The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1917-11-23
NOTE BOOK SKETCHES


At a time when our soldier boys
across the sea are calling for tobacco
as their most highly priced gift, comes
the report from France that the supply
of French cigarettes and tobacco is ex-
hausted. Many tobacco dealers have
put up signs in their stores in both
English and French reading ''No French
cigarettes or tobacco" Certain brands
have been scarce for some time but it
is the first occasion where all varieties
are unobtainable.
A few cases of old leaf that has
been lying in the country for years and
turned down time and again because of
it's damaged nature was lifted a few
days ago by jobber who had place
for any old thing that small manu-
facturer of cigars could convert into
filters. The incident simply illustrates
the near famine of leaf stocks at the
present time. Neither price nor quail
ity seem to count for much these days
and the pinch times have only just
been commenced. The boards are
pretty we'll cleaned for a good top
price crop of binders In 1918.
*.*
A corporation has recently been
formed among the New York import
ers for the purpose of supplying the
needs of American manufacturers of
cigars with their Sumatra tobacco on a
cooperative basis. Even the small
factories using less than 200 bales
are assured that their wants will be
attended to upon the basis of cost plus
the expense and a fixed profit. The
plan outlined by the new corporation
seems to have. the approval of a great
majority of the trade. The elimination
of the inscription process, by which,
especially in times of scarcity, high
scale of prices is brought about some
what to the disadvantage of the small
manufacturer as compared with the
larger concerns, especially recommends
itself to the general trade. Further
more, the fact that the syndicate can
speak for practically the entire tobacco
industry of this country gives it an ad-
vantage in dealing with the Dutch COM
panies. And still furthermore, the
fact that they have started negotia-
tions thus far in advance gives them
opportunity that they did not have
early this year, when it only became
evident at the last moment that the to-
bacco could not be secured through or
binary methods. Doing the best they
could, the Sumatra syndicate operating
in the 1916 crop was able to secure only
40 per cent of normal supply for the
country. The new company hopes to
be able to secure the entire portion of
the crop that would have come to
America under ordinary circumstances,
and to distribute it to the manufactur-
ers under the equitable plan outlined
above. The question of dividing the
tobacco among the various participat-
ing manufacturers will be difficult to
handle, but with the cooperation of
all, the directors feel sure that the
plan will work out we'll. The principal
thing is that the manufacturers, in
stead of bidding against each other and
paying enormous prices, will be sup
piled at fixed profit.
The large American tobacco concerns
are keeping their representatives over
there, watching the development of the
new tobacco fields in Macedonia. These
have suddenly come into Importance,
apparently because of some chemical
quality of the soil of Macedonia, like
that of Cuba, favorable to the produc-
tion of tobacco. 1t blends with other
grades. The American demand for it
has become such that there is now
more Macedodian tobacco sent to the
United States than any other article
shipped from Greece. At first it was
treated as rather cheap weed, but
now that its position is established
some 10000, 900 pounds sold in recent
months at 40 to 55 cents pound.
The inroad of big outside concerns,
chiefly cigar manufacturers. on the
1917 tobacco crop of Lancaster county
is causing considerable disturbance and
more or less indignation on the part of
leaf tobacco men, says an eastern jour-
nal. Hitherto, these purchasers as
serted through their local agents that
the growers were demanding prohibi-
tive prices, which under no possible
conditions would be paid. Two weeks
ago tobacco sales reached enormous
proportions, fully one-third of the crop
being sold. This has resulted in undue
excitement on the part of growers,
H. L ~1.<