The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1913-07-11
NOTE BOOK SKETCHES


Much speculation is INDUCED in as to
whether the field buying would be re-
surned again this season in view of the
stringent law passed by the Wisconsin,
legislature to discourage dealing in fu
ture prospects in making the purchaser
assume all the subsequent risks that.
tobacco is subject to. The gist of the
law is that it compels the buyer to pay
the agreed price, whatever happens to
the crop after the date Of the agree
ment, and no deductions for damage of
any description unless it be through
wilful neglect of the grower, can be
enforced. In other words, if you bar
gain for a crop you must pay the
agreed price for the different grades
on delivery. This newspaper has in
preparation a form of contract which
it believes will fully meet the require
nents of the law that can safely be
used by buyers and fully protects buyer
and grower if they should elect to con-
tinue field buying again this season.
The position of the writer on this sub
ject as applied to the practice is well
known, but if buyers and growers are
willing to enter into contracts as IN
other years they are entirely at liberty
to do so.
To protect Wisconsin tobacco grow
ers from the effects of early Septem-
Der frosts by giving due and timely
notice is the purpose of plan now be-
ing worked out by the weather bureau.
The work is in charge of Prof. Henry
j. Cox, superintendent of the north
central forecast district, with head
quarters in Chicago. Professor Cox
now is in Madison making study of
the local situation and making arrange
ments to secure prompt and reliable
data when needed. He will establish
six stations in the tobacco districts of
the state, one each at Deerfield, Ed
gerton, GAINESVILLE, Soldiers Grove, Vi
roqua and Chippewa Falls. One of the
stations will be located on the Frank
Pearson farm in Fulton. Professor Cox
has made close study Of climatology
with view to bringing to farmers a
means by which they may be success
fully warned of approaching danger.
In the cranberry sections of Wisconsin
his system has proved successful and
row he turns to assist the tobacco
growers. When he has organized his
stations and established his correspon-
dents and the time comes when frost
danger is likely he has comprehensive
view of the whole situation and is able
to send warnings in time SO that steps
may be taken to avoid loss.
~
The te stimony before the Congress
sional Tobacco commission reveals IN
the witnesses a state Of mind which
would be grotesque were it not so pit.
liable. Those witnesses all harp on
what they figure out to be a low price
on their farm tobacco; they all cry out
for more dough" and in their incapac
ity of grasping or comprehending the
economic reasons for the, to them, un-
satisfactory price of tobacco, hang
their last peg on the supposed omnipo-
tence of the government to change and
upheave the economic conditions of the
tobacco trade and of the general pros
perity of the country. Formerly it
was the tobacco trust which was
charged with depressing prices and
keeping the tobacco farmers poor. But
since the trust was disintegrated and
competition in buying has been re-
stored and prices have not come up to
the figure the farmers insist they must
have, it is the foreign government re-
gies at which the complaints are hurled
and which they are seeking to force
into paying them higher prices by the
aid and action of our own federal gov
ernment Of course, our Congressional
inquisitors are aware that no such
forceful action could be taken on the
foreign governments. Obviously con-
scious of such a fact, Representative
Flood, one of the Congressional inquls-
itors, threw out the hint that the for
eign governments might be bribed into
paying the American tobacco raiser
cents and cents more per pound for
his tobacco by making them other re-
ciprocal concessions. The mental OBJ
tuseness of such a suggestion IS verify
stupendous. The foreign governments
are in the tobacco monopoly to make
as much profit out of it as possible in
order to save squeezing their people for
more blood money for their ever in
creasing army and navy expenses. Can
therefore any sane man with an ounce
of common sense consider the possibll-
ity of any foreign tobacco reggie to give
up vast share of their easy surplus
from their tobacco revenues in order
to help enriching the American tobacco
farmer? One might as well ask the
French, the Austrian and Italian gov
ernments to cause their parliaments to
vote a direct subsidy to the poor Amer
ican tobacco farmer. For it amounts
to a subsidy direct and barefaced what
representative Flood limited at. Truly
self-degredation and elf-abasement OF
what used to be the American pride of
self-support and of self-made man
cannot sink deeper. u. S. Tobacco
Journal.