The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1920-01-02
NOTE Book SKETCHES

| 1t fs no secret any longer that Cni-
cago cigar leaf operators, manufacture
ers and dealers are waging campaign
to make Chicago one of the great to-
bacco centers of the world. The ''go'
in Chicago is asserting itself in this
| line of business as in other lines. It
yields grudgingly to New York the
first place in point of population; it
| does not intend to stop until it beats
| New York by two millions. It's retail
| department stores. its octopusian mail
order houses, its tremendous packing
| plants are unrivaled today. It's ambi-
| tion seems to be to go after the tobac-
co industry and make it equal to that
of New York. if not greater. The holi-
day numbers of the Tobacco Leaf
| and the u. s. Tobacco Journal give
| Chicago handsome handicap by way
of space and editorial attention.
/ ***
| The Tobacco Leaf in discussing the
leaf market Dec II admits that the
1918-1919 Porto Rican crop of tobacco
| was extremely short; but it deplores
the tendency on the part of some deal
| ers to view the 1920 situation with any
degree of apprehension. The conserva-
tive men issue warning against a
stampede to get the 1920 crop of Porto
| Rican, and base this on the informa-
/ +;o,o 4ha+ Dov%o D;oo xx,;if ~ 1000 v,vo
duce a crop twice as large as the one
available in 1919 Even though the
demand for this tobacco should increase,
so per cent, there would still be an
| ample margin to hinder any apprehen-
| sion of shortage and bullish prices.
~
In an able review of tobacco as a
revenue source of the United States
government, the Tobacco World says:
Tobacco has become one Of the great
| est sources of revenue for the govern
ment." This statement is taken from
a report Of the Commissioner of Inter
nal Revenue. The report sets forth
| that the total receipts from all tobacco
taxes during the fiscal year ending
June 80, 1919. were s206, ,OO3, 91.84,
nearly so million dollars more. than dur
ing the preceding year. The floor tax
| alone was by the new 1918 law increas-
ed by nearly u million dollars, or 134.2
per cent. 1t is expected that June 80,
1920, will have brought the. govern
! ment $275, 100000 in tobacco taxes.
The largest single item is. the, revenue
on cigarettes. While cigars and cigar.
cites were manufactured about in equal
| number in 1910, namely, about 8 bill
lions of each, in the past year the
cigarettes reached the colossal figure
of 463 billions. while cigars held its
| own at about billions. The actual
number of pounds of tobacco entering
into the manufacture of cigarettes was
last year Is million pounds more than
, that required for cigars.
**
The Havana Seed crop of the Con-
| necticut Valley is discussed by the same
authority. 1t says: "Rather disturb
| ing reports are received from the Com
| necticut Valley this week concerning
the extent of pole sweat damage in the
Havana Seed crop, which is said to be
far greater than at first supposed. Our
| correspondent states that while there
is an undeniably large yield of high
| grade Havana Seed, there is still big
ger yield of fair to middlipg and mid
ding to poor tobacco This correspon-
dent also states that there are very
erroneous impressions current regard
ing the percentage of the new which
has been bought up, and states that
not more than so per cent of the crop
| is, out of first hands. In view of the
rather doubtful character of the con-
siderable unsold portion of the Havana
Seed crops, buyers are proceeding with
the utmost caution in their purchases.
| -
In experimenting with tobacco seed
in Canada during the last three years,
it has been found that Canadian grown
] see6 natures as much as ten days
earlier than foreign raised seed. Ac-
climatized seeds give better results
than imported. 1t has also been found
there, that when the seeds were taken
from half-brown seed pods. rather than
from totally brown, the percentage
| terminating was highest. Consider
able tobacco culture is carried on in the
provinces of Quebec and Ontario.
~
| The New England 1919 sun-grown
Havana Seed crop is reported not as
large as expected. The Broadleaf crop
is not all that might be wished for it;