The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1918-10-11
NOTE BOOK SKETCHES

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It is rare that the tobacco growing
sections have been favored with more
perfect curing season than the present
one. From the very early start of the
harvest weather conditions have been
suitable for the rapid curing of the
too right up to the present writing.
The early cut would be in condition for
stripping now at almost any time were
casing weather to come and the pack
ers were ready to receive it. About
the only thing needed to put an ideal
finish to the leaf is a season of damp
that might even up the colorings.
There has been no time since the har-
vest commenced when there was any
danger from shed burn or pole rot,
risk often assumed in the curing. This
much can be truthfully said the cur
ing of the crop is so far advanced that
the first heavy frosts cannot injure the
tobacco in the sheds as was the case a
year ago. So far as the grower is con-
cerned. they promise to have clean
crop to deliver if they use ordinary
care when it is taken down for strip
ping.
A press dispatch from New York
bears the news that federal Indictment
charging violation of the Sherman anti
trust and Wilson tariff law, were re-
turned against the Sumatra Corpora
tion, General Cigar Co., American Ci-
gar Co., H. Duys & Co., and fourteen
Individual defendants. No further in
formation regarding the nature of the
charge is given. But Washington
dispatch says the attorney general has
asked for delay in the trial of Sher-
man anti-trusts now on the supreme
court calendar on account of the war,
lit would seem hardly necessary to
start similar prosecution at present.
4 ~
Notwithstanding the fact that big
crops have been produced in all the ci-
gar leaf growing states, it is hard to
find anybody in Water street, says the
New York Tobacco Journal, who ex-
poets tobacco prices to go much lower
by reason thereof. For one thing, there
is at present no abundance of any type
of tobacco on the market, The new
crop will require year for the packing
and curing processes before it is ready
for the manufacturers use. The farm
ers have plenty of money from the high
prices they received in the past few
years, have paid off their mortgages,
and can afford to wait Furthermore,
if peace comes within the next eight or
twelve months, the export market will
give an additional demand that will
make present prices seem cheap.
A prominent packer of Wisconsin to-
bacco gives the United States Tobacco
Journal the following resume of condi-
tions in this state: wisconsin has
$4,000 acres in tobacco this year, and
we have q good stand of tobacco The
yield will be some thing over $4,000, 900
pounds upon a conservative estimate.
I do not believe it will run as high as
70,000,000 pounds. The new Wisconsin
crop will all be in the sheds by the end
of this week The tobacco got good
growth. Frost hasn't touched it to
speak of, though the grasshoppers did
some damage. In general, however, 1T
is very sound crop of tobacco, much
better in this respect than We have had
in many years. a little more than so
per cent of the crop has been contract
ed by the large cigar manufacturing
concerns and by the packers -princi-
pally by the manufacturers. The price
at which these contracts were made
averages a little above thirty cents
straight, wrappers, binders and filters.
Of the portion contracted for, about
1900 acres were secured by the STEM
ming companies at around twenty-five
cents. The better crops, taken by the
manufacturers and packers, averaged
around thirty to thirty-fve cents, with
twenty cents for filters. When prices
reached that stage, some Of the farm
ers heard of some sales of old tobacco
being made at around fifty cents and
they raised the ante to forty for new
tobacco. Since then the price has
been thirty cents straight, and forty
one and half and twenty for filters.
That is where the thing stands now.
Buying has come to a standstill because
of the farmers obstinacy in holding
out for prices that the packers and
manufacturers are unwilling to pay.
The packers have tried hard enough to
lift the entire crop and have spent
more time and labor in the effort than
is usually required to lift an entire
crop, but the farmers have stood out
for prices that the packers cannot af-
ford to pay. Consequently deadlock
has been established. In the meantime,
there are number of the big manu-
featuring firms that have not laid In
their quota of the crop yet, to say
nothing of the bulk of the packing
houses. BY reason of the long grow
ing season, and the immunity from
frost, the tobacco has been allowed to
mature and ripen before being harvest
ed, and as result we have much bet
ter tobacco than for many years. There |