The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1918-05-03
NOTE BOOK SKETCHES


prices are pegged for the present
year." declared prominent packer the
other day. This man belongs to the
| class that realizes that some day prices
will come down. ''They will either re-
main around where they are now, or
they will go up. There is nothing in
sight that can bring prices down within
the next twelve months; anything that
happens that alters the situation is
bound TO alter it in the way of higher
prices" Such statements are assur-
ing to farmers who are already pre-
pairing to plant all the acreage they can
conveniently care for the coming sea-
son. Wisconsin tobacco growers have
only to produce bang-up good binder
crop in 1918 to count the most profit
able year in the history of this indus
try. The trade never needed cigar leaf
so badly as it does today and it will be
rather rough shedding for good many
manufacturers until another crop can
be produced and placed on the market
Another prominent packer, who packs
heavily of binders, was deeply inter-
ested in the article binders, Who's
Got Binders, that appeared in last
weeks issue of the Tobacco Leaf He
said: Il had an experience almost like
the one you describe, only must tell
it to you from the packers standpoint,
instead of the manufacturers We
bought a large acreage in Wisconsin
| last year also, but when we came to
receive and pack the tobacco, we found
that the binders simply were not there.
We had a contract for our low grades
with one of the stemming companies,
and most of our tobacco went to them.
When last fall we found that our bind
er holdings would be limited we sent
for the customers who have been in
the habit of relying on us for binders
and told them just what the situation
was. We knew, of course, what other
firms had binders, and we directed our
customers to each of our competitors
as we thought might be able to supply
them. Some of our customers seemed
to think we ought to have been able to
cor troll the situation better, but we
told them that we could not control
| the elements and we could not control
1.-The claas~of tobacco produced in any
state. Most of them, however, ac-
cepted the situation philosophically, re-
alizing that we had done our best. AS
matter of fact, we informed them as
| to the nature of the binder supply long
before the average manufacturer was
aware of it, and those who took our
| advice and bought early profted in
their pocketbooks from so doing. In
fact, though it does not show on our
profit and loss statement, we gave
them the best service this year we
have ever given them.
-
A very vivid picture was presented
| the other day in the annual financial
| statements of our great tobacco cor
I, porations as to the volume Of business,
the amount of earnings, profits and
| surplus during the past year. In read
| ing those statements, marvellous eX-
| hibits of the industrial and financial
| strength of these corporations none
could have failed to wonder at the
| enormous extent and success these cor
| porations have acquired since the past
few years. The advance has been SIM
| ply astonishing, proving beyond all ex-
| pectations a growth and prosperity
/! such as nobody would ever before have
ventured to predict. These corpora
tions, offsprings of the former trust,
have by far exceeded the total income
and profits of their former parent.
Evidently the extended keen competi-
| tion amongst the separated. parts has
| affected far wider extension Of the
| consumption of tobacco products than
was formerly possible under an almost
monopolistic control. The brilliant
financial records of the separate COM
panies exhibit a wonderful business
| skill in the promotion of trade by
unstinted enterprise as we'll as vast
and uninterrupted publicity. But these
tobacco manufacturing corporations are
not the only ones in the trade which
can be credited with an extraordinary
progressive and successful record even
| if but proportionately so in their linn
tied sphere. Nor did the cigar COM
panies fall behind in participating in
| the benefits of an enlarged volume of
business. The financial statement of
some of our great cigar corporations
places them in the front rank of a
healthy and increasing development of
business. In spite Of the drawbacks
that threatened to arrest both the ex-
tension and profits of our cigar indus
try, our great cigar corporations are
gradually succeeding in adapting their
| course Of progress to the changed
| methods by these severe wartimes and
| gaining greater financial strength. But
the eminent success of increased earn
| ings and profits is not confined exclu-
sively to the manufacturing line of the
| trade. The leaf trade has also devel-
oped almost oyer night corporation of
| over nearly thirteen million dollars as
roAc rLno,r,ir,e Or r,,.oI. t- e ro;II:or,- f dol