The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1918-12-27
NOTE sook SKETCHES

lie writer scdilHOC permit Tue OccaSiOU
to pass without an emphatic denial of
such a charge and also to enlighten our
readers as to how far they should be
governed by the news which we aim to
furnish What the tobacco page of
this paper aims TO do is to give all the
! news of the Wisconsin tobacco growing
sections, truthfully and without bias,
| as well as summary of the eastern
market centers. With these facts be-
| fore them each week, we leave our
readers to draw their own conclusions
and base their actions accordingly. If
the news fails to meet the expectations
of the grower who has his tobacco for
sale and looking for rising market,
the newspaper which does its duty to
the public cannot be blamed. 1t does
not make the market and can only
guarantee truthful record of the con-
ditions as it finds them. We never
could quite understand why farmers as
a class are naturally so suspicious that
everyone is trying to get the best of
them whom they have business connec-
tions. The nature of their business
ought not to justify this feeling but it
is possible for that reason the notion
has got into the minds of some people
that The Reporter is not playing the
game fair.
During term of nearly forty years
the writer has been conducting this
column we have prided ourself upon
gaining reputation abroad at least, if
not at home, of giving the most concise
and reliable tobacco news of any publi-
cation making this subject speciality.
We base this statement upon the au-
thority of high compliments that are
continually coming to the writer from
the oldest firms in the trade. While
we welcome wholesome criticism of the
policy Of this paper, no insinuations of
unfairness will in any way swerve us
from continuing to tell the truth with
out fear or favor. In our market re-
ports we have always studiously avoid
ed giving advice TO growers regarding
the sale of their tobacco, for that is a
matter up to the individual farmer to
decide. When The Reporter has given
him the news of the markets it has &C.
complished it's aim and the grower
must draw his own conclusions from
the facts presented This somewhat
personal explanation, it seems, was due
our readers in view of the circun1-
stances first mentioned.
~
Whatever happens regarding the
price to be paid for the balance OF the
1918 crop, it is certain that the tobacco
will be sold on it's merits. The stripping
is so far along that buyers will be priv
ileged to examine the crop thoroughly
and determine just what he is paying
his money for. And these are the con-
ditions that ought to prevail every sea-
son. No dealer is ever able to tell un-
der field buying what he is going to
have delivered to him regarding quality
and packing condition until the crop is
received and paid for. But so long as
the large operators insist on crazy
field buying campaign long before the
crop is produced, there is little hope
for saner methods in the selling of the
tobacco crop. There was less excuse
for the wild scramble Of last August
than ever before and no market ever
fell fiatter after the big concerns took
sober review of the of the spectacle.
When the callto quit came they stopped
dead in their tracks and the growers
have been watching in vain for their
appearance since. We are still wait
ing for an explanation.
The new revenue bill is likely to pass
congress within q short time and be-
come a law. The proposed tobacco
schedule will doubtless be unchanged
just as it came from the committee.
Political considerations are behind the
decision not to obstruct passage of the
bill. Republicans on second thought
did not care to assume the responsibility
for tying the hands of the Treasury
Department in carrying out the financ-
ing of the war and it's aftermath, any
more than they thought it wise to keep
the business and industrial interests of
the country in the dark as to what
their taxes are likely TO be. Chairman
Simmons of the Finance committee, in
his report on the revenue bill, esti-
mates that the tobacco schedule az the
rates of tax reported by his committee
to the Senate should yield S24O. 800, 600
of revenue ins the fiscal year ending
June 80, 1919, as compared with S341.-
204, 900 that would be derived from the
tobacco taxes as originally embodied in
the revenue bill whsn passed by The
House, and compared with $500, 900, 900,
the estimated collections under the ex-
isting law during the current fiscal
wear