The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1919-08-29
NOTE BOOK SKETCHES
BE PREPARED.


will soon be launched by the Anti-Sa-
loon League and the w. c. [. u, tC
secure an amendment to the Constitu-
tion forbidding the use and sale of to-
bacco by 1924
The general public has already been
given ample warning of the threatened
anti campaign, through the medium OF
| the daily press, and the tone of the ed
itofial comment upon the impending
outrage against the rights OF the Amer
| ican citizens leave no doubt OF the sup
port which tobacco's cause will receive
from the newspapers of the country.
The seriousness with which the daily
press of the country regards the threat
ened onslaught against tobacco should
serve as a warning to the tobacco
trade itself that there should be no de-
| lay in preparing for the war which
seems inevitable.
Strangely enough, the general public
seems to be far more apprehenslve OF
/ the dangers of this threatened invasion
of it's rights than is the industry against
the life at which this insidiOus propa-
ganda, of fanatical minority, is aimed.
With sound logic the trade points to
the fact that not a single argument
which was used to bring about the
overthrow of. the liquor traffic can hon
estly be employed against tobacco. But
if the following warning, which is TAX
en- from a recent editorial in the New
York Tribune, and which seems to re-
feet the sentiment of the entire press
of the nation, applies to the situation
fv~ fhn %nh
it. most certainly has double signifi-
canoe for the tobacco industry itself.
'It is the way of reformers, says
the Tribune, "to run to these excesses
and there is no blinking the fact that
the success of the prohibition move
Inent has given the anti-nicotine advO-
Gates strong boost. The method of
procedure has been staked out by the
highly efficient Anti-Saloon League.
There is good deal more than talk in
the announcement that the w. G. /. U.
aims at an anti-tobacco constitutional
amendment by 1924. The country ought
to realize as soon as possible that here
is another strong and active minority
resolved upon success and believing SO
strongly in the virtue of Its proposal
that it cares not how flagrantly the
home and its most intimate ties are at
tackled and undermined provided the
one goal is reached. "
If this is true Characterization Of
the type of enemy which the tobacco
trade is facing, force totally blind to
every regard for individual rights. and
willing to go to any fanatical or ridicu
lous lengths to gain it's ends, the to-
bacco trade would do we'll to bestir
itself without delay to meet the on
slaught
True enough, there would be little to
fear from the attacks of the largely
hypocritical zealots who will be the
self-constituted leaders of the anti-to-
bacco campaign if they could be de-
pended upon to confine themselves and
their propaganda to the truth.
Forewarned is forearmed The to-
bacco trade cannot say that it was not
given ample warning. The daily press
IS doing it's part to drive home to the
mind Of the American public the full
gravity of the impudent outrage which
the anti element is preparing. -Tobac-
co Leaf.
The quantity of cigar leaf tobacco on
hand, shown by the July | report of
the Census Bureau, does not disclose a
shortage of material The July report
shows total of 323a million pounds,
against 316 million pounds for the same
time last year, and 254 million pounds
on the first of the year. In other
words, if this table means anything, it
indicates that the supply of leaf, in the
hands of manufacturers and dealers, is
about normal 1t is only fair to say,
however, that the trade has never been
able to account for the quantities of
tobacco shown in these tables. By
reason of the fact that the tobacco is
not segregated into grades, no one is
able to ascertain whether there is an
abundance or shortage of tobacco
actually serviceable for the cigar man.
ufacturing industry With the excep-
ton of the New England types, the to-
bacco is Jumped under the state in
which it is grown. Thus, in year
when millions of pounds of Wisconsin
tobacco are being bought by the stem
ming concerns the figures will show a
quantity of Wisconsin tobacco on hand
that would be very liberal supply for
the cigar industry. At the same time
binders may be very scarce and at
premium. N. Y. Tob Journal.
~
The N. Y. Tobacco Journal is quoted
with the following: The leaf tobacco
market is greatly interested in two
things. One is the ending of the
strike and is the other is the COM
ing increase in the price of cigars.
There is well defined belief that the
present seven-cent cigar will shortly
go to eight, or two for fifteen cents.
The leaf trade is anxious to see both
things come to pass. The leaf tobacco
merchant realizes as well as the cigar
manufacturer that manufacturing CT
gars at present prices is not profit
able undertaking. An increase that
will enable the manufacturer to make
q decent profit, and also enable the
jobber and retailer to operate upon a
reasonably profitable basis, is neces-s
sity.