The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1920-02-25


difference in the quality of South
Carolina and North Carolina tobacco.
AS l see it, there are two principal
reasons why we get such low price
for this crop in South Carolina. The
first is that we sell the crop ungradcd
just as it comes from the curing barn,
and the other reason is the shortness
OF our selling season. The fact that
labor is high and scarce is no argu-
mcnt against grading tobacco, because
1t is self-evident fact that all to-
bacco has to be graded by some one
before it is manufactured, and the
grower pays the cost of this grading
whether he does it himself or allows
someone else to perform the service
Tor hlm. When a manufacturer or
speculator buys tobacco ungraded he
necessarily allows an ample margin in
price to cover the cost of grading. In
addition TO this he is bidding on pile
or tobacco that may, and often does
contain several different grades vary
ing IN value from say 10 to SO cents
per pound. When the buyer reaches
this pile of tobacco on sale he has less
than one minute to sample it and de-
eide what he will pay for it, 1t re-
qulres no argument to convince any
sensible man that it is absolutely i'm
possible for anyone in these circum-
stances to tell what a pile of tobacco
OF this character is worth. The con-
sequence is, that the buyer offers a
price which he knows is well within
the limit of safety. He is not to be
blamed for this policy because it is
impossible for him to know how much
of each grade is in the pile. So the
farmer not only pays for having his
tobacco graded by someone else but
IN most cases, sells his tobacco at the
price or the commonest grade in his
pile. Mr.. Cothran says there is no
law IN this State to prevent man
from grading his tobacco. That is
true but it is also true that the buy
ers for the principal companies will
not bid on Il pile Of tobacco that is
graded and tied and offered for sale
ON South Carolina warehouse floor,
1t is also true that they will not buv
tobacco in North Carolina or on any
other market in the United States that
is not graded and tied.
The rcason for this is plain. South
Carolina tobacco is the first to come
on the market, and when it first be-
came an established crop in this state,
he large companies decided to use
the same set of buyers on both the
South and North Carolina markets.
TO do this, it was necessary for them
to buy the South Carolina crop as
quickly as possible so that they could
get their buyers on the North Caro-
lima markets the latter part Of Au-
gust. The crop in South Carolina
then averaged fifteen TO twenty mil
hon pounds year and practically all
ot our farmers were new at the game.
Most pt them planted only few acres
ana regarded the money which they
received for this crop as rather a side
issue to their general farming opera
tons. Times were hard, money in
July and August was practically an
unknown quantity to the average
small farpcr, and he welcomed a
method which enabled him % DISPOSE
of his crop quickly and get the money
which he particularly needed at that
season of the year. At that time we
SOLD hltccn to twenty million pounds
OF tobacco in about six weeks and last
year we sold over eighty one million
pounds IN the same length of time. If
seasons are at all favorable. South
Carolina will produce this year at
least loC 600 600 pounds and with the
coming Of the boil wccvil. this amoun,
will be trcbled within the next five
years. Tobacco has now come to bc
one OF our principal money crops in
thc lower section Of the State. AMI il
VIII continue TO Increase in size and
lmportanc" as the boil wccvil damage
to the cotton crop increases. The
amount raised last year was entirely
too larG" to be marketed within thn
TIME allowed, and unless our market
ING conditions are changed before the
next season opens. the tobacco grow
1@rS Of this State will sustain, by rca-
son of congestion four local mar
krtS, a loss even greater than they did
last year.
Nh Cothran's inquiry as to why the
Er1cc OF cotton seed was $4,000 in
September and $4,000 az the present
time is a very fine Illustration of what
happens to the farmer in selling his
tobacco. During the month of Sen
tcmber cotton seed contain a high per
ccntagc of moisture and are cOnsc
qIcntlY less valuable than the san,n
seed in November and December. On
account of this high moisture content
these seed will get hot and damopc
Whcn stored in large quantities and
any mill man knows that if he buvs
seed freely in September he is poing
TO sustain certain amount of loss on
account of damaged seed The moro
ne buys the more damage he is like
~ to sustain, and if the farmers per
SiSt IN marketing all of their seed rs
rapidly as they are ginncd the mill
man must necessarily reduce his price
4 sufficient amount to taxa coro nr -, :.