The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1917-12-07
NOTE Book SKETCHES

cOnCIuueu III Luo history Oh Tie cigar
leaf trade was consummated the day
before Thanksgiving when approx
mately 5000 boxes of Wisconsin binder
tobacco, held by julius Marqusee, the
well-known New York Seedleaf packer,
became the property of the American
Cigar Co.. III Fifth Ave-, New York,
says the N Y. Tobacco Journal. The
consideration involved is understood to
| have been we'll over $500, 600. For ten
days H. Stewart McGifin, the Wiscon-
sin leaf expert of the American Cigar
Co., painstakingly inspected every SAM
pie of the entire lot of. 5000 packages
of binder which represented, by the
way, practically the last sound leaf of
this meterial remaining in dealers
hands. This enormous purchase, added
to the. vast holdings of the American
Cigar Co. in all types of raw maserial
necessary for its national operations,
places the corporation In the most for
n1idable position of its career not only
fully TO cope with but to expand a ret
ord breaking volume of business already
in the hands of its executives. The
acquisition Of the tobacco was begun
several months ago when, with that
gift % foresight into the Seedleaf
situation that many of his long time
associates describe as the sixth sense,
Mr.. Marqusee foresaW the worst short
age of Wisconsin binder that has ever
affected the industry and quietly
bought up ali of this type of tobacco
he could lay his hands on. That his
Judgment was thoroughly indicated is
indicated in the Importance of his sole
customer for the aggregate, as the big
cigar corporation is recognized as per-
haps tho keenest buyer in the industry.
Speaking of the high prices at which
the 1917 cigar leaf tobaccos have been
contracted for, the New York Leaf
further comments: 1t is unnecessary
to say that this price is entirely out of
proportion to the actual value of the
tobacco. The general opinion seems to
be that more temperate method of
attack would have secured the tobacco
at much lower price level. Twenty
cents, the price first offered, was enor-
mously profitable to the farmers. How
ever, it Is useless to cry over split
milk, iand there is nothing left but to
make the best of bad situation. In
deed after the onslaught. III Pennsyl-
vania very few had any hope that the
requisite self restraint would be shown
when it came to taking up the Ohio
crop. The full effect of the situation
will not become apparent until the to-
bacco comes on the market next year.
Manufacturers will have to pay prices
for every type of domestic tobacco
Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York State,
Wisconsin and New England that stag
ger the imagination Furthermore, the
filler grades are relatively higher than
either binders or wrappers Farmers
in Pennsylvania and Ohio, who ordin-
arily receive 10 to IL cents for their to-
bacco, this year are getting rs cents
and over. Pennsylvania and Ohio pro-
duced, according to best advices, the
largest crops in the history of these
two states. Wisconsin and Connecti-
cut, where the binder crops were cut
down by hail and frost, received, it is
true, exceedingly high prices, but
nothing like the proportionate increases
that the filler states received. Connec-
ticut Broadleaf and Shadegrown, as a
matter of fact, are relatively the
cheapest types of domestic tobacco.
Crazy prices for binders would be un-
derstandable, for the binder situation
is so acute as to border upon being a
calamity. The general opinion is that
there is no necessity for such prices as
have been paid in Ohio and Pennsyl-
vania this year. The binder shortage
presents the greatest problem the cigar
industry has to face. Instead of 10O,-
900 cases of binders, which Wisconsin
produces in normal years, the 1917 crop
will not produce over Is, 900. The facts
of the Wisconsin situation are admir-
ably summed up in letter from a
prominent packer of that state, who
writes as follows: There were about
48, 900 acres planted this year and this
compares with the average for the last
five years. The crop was planted under
favorable conditions the last part of
June and the fore part of July, some
of it, however, being rather late In
getting planted. We had period of
extremely dry weather in the southern
part and had more rains in the north
ern part, and on account of the late
planting and early frost the first week
in September we are facing very dis
appointing outlook as to the yield Of
good binders. In the first place there
were about 5000 acres that were hail
cut, about 1000 acres that were she'd
ded before the frost, about 26, 900 acres
that were frozen, of which small
portion will yield some binders, and
about 10000 acres that were badly
frozen in the fields, and on top of that,
with the late harvest we had very poor
curing weather. There was a very cold
spell in October which did considerable
damage to the late harvested tobacco
in the sheds. The general character of
the 1917 crop of that part of the 1000
acres that were shielded before the
frost is of good quality but will run
short in sizes, and portion Of these
1000 acres will not be suitable for
binders but will be suitable for B's and
filler purposes. / do not think the yield
will be as large per acre as usual. Wis
consin used to produce 100, 900 cases Of
good binders year and we do not see
where there will be over 1900 to
Is, 900 cases Of binders from the 1917
crop. For the last few years the scrap
chewing tobacco factories have pur-