The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1920-11-05
NOTE BOOK SKETCHES


he says: ''Strictly prime grades of beef
are scarce and are bringing high prices,
but every ything below prime beef has
undergone big decline. Knowing this,
it is bitter pill to force down the
mouth of the consumer today, and
housewives should boycott retailers
who hold out for higher prices when
the market is on the downward trend. "
Concerning the price of candies, he
says: ''The sooner the public treat
the candy business as it did the sugar
business, the sooner the drop will come
in candy prices. Quit buying it.
In an interview printed in the Leaf,
having reference more especially to the
Pennsylvania tobacco situation, APRON
inent leaf merchant gave the following
as his opinion:
There is no necessity for the grower
to sell his holdings now, because he
could not get his money until the crop
is stripped and delivered. If he has
good tobacco and handles it carefully
and strips properly, he is bound to re-
ceive good price for it. On the other
hand, poor tobacco as a crop, not prop
erly handled and stripped, will not
bring more than its value, for this year
the tobacco will sell on it's merits. The
grower who did his best to grow good
crop will get his reward, while the
grower who was careless, expecting
H. L& Il
tricts, wholesale, with no inspection, is
going to be disappointed. This year,
when the crop is big, and the necessity
to rush buying is absent, the packers
will inspect the crops closely and pay
what the tobacco is worth, and no
more. Good tobacco for binders will
be at a premium this year, and if the
local packers don't get it there are out
side parties who will jump for it. 1t
lis claimed that local packers have fully
.20,0 cases less now than they had
this time last year. Government re-
ports show that there is much less to-
sbacco in the United States now than
syear ago. Until quite recently the inn
preston prevailed that the warehouses
of Lancaster city and county were full
of old goods, but it is claimed now that
such is not the case, on account of so
much having been withdrawn. Because
of this the big concerns may want
lot of the new crop, but contracting
for it now, before it is even cured,
would not till depleted warehouses.
The consensus of opinion of we'll in
formed students of the leaf tobacco sit
uation is that there is no question of
the fact that binders will be in very
active demand and will hold firmly at
prices which will net reasonable prof
its. :" AS to filters and low grades, the
situation seems TO be quite different.
The supply is ample and the price to be
paid will run accordingly. The manu-
facturers, not the packers, are dictat-
ing prices, and they will pay on the
basis of the size of the demand on the
part of the public for cigars, and ac-
cording to the size of the supply avail
able in the market.
The prospects Of an early reduction
in the price of cigars is not looked for
ward to by the trade. The manufac-
turers' supply of leaf from which they
must make their cigars during the COM
ing months has been bought at top
prices A reduction in the price of ci-
gars would mean direct loss to the
makers. The lowering in the price of
smokes can not very we'll come until
the manufacturers have had chance
to buy at lower figures. If there is
depression in business generally, lower
ing of wages, or unemployment, and
falling off in the purchasing power of
the smoking public, some very uneasy
times may be ahead for the retailers.
That something of this sort is antici-
pated is indicated by the announcement
of the manufacturers that they will
guarantee the dealers against difficult
ties that might arise in consequence of
possible fluctuation in prices.
***
The Lancaster Examiner and New
Era for October 20 states that tobacco
sales in that territory have ceased.
Last year this time the greater portion
of the crop had been contracted for.
Of the present situation the paper ad-
vances the opinion that the crop should
sell for about the same price as the
1919 leaf brought, around 20 cents for
wrappers, but the farmers are holding
out for better prices. Most of the
1920 that has been bought went to rep
resentatives of manufacturers who
dealt directly with the farmers, some
of them new concerns which formerly
had not been in the field. The farmers
are stripping their Havana which looks
very well indeed. The leaf is thin and
of fine texture The stir in the mar
ket some weeks ago was not made by
the houses that regularly appear in the
field.