The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1920-05-28
NOTE BOOK SKETCHES

The u. s. Bureau OF Markets Is
working out official grades and stand
ards of tobacco; also rules applying to
tobacco warehouses. This work is done
under the warehouse act passed by
congress some years ago. Under this
law warehouse that SO desires may be
licensed by the government, and the
grades and standards of tobacco stored
in such warehouses would be official.
There is at least one advantage in op-
Grating as licensed warehouse, and
that is, the official grading would make
it represent somewhat definite value
for each grade and determine the
amount of money bank or private
individual could advance upon it. Be-
fore the results of the labors of the
Bureau of Markets are published hear
ings will be given by the department to
anyone who has criticisms, endorse
ments, suggestions and notifications
to offer
simultaneously with the development
of the chain cigar stores, including the
expansion of the Liggett Drug Stores
company-the Liggetts now controlling
some 220 such stores-a scramble by
small dealers to get into the cigar re-
tail business has been injected into the
market. What will happen to this
last class, in competition with the two
other retail groups, is not difficult to
guess if history repeats itself.
***
In an article in last week Leaf it is
urged that the classification be changed
SO as to place the cent cigar in the B
class. What would happen to the c
class?
The all-absorbing topic in Water
Street circles, this week, is furnished
in sensational report from Amster
dam, of the purchase, out of hand, OF
approximately 5000 bales of the best
grades of Sumatra tobacco, of the Deli
Ba My crop, by large American cigar
manufacturing concern, at an average
price of S425 pound. The concern
purchased the entire crop Of ii, 438
bales, from which 4,800 bales of Amer
ican types were selected. The chief
interest in this transaction is contained
III the extremely high price level, which
it has set for the balance of the Amer
ican types still available for the in
scriptions. Just previous to this sale a
lot of 1000 bales of wrappers of the
1919 L C Langkat crop were pur-
chased, out of hand, from an Amster-
dam syndicate by three Water Street
importing houses. Taken together,
these two transactions subtract from
the possible total of 25.00O to 1000
bales of American wrappers-the impos-
ing amount of approximately 1000
bales The majority of importers hold
to the opinion that the total of Ameri
can type wrappers left available for
this market will not exceed $4,000 to
$4,000 bales In the face of so mater
ial reduction in the supply, and with
prices established at the extremely
high levels set by the Deli Ba My pur-
chase, they feel certain that prices
must soar to tremendously high levels
as the inevitable result of the keen
competitive bidding which will be
forced upon the American buyers at
the inscription. That Sumatra prices
will reach record breaking level now
seems inevitable Y. Leaf.
Mr.. A. T. Marks in readable and
thoughtful article in the Tobacco World
for May Is calls the attention of the
exporters of leaf tobacco to the pres
ent opportunity of enlarging the Amer
lean trade in the South American coun-
tries, especially the states on the east
coast. Our exports to Argentine, for
instance, increased 100 per cent in un-
manufactured leaf during the past
year. Argentine and Brazil are max
ing laudable strides in developing their
own factories for cigarettes, plug and
smoking tobacco, and they can use our
leaf, and will take it if the American
exporter is on his job going after the
business. Attention is called to the
Importance of what an aggressive ad-
vertising campaign in the leading pa
pers in those countries would do, and
the placing in their large centers wide
awake men, competent IN the Spanish
and Portuguese languages. The time
for such campaign is ripe just now,
before other tobacco growing nations
recover from the underproduction Of
the war period, for the Latin-Ameri-
cans have no sentiment in their choibe
of trade relations.
1888
Leonard FL Healy, secretary of the
State Board of Agriculture, makes the
following comment about the tobacco
industry in Connecticut Valley: 'The
Connecticut River Valley is known for
growing the very best wrappers for
cigars in the world | figure that the
total value of the entire tobacco crop
in the valley is or was worth $50. 0OO,-
900, and for Connecticut alone, S2O,-
900, 900, and find that Hartford county
is the largest tobacco producing county
in the United States.''
A bill has been introduced by Repre-
ol~o~ oE r7r0v75H-