The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1920-09-25
Tobacco Prices On
Sumter Market
5ecreary Reardon Comments or
Conditions That Have Caused
tho Slump in Price-Sumter
Market Oh a. Par with
Other Small Markets


spoke Secretary Reurdon to news /
paper man about the tobacco market
situation. i
He said: Out Of scVenty-seven TO
bacCO warehouses and about twentv-
seven tobacco markets in South Car
Olina, only four or FIVE Of these maE-
kets paid anything like decent living
prices for medium and inferior grades
of tobacco, and these few only paid
those prices on a limited quantity Of
tobacco for advertising purposes to
| draw trade.
The Sumter tobacco, market was
not lower than. any one Of about
| tWenty-threc other markets, where
uniforms prices were maintained
| but on the larger markets betterN
prices were paid because YOU can al
ways manage TO get the best Of buy
ers on markets with from two to five
million pounds sold during a season,
| though a few Of the larger markets
! suffered, like Sumter did this year
with the poorest bunch of buyers we
ever had, and with our warehouse
men,. like the warehousemen on a
| majority of the other markets. prac-
| tically out of the buying because then
foresaw that the North Carolina, Vir-
ginia, Kentucky, and other tobacco
markets which open up in September
! were going to have the lowest prices
| in the history OF tobacco since 1914
! when tobacco averaged less than 10
| cents per pound. The warehouse
men and many buyers quit buying.
the independent buyers also quit, and
the tobacco trust had it all their own
! way. Il :
The tobacco companies, and their
! buyers were out to- take the tobacco
| for as little as they could get it for,
md they got it, no worse in Sumter
! than on a majority Of the other mar
! KctS
| Just because he Sumter market,
! on a limited amount OF tobacco was
! lower than several other q markets,
! but much higher than tobacco is sell
! ing for in North Carolina, Virginia,
| Kentucky. today, WhI re they are shut
! ting up tho warehouses and threat
! ening to burn their tobacco, is, no
reason why lot Of Sumter people
! should be knocking their own market,
and trying to dissuadc farmers from
| planting tobacco next year when
| prices are just as liable to go back to
! normal as during any \ other year
! sumter county has to make up it's
! mind on the tobacco marketing prob
| lens, like ii has 70 on the cotton sell
| ing and producing proposition--thi.t
| is that there will be lean years and
! occasionally low prices in Sumter like
| there arc every where else.
| Sumter county will have to grow
enough tobacco to supply several mil
7 lion pounds for the Sumter, market so
that experienced buyers will be sent
here, and in order to get sufficient to-
| bacco to bring about keen comp rtition
among the big tobacco companies
Sumter tobacco market has held it's
| own on big prices ever since 1914
the re9ordS show this and there is
I no reason to believe that this mar
ket will be out of business next year
or any other year. or that there will
| be any material difference in prices
! between Sumter and any other mar
ket next year.
Because Of an unfortunate condition
! this year on a majority of the mar
kets, Sumter being among the unfor7
| tunateS, prices were lower on the
! very best grades than on a few other
! markets where tn" WarehOusemen had
| the nerve to take chances, ana where
| they dropped a lot of money too
, but on legitimate business-ukp buying
| where warehouse men were naturally
I careful not to plunge one year and