The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1919-06-27
NOTE BOOK SKETCHES

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Remembering how in the farmer
meetings held over the state last fall
the question of the cost of raising to-
babacco crop was fully discussed, many
of the leaders claiming that the price
was SO near the cost of production that
the growers were facing ruination, we
couldn't believe then that all this talk
was bluff and bluster, but when one
travelling over the country sees on ev-
cry hand the growers working early
and late, planting every vacant plot of
the farms to another tobacco crop, we
wonder what line of reasoning passes
through his mind and what he expects
to get for this tobacco when produced.
It is safe bet that every mothers s
son of the growers who pulled down 35
to 40c for their tobacco last season
have the full acreage out, serenely
waiting for another war and hoping for
something they Go not expect. Then
another class who after long waiting
accepted 25c for their tobacco find on
balancing their books there was some
thing on the profit side of the ledger
and so take chance on putting out
their usual acreage. A vastly greater
number of growers who either accepted
Is or 20c have all the time threatened
to reduce the acreage of the present
crop but have since thrown their re-
solve to the winds and are replantlng
their fields again. Finally, even those
who were compelled to sell at the low
est notch, and hoping that the grass
hoppers this year might evade them,
have apparently fallen in line with the
rest. So there you have it-everyone
is expecting the other fellow to do the
cutting instead of following out his
better judgment.
1t has been tremendous strain upon
the market to absorb so large crop as
grown in 1918, but what will happen if we
produce another crop this year of equal
size no one is able to predict. If the
tobacco growers of Wisconsin are sat-
isfied to grow quantity crop and sell
it for what the stemmers are willing
to pay for it, all well and good. But
the aim of the growers should be to
produce binder crop instead which
can always be depended on to sell at
a remunerative price when the acreage
is controlled to meet the demands of
the market. Wisconsin has an envia-
bic reputation as binder state and a
broadening market opens up whenever
we are able to produce suitable leaf.
Therefore it lies with growers that over
production the present year does not
prove their undoing.
~
Expansion of the United Cigar Stores
Co. of America, not only into a world
wide general mercantile organization,
but what is more important for the
whole tobacco trade in the United
States, new national and interna-
tional figure for the sale of tobacco
products generally, has just been pre-
pared in New York, with the forma-
tion of the United Retail Stores Cor
poration. A compelling feature of the
new company's personnel is it's leader
ship, bringing back into the trade
James Buchanan Duke and coupling
with Mr.. Dukes senior experience and
unlimited resources the financial and
administrative genius of George j.
Whelan, who in the past ten years of
the elder magnate's retirement has won
the right to be considered the second
Duke of American industry and COM
merce. In nutshell, the plan of the
United Retail Stores Corporation is to
sell everything man consumes through
out the world, with special attention and
decided preference, of course, to Ameri-
can-made merchandise. In its domes-
tic aspects, the plan holds particular
interest for the entire tobacco and al
lied trades of the United States, in
that it offers freer field for the scien-
tific exploitation of innumerable stand
ard brands of American goods, includ-
ing all popular brands of tobacco pro-
ducts without discrimination.
~
The United Retail Stores Corporation
is capitalized under the laws of Della
ware at 100000 shares of 8 per cent
cumulative preferred stock of no par
value and 100000 shares of common
stock, also of no par value. Headquar-
ters for the company have been estab-
lished at 511 Fifth avenue, Manhattan,
and in formal statement of policy the
new company says, George j. Whalen
and James B. Duke have organized the
United Retail Stores Corporation to
take advantage of present conditions
to extend manufacturing business and
to organize a system of retail stores
throughout the world for merchandis-
ing of ali kinds. The United Retail
Stores Corporation will begin business
at once by inviting the United Cigar
Stores Co to become associated with