The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1921-06-22
Prohibition Of Weed Would Mean
BIG Financial Loss to
Allied Trades.
WHO USES THE MATCH7
The Smoker MalnIy-AIso Responsible
for spending Hundreds Of Millions
Annually for LicorIoe, Sugar,
Coal, Cigar Boxes, Tin
Foil, Etc.
by oARRET SMITH

How many more times Is the question
unnecessary because most pockets are
kept we'll supplied with the useful
little article? Anyhow, inasmuch as it
u estimated that there are 10000, 900
tobacco users In the country, we would
9uosS that the answer to that question
would run into the hundreds Of MIL
LENA
Fer II It weren't for the smokers in
tAsss days Of electric lights how many
matches would be used? A pretty
small proportion of the number of
these sticks of blazes' produced In
the country every year. Abolish to
bacco and the match business would be
shst to pieces.
But the match business is only one
Of q dozen or more allied Industries
which derive large revenues directly or
indirectly from the tobacco trade and
would suffer heavily If national pro-
hibition Of tobacco were to go into
effect ~ some of our reformers would
have It. The annual sales of tobacco
products, based on retail prices, is es-
timated at $1,087, 100000 OF the cost
Of producing and selling this quantity
Of cigars, cigarettes and other forms
q the weed, some hundreds of million
Cellars are paid out for other things
than the raw tobacco and labor Of
making 1t up.
t2B, 900 900 Year for Boxes
For example, the tobacco trade con-
~h nm ~
licorice, b0OO0.000 pounds of sugar,
both used In flavoring tobacco, and
CSC, 900 tons of coal 1t Is estimated
that the value of wooden cigar boxes
used II 325,OOO,0OO a year, quite an
item to the lumber business and to
manufacturers Of the boxes
In making these boxes $4,000
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
bels, coupons, ETC., involving the print
ing trade extensively.
Then building contractors and manu-
facturers OF machinery are largely in
I8I00LcO. 1ufCSliuSilS plUilt5 anu
machinery employed in manufactur-
ing tobacco are estimated at s102,00O,-
OOO Replacement, up-keep and inter-
est on the investment make no small
sum annually.
And let realty men note there are
approximately 325,O00 tobacco farms
in the country, with total estimated
valuation Of $16O 100000. OF further in
terest to real estate men is the fact
that there are 100000 retail establish
ments selling tobacco, involving total
rental and up-keep impossible to esti-
mate, besides the large amount of Of
nee space occupied by administrative
branches of the general business.
The insurance men, too, have their
share Of the pickings. The tobacco
business pays out annually 100000
in premiums In the United States.
And there are the railroads who reap
revenue from 2,21OOOO 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 a good-sized hole in the receipts
OF the United States government.
The internal revenue receipts from |
for the fiscal year 1920 amount
I'd to 1926, 8O9, 355.44 Customs duties
provided an additional $25,OOOOOO in
round figures, making the total revenue
return to the government $320,OOO,OO0.
Influence on Popular Sentiment
It Ii this interlocking of the tobacco
business with so many other interests
Ind the vast amount Of financial loss
n tobacco that Is one of the most Sc
rious aspects of the proposal to pro-
Aibit the sale of tobacco, proposal,
However, which has little support by
public sentiment If the newspaper edi-
on Of the country are correct in their
Of that sentiment.
In poll Of the editors made recently
y the Tobacco Merchants Association
4 the United Statss, through the Press
Iervics Company Of New York City,
3 per cent Of the 7,S47 editors who
eplied expressed the opinion that the
Ieeple Of their communities were ep-
'osed to any law against tobacco. AS |
hese editors represent some 10000. 900 I
eaders the results form a pretty gen. q
raj test Of national opinion. r
In their remarks accompanying their
eplies many Of the editors expressed
~ their opinion that the opposition J
their communities to the abolition :
tobacco was based to some extent at I
sast on the damage such change
,ould do to the business interests of :
10 community. This was particularly F
ne In the tobacco growing states and
enters where there were large tobacco
lants.
But when the extent Of the business :
volved in the allied interests Of the o
bacco trade is considered as above
lefty outlined, 1t is clear that there =
hardly section of the country that :
ould not be affected directly or In q
rectly by abolishing tobacco