Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1916-08-29
THE TOBACCO SITUATION.


A thought or so in regard 70 the
tobacco situation may not be amiss at
the present time.
We have now ready for housing
one Of the largest and best crops ever
raised and if the farmer does not get
one of the biggest and best prices for
it | believe it will be his own fault
and he will only be to blame.
Why the mad rush to sell before its
time? In the seventies, October was
considered the best month in which
to sell Tugs, and away up in the
eighties, the deliveries to the market
up to the first of May were considered
to represent only one-half of what the
crop would be for the season.
But now it seems every man is
making John Gilpin race to sell his
tobacco before or shortly after Christ
mas. II seems to be a case Of Hurry,
Hurry" from planting until sold and
delivered. The farmer is taking
little price in order that he may get
rid of crop that has cost him both
money and worry to make. Don't
you ever fear but that you will sell
your tobacco, il matters not how much
you may have. There is always some
body wanting to buy it.
call to mind two instances that
occurred with this last crop sold,
One farmer who makes about eighty
thousand pounds was in my office
talking about selling, when Tugs and
trash were selling at about $500 per
100 lbs. and leaf was bringing about
$500 per 100. ! advised him that if
he was just bound to sell something
to let me sell his Tugs and trash and
hold his leaf, as | saw no chance for
it to go lower. He went directly out
of my Office and sold his entire crop
at about $500 round. If he had wait
ed 80 days he would have received
81, 10000 more for his crop and if he
had waited as days he would have
received 81, 10000 more than he got.
In the other case one of our Gus
toners brought in and sold his Tugs
and trash, but through lucky cir
cumstance was forced to hang his
leaf to get it in order. advised him
to hold that leaf and not to hurry. |
wrote him on three different dates
not to sell that leaf, but to wait. If his
leaf had been sold on the same day
that his Tugs and trash were sold it
would not have brought over $500
per 100. He finally would sell it and
got about $500 per 100 for it. If he
had waited and sold that leaf with us
the same date that he delivered it to
the buyer, he would easily have re-
ceived $95 to $1,000 for it.
Then why all this Hurry, Hurry?'
You now have a good crop of tobac-
co. Put it in the barn right. Don't
coddle or cook it by trying to cure it
in one or two days. Cure it right and
then sit down on it and wait.
You are the key to the situation and
have the power to control ii.
For my part, | don't believe the
English embargo will cut near the
figure that some seem to think, and
it is very questionable as to whether
they will take it off or not.
When pound of our tobacco is
sold here for say 7 cents per pound
and is shipped to England, they i'm
mediately add tax for revenue OF
Sl.33 per POUND, so you see when a
manufacturer goes to buy leaf tobac-
co in England it costs him Sl.4O per
pound or $l40 per 100 pounds. This
is one way the English have OF raising
their revenue. So they want to buy
this tobacco just as cheap as possible.
In regard to shipments to Germany,
you must understand, that Germany,
in addition to her manufactures, ex-
ports to Austria, Africa, India and
other countries large quantities OF
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