The spectator., 1921-07-05
MANY INDUSTRIES
 TIED TO TOBACCO
Prohibition of Weed Would Mean Big Financial Loss to
 Allied Trades.
WHO USES THE MATCH?
The Smoker Malnly-Aiso Responsible for Spending Hundreds of Millions Annually fer Lieorice, Sugar,
 Coal, Cigar eoxes, Tin Foil, Etc.
By GARRETT SMITH
"Got & match?"

"Got 6 matchW
 How many times day is that Ques- tion asked in these United States2 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 Is estimated that there are 3O,OOO 900 tobacco users in the country, we would guess that the answer to that question would run into the hundreds of mil lions.
 For If 1t weren't for the smokers in these 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 shot to pieces.
 But the match business is only one of 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 as some of our reformers would have it. The annual sales of tobacco products, based on retail prices, Is es- timated at $1,937 100000. Of the cost of producing and selling this quantity of the weed, some hundreds of million dollars are paid out for other things than the raw tobacco and labor of making it up.
 $25, ,00o, 900 a Year for 6oxes
 For example, the tobacco trade con- sumes each year 45 GOO. coo pounds of iicorice 5O,OOO,O0O pounds of sugar, both used in fiavoring tobacco, and 550,0OO tons of coal It Is estimated that the value of wooden cigar boxes used is 325,O0O,00O a year, quite an item to the lumber business and to manufacturers of the boxes.
 In making these boxes $50 0OO pounds of nails are employed. Other large items used in making and pre- ;aring tobacco for sale are tin and wrappers, cloth for tobacco bags. la bels, coupons etc, involving the print ing trade extensively.
 Then building contractors and manu- lecturers of machinery are largely in terested Investments in plants and machinery employed in manufactur- ing tobacco are estimated at $1U2 ,OVO, . 600 Replacement, up-keep and inter- est on the investment make 10 small sum annually.
 And let realty men note there are approximately 325 600 tobacco farms in the country, with a total estimated valuation of S16O. GOO GOO. Of further in terest to real estate men Is the fact that there are 7OO,UOO retail establish ments selling tobacco, involving a total rental aud up-keep impossible to esti- mate, besides the large amount of of Ice 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 $7OOO,OOO iu pre- mums in the United States.
 And there are the railroads who reaD revenue from 2.2lO0OO 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 siss knock q 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 $295. 800 355.44 Customs duties provided an additional S25 600 600 In round figures. making the total revenue return to the government S320 OoO OOO
 influence on Popular Sentiment 1 It Is this interlocking of the tobacco business with SC many other interests and the vast amount of financial loss l that would be involved in the abolition of tobacco that is one of the most Sc rious aspects of the proposal to pro hibit the sale of tobacco. a proposal, 1 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 Associatio