The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1920-11-26
NOTE BOOK SKETCHES

| 1871 unSOId leaf, seems quite reason
able. AS long as the manufacturer
| can>sell his stock to the broker, and
| the broker can sell to the retailer, and
the smoking public has the money to
! spend for tobacco, everything is we'll.
AS soon as the users of tobacco begin
| to cut down their daily consumption it
will be reflected in the trade from the
! retail merchant through the wholesaler
and to the manufacturer. Tobacco jour-
| mails are investigating the situation to
be able to advise the industry They
report a hesitancy on the part of trad
ers in tobacco products in ordering new
supplies. Some are cancelling orders,
others are buying from hand to mouth.
October and November showed fall
ing off in the jobbers' and retailers
demand for goods, but this is attribur-
ed more to the general nervousness OF
the business world at large than to any
real decrease in the amount of tobacco
consumed by the public. The dealers
are running on low stock. The years
business up to October l shows an
enormous increase over 1919. The CT
!sgar production alone is 25 per cent
higher than that of the corresponding
nine months in 1919. If the trade main
tains it's momentum during the next
couple months, and keeps up its hand
to mouth buying, the chances are that
the expected break in 1921 may not
materialize, and that the tobacco in
dustry will suffer no such shock as has
come to other lines of business. An
other circumstance which may help in
some measure is the resumption of
trade with Germany on peace basis.
If peace is formally concluded, the ex-
port business to that country is certain
to revive with considerable energy.
They need tobacco over there, and will
take care of considerable portion of
the cheaper grades of it. The New
England tobacco men are anxiously
waiting for peace with Germany, as the
soaght by German manufacturers. A.
NJ Slade in the Tobacco Leaf sounds
the more pessimistic note when he says:
One well known dealer, referring to
the discharges of men from factories
all over the country, expressed the fear
that this very fact would result in
breaking the prices of cigars, cigar
cites, tobacco and smokers supplies
generally. The working people who
spent freely up to recently are begin
ming TO hedge on spending, and instead
of buying without asking prices, now
price an article before buying. With
many out of work and wages being
cut. cigar manufacturers here are in
clined to think the outlook anything
but encouraging.
The situation in Pennsylvania, espec-
tally in Lancaster county, the big leaf
center of the state, is rather interest
ing. 1t has reised very large crop Of
excellent quality, but the selling is
slow. Very little, in fact, has been
taken by the trade. The buyers and
growers cannot get together on the
price. This is reported as being due to
several causes. While the packers ad-
NIT that the leaf is of fine quality,
good size, burn and color, they will not
| take the tobacco at the price placed
on it by the farmers. Scattering sales
| have been made, and the price has how
cred around 20 to 80 cents, but the rank
and file of growers are holding out for
| figures considerably above 20 cents.
The buyers would like to get the crop,
but can not see their way to lift it at
the growers figures, and so there is
deadlock Then claims have been cir
culated to the effect that there is con-
siderable pole rot and other damage in
the leaf, due to a wet season and over
crowding in the sheds. The farmers
have passed resolutions denying this.
There are quite a large number of
'sharemen" who are not able to hold
their tobacco over. That these will
sell and thus establish price, is feared.
The condition of the money market also
comes in for it's share of responsibility
for the slowness of the market Money
is tight. The outlook is that no extern
sive buying will take place until the to-
bacco is in the bundle. If the packers
have to come to it and offer better
price, they want to be sure that they
are buying tobacco that is sound and
handled right. Meanwhile the fight is
on and the feathers are flying.
*#*
Tobacco exported from Amsterdam
to the United States during the quarter
ending Sept. 30 exceeded in value the
diamonds exported. The total declared
value of the exports from Amsterdam
to the U. S. during the quarter was
$22, ZIG, 766. OF this amount tobacco