
the proper amendments.
-
The average condition of the tobacco
crop of the country on August 1st, is
estimated by the Agricultural depart
ment at 1875 per cent as compared with
sc, the ten year average on that date.
The estimate for Wisconsin is placed at
so per cent of the normal as against sc
as the average of the ten years past
and still the figures were much too
high. If it looked like a go per cent
crop August 1st, what would the gov
ernment experts have to say at the
present time. after the drouth was
broken and the fields looked something
like harvest?
The Internal Revenue returns for the
fiscal year ending June 80 last show a
most gratifying and encouraging in
crease in the consumption of the prod
ucts of every branch of the trade in
dustries. The total increase in the
output of our cigar industry amounted
to 355, 718, 691 of which increase over
three hundred and half millions are
to be credited to the output of large
cigars and the balance to the output of
little cigars. The total of the output
OF large cigars has again exceeded the
seven billion figure and the total out
put of the entire cigar industry has
again climbed up to and over the eight
billion mark. The increase in the out
put of the cigar industry is however by
far distanced by the increase in the
output of cigarettes. In other words
| the cigarette industry has not only
caught up with the output of large ci-
gars but has left it behind even by over
seven hundred thousands. Considering
the output of cigarettes ten years ago,
an increase of five billions in the out
put Of cigarettes in the course OF but
! ten short years or an increase of near
| ly ITS per cent against the cigar indus
try's increase of only about 80 per cent
| must indeed make an almost stupefy-
| ing impression. 1t will no doubt be
pointed out that the large increase on
| the tax of cigarettes accelerated an ad-
vance production Of cigarettes in the
months preceding the taking effect Of
the tax increase as it undoubtedly did
as proven by the detailed monthly fig
ures. But the size of the increases in
the months of May and June do not ac-
count for the enormous total increase
| of over thousand seven hundred mill
ions for the entire year. Nor do they
account for the most tremendous and
! phenomenal growth of the industry
during the past ten years which took
place in spite of the furious anti-cigar-
cite crusade.