The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1921-08-05
NOTE BOOK SKETCHES

the bill now before congress. The Leaf
of July 21 has an open letter addressed
to members of the Ways and Means
committee who represent constituents
who are interested in the tobacco in
dustry. James A. Frear Of Wisconsin
is member of this committee, and to
him the following plea is made in be-
half of Wisconsin growers:
Mr.. .Frear, you are congressman
from the State of Wisconsin. Wiscon-
sin is known in the cigar industry as
the great binder State. Probably you
know that the ordinary domestic cigar
has three essential component parts.
the filler, which is exactly what the
word implies; the binder, which is
rolled around the filler to hold it in
place and to keep its general forma-
ton; and the wrapper, which in turn is
rolled around both binder and filler,
giving the cigar finished appearance.
Wisconsin binders are almost invariably
used in the manufacture of what is
known as cigars of the Seed and Ha-
vana or blended type. The less foreign
grown filler and wrapper tobacco we
use, the less Wisconsin binder tobacco
we use. No one will venture to deny
| that the present production of Wiscon-
sin tobacco of 100000 pounds per
annum wonld never have reached half
that figure and will never again ap-
proximate that quantity under taxation
that would have rendered or may rem
der the use of imported tobacco un-
profitable.
The letter concludes with the follow
| ing general appeal:
We appeal to you in the name of
right, reason, loyalty and statesman
ship to revise your schedule or duties
on imported tobaccos, without which
revision the prosperity of the tobacco
| industry and of your own tobacco con-
stituencies would be seriously impaired.
***
Pennsylvania is now leading in cigar
making. Seventeen hundred factories
have reported.
An Improvement in the cigar trade
during the month IS reported from
nearly every section of the country
#x*
| Tt is not the Wisconsin grower alone
who this year has to fight the tobacco
worm. A Lancaster, Pa, correspon-
dent says: Reports from all over the
county show that green worms nave
appeared in unusual numbers, and are
keeping the growers busy hunting them
out. These pests are in evidence every
season, but they are out now In unus-
ual force. Unlike the cutworm which
destroys the very young plant, the
green worm only damages it, but that's
| enough-too much.
1 ***
American importers of Sumatra have
bought less than $1,000 bales. This
means that there is going to be no
overstocking of this type of tobacco be-
| fore the coming of the Dext crop. The
manufacturers bought more than one
| half of this directly for their own use.
| ***
| The July / government estimate OF
the tobacco crop condition indicates a
reduction of nearly 600, 100000 pounds
as compared with last year which
struck the grand total for the U. S. OF
il billion pounds North Carolina, Vir-
ginia and Kentucky show heavy de-
cline, also Tennessee and West Vir-
ginia. The estimate for Wisconsin is
A. 500 acres planted with probable
production of Sc, 192,0 900 pounds, or a
little more than 6,OOO,O 900 pounds less
than last years crop. The July con-
dition is put at 81 per cent as compared
with 95 year ago.
The internal revenue taxes on tobac-
co products have since 1914 increased
| from about $50, 600, 600 to nearly $780,
600, 900. All this is, of course, saddled
on the consumer. 1t is no wonder that
the consumer begins to retrench. Ii
he quits buying tobacco because it costs
him too much to use it, the manufac-
turer must retrench in his output, which
again means that the grower has less
| chance of obtaining a good price for
his leaf If additional cost is added to
the price of cigars by boosting the duty
on imported tobacco, as is the plan OF
the new tariff bill, the goose that laid
the three hundred million dollar egg in
1920 will stay off the nest, and the gov
| ernment will suffer in the revenue in
come together with the entire industry.
We do not look for any buying in the
field this year, says Jesse Abelson of
the New York Flats district, and he
observes as follows: 1t is about time
| that the packers and farmers stop this
kind of business and buy the tobacco in
the bundle, and it looks as though this
will be the case this year. We have
about the same acreage this year as
last. In some sections there is more
tobacco raised and in others some farm
| ers have given up growing the weed.
Tobacco in the Big Flats is doing fine.
The tobacco has had plenty of rain and
it will be very fine crop barring any
!, had storms Simon AheIsOn we'll