The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1916-08-25
And how about the Paul law?

Anu uOW dUOuL Cu0 dUi law
The field buying of the new tobacco
crop has gone forward right in the face
of what is commonly known as the
Paul law, one of the most stringent
j regulations regarding the sale of pro-
ducts. Of the soil ever enacted. While
the law has not yet been tested in the
higher courts, it stands good up to the
present time. Its provisions are:
''Any person, firm or corporation
transacting business in this state, that
shall enter into any contract for the
purchase of any crop that is not ready
for immediate delivery, shall in all
cases weigh, or cause to be weighed,
the crop so purchased, at or before the
time such crop is delivered to the pur-
chaser, or to common carrier at the
direction of the purchaser for ship
ment, and every such person, firm or
corporation shall ultimately make pay
ment in full for all of the crop SO pur
chased according to the weight so as
certained and at the price or amount
specified in the contract, without re-
gard to the quality or condition Of such
crop or portions thereof at the time OF
delivery, unless any inferior quality or
unsonnd condition of such crop shall be
due to the negligence or wilful act of the
vendor, subsequent to such purchase,
and in case any purchaser shall fail or
refuse to comply with his contract as
provided in this section, the vendor, in
any action prosecuted by him to recover
for any crop sold to such purchaser,
shall recover as damages for such fail
ure or refusal, double the contract price
of such crop at the weight thereof
when ready for delivery and offered to
or accepted by the purchaser. wis
consin Statutes, Section 1670n.
The least that can be said of this law
is that it shifts the burden of proof
from the grower, who previously was
obliged to show in court that his tobac-
CO fulfilled all the contract require
ments, to the buyer, who must prove
any defects in the crop. In any event
should there develop at the time of de-
livery disposition to repudiate con-
tracts there is quite likely all kinds OF
trouble in store for the men SO crazy
to contract the crop, for the grower
has the backing of the law above quot
ed and would be amply justified in TAX
ing his case into court. From any
standpoint you look at it field buying
of tobacco is bad business.
~
The export movement, which has as
sumed such notable proportions In the
past few months, received a setback in
the announcement that Germany had
placed ban upon further imports OF
tobacco into that country. The reason
given is that Germany has large stocks
of tobacco on hand. This is not believed
here, but the whole affair is taken to
mean that the German government is
planning to regulate the purchase of
tobacco in such way that it may be
had without the payment OF the enor-
nous prices that recently have been
paid. The general opinion IS that the
ban will be lifted within three or four
months, and that thereafter the pur-
chase and importation of tobacco into
Germany will be regulated by COM
mission similar to that controlling food
stuffs. 1t is said that three cigars per
day are being served ont to the sol
diers, and to supply these would re-
quire large stocks of tobacco, OF course,
as it means the distribution OF ilfteen
or twenty million ci0arS daily.