The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1916-12-08

The annual report Of the Commits
sioner OF Internal Revenue, recently
made public, shows a wonderful i'm
proyement in the tobacco manufacture
ing business and very fair recovery
from the setback after 1914. The re-
ceipts from internal revenue taxes lev
led and collected on domestic and i'm
ported tobacco manufactures paid by
STAN ps, and including collections by
assessment, during the fiscal year ended
June 80, 1916, amounted to S85, 324,-
094. 46; the esreceipts from spe cial taxes
levied, under the act of October %,
1914, amounted to So, 739, 853. 05; total
collections, $88, ,O63, 947.51. The total
number Of cigar factories in operation
at the beginning Of the calendar year
1915 was 16, 754. the number opened
during thesyea was 8, sos, the number
closed was a, 529, and the number in
operation at the close of the year was
Is, 1872 It is refreshing to read from
official sources, however, that the pro-
duction of cigars during the period COW
cred by the report was 332, $50. .847
greater than during the fiscal year 1915
and that there was an increase in cigar
cite production of 4,331, SIT, 105; in
snuff of 8, 331, ,606 pounds, and in smok-
ing and chewing tobacco of IA, 761 ,673
pounds. While this gain, achieved dur
ing the fiscal year, is indeed substan-
tial one, there is every indication that
subsequent to June 80 the production
of tobacco in most forms has increased
at much greater ratio. The real
boom, which the trade is now expert
encing, began in earnest about the mid
die of the summer, and is now, there
fore, included in the fiscal year report.
~
In many sections of the New Eng
land tobacco belt the practice of grow
ing tobacco on shares is common. Un-
der the usual arrangement the owner
Of the land furnishes the land, shed
room for hanging tobacco with lath
suitable for the shed and all fertilizer
or manure. The grower of the crop or
the second party furnishes all neces-
sary plants for setting out the crop,
supplies all labor Incidental to prepar-
ing the land, setting out the crop, cul
tivating and harvesting, and when
cured in the building all labor neces-
sary to take down and strip the crop
and put into bundles ready for delivery.
The proceeds are then divided half and
half. Should the grower find it to his
advantage to sort the crop or add any
further expense this expense is usually
divided equally. In such cases as the
tobacco land is \rented on cash basis
the terms vary greatly according to
location. Prices vary all the way from
S35 to SIS per acre, which includes one
acre of land and sufficient shed room,
lath, etc., for hanging same. Connec-
ticut rents average about $50 per acre.
The Department of Commerce in
recent bulletin included tobacco among
the tropical products for which there is
an increasing demand in the United
States. According to the report, to-
bacco and its manufactures brought
into this country during the last fiscal
year were valued at S30, 900, 900, which
was decrease of about So, $50, 900 from
the fiscal year 1915. The quantity OF
leaf tobacco shipped into this country
from foreign countries and the tropical
American islands of Hawaii and Porto
Rico has increased during the last year
and the last decade. In 1905, for IN
stance, there was IS, 900, 900 pounds OF
leaf tobacco brought into this country.
IN ter wears this has increased to 3D.
0"G 0ea poang,s in 1915. ar9 last year
,toe guantity ssas S., ,09G Oo0 pounds.