Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1921-06-16
Prohibition of Weed Would Mean
Big Financial Loss to
Allied Trades.
WHO USES THE MATCH?
The Smoker Mainly-AIso Responsible
for Spending Hundreds Of Millions
Annually for Licorice, Sugar,
Coal, Cigar Boxes, Tin
Foil, Etc.
BY GARRETT SMITH

unnecessary because most pockets are
Kept well supplied with The useful.
little article: Anyhow. inaSmuch as ii
is estimated that there are 3o000o00
tobacco users in the country. We would
guess thar the answer 10 that question
would run into tie hundreds OF mil
sions.
For il il weren't for the smokers in
these days OF electric lights how MANY
matches would be usedy A pretty
small proportion Of the number of
these sticks of blazes" produced in
the country every year. Abolish Ia
baccO and-1 lac match business would be
shot 10 pieces
Rut the match business is only one
of dozen or mdfe allied industries
which derive large revenues directly or
indirectly from the tobacco trade and
would suffer heavily if national pro-
bibitiOn of tobacco were to go into
effect as some of our reformers would
have II. The annual sales of tobacco
products, based on retail prices, is es-
timated nj 81 ,937 100000. OF the cost
of producing and selling this quantity
OF cigars. cigarettes and other forms
of the weed. some hundreds of million
dollars are paid out for other things
than the raw tobacco aud labor of
making II up.
100000 Year for Boxes
For example. the tobacco trade con-
sumes each year 45,0O00O0 pounds of
licoricc. 50.0o0,000 pounds of sugar,
both used In flavoring tobacco. and
$4,000 tons of coal. 1t is estimated
that the value of wooden cigar boxes
used is s25.0o0000 year. quite an
item to the lumber business and to
manufacturers of the boxes.
I'm making these boxes $4,000
pounds OF nails are employed. Other
large items used In making and pre-
pairing tobacco for sale are Tin and
lead foil. paper for bags and cigarette
wrappers. cloth for tobacco bags, la
bells. coupons. etc. involving the print
ing trade extensively.
Then building contractors and manu-
facfuress of machinery are largely in
terested Investments in plants and
machinery employed in manufactur-
ing tobacco are estimated ut $l0200O.-
600. Replacement. up-keep and inter-
est on the investment make no small
sum annually
And let realty men note there are
approximatcly $4,000 tobacco farms
in the country. with total estimated
valuation of $3.50 600 coo OF further in
terest to real estate men is the fact
that there are 700.0ao retail establish
menis selling tobacco, involving a total
rental ana up-keep impossible TO esti-
mate. besides the large amount of Of
flee space occupied by administrative
branches If the general business.
The insurance men. too. have their
SHARE Of the pickings The tobacco
bus ness pays oft annually $7.Ooo.oG0
i'm premiums in the United States.
And there are the railroads who reap
revenue from 2.2lO.000 tons OF tobacco
products every year.
As for the advertising business
here again it is impossible TO form
any estimate of the enormous annual
outlay.
The prohibition OF tobacco would also
knock good-sized hole in the receipts
Of the United States government.
The internal revenue receipts from
tobacco for the fiscal year 1920 amount
ed to $40, 500. 355.44 Customs duties
provided an additional So5,00O0O0 in
round figures. making the total revenue
return 10 the government s320,000,0o0
Influence on Popular Sentiment
II is this interlocking Of the tobacco
bus ness with so many other interests
and the vast amount of financial loss
that would he involved in the abolition
of tobacco that is one of the most Sc
rious aspects of the proposal to pro-
hihit the sale of tobacco. a proposal
however. which has little support By
public sentiment if the newspaper edi-
tors of the country are correct in their
estimate Of that sentiment
In poll of the editors made recently
by the Tobacco Merchants Association
Of the United States. through the Press
Service Company af New York City.
o5 per cent of the 7.S47 editors who
replied expressed the opinion that the
people of their communities were OPP
posed TO any law against tobacco "A
these editors represent some 10000. 900
readers the results form pretty gen
eral test of national opinion
In their remarks accompanying their
replies many of the editors expressed
IL as their opinion that the oppos ton
OF their communities TO the abolition
of tobacco was based 10 some extern al
least on the damage such change
would do To the business interests of
the community. This was particularly
true in the tobacco growing states and
centerS' where there were large tobacco
plants
But when the extent Of the business
Involved in the allied interests of the
tobacco trade is considered. as above
briefly outlined. it is clear that there
is hardly section OF the country thar
would not be affected directly or in
directly by aboliShing tobacco.