The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1921-03-04

NOTE BOOK SKETCHES


proper cultivation, to produce good
binder leaf tobacco, the 1921 season is
likely to produce the average acreage
of the weed One of the younger farm
ers in the southern part of the state,
living in the real tobacco belt, on being
approached on the probable acreage
during the coming season, said. There
is no likelihood of any curtailing of the
acreage where soil conditions are right,
whether the farmers have sold their
1920 crop or not. We have experienced
slow market in times past, and often
had to wait before we could sell our to-
bacco, but by and by we have always
found that somebody wanted it and
took it at price that left us in shape
to continue the policy of raising tobac-
co as an annual crop. The 1920 unsold
tobacco may have to wait in storage,
perhaps until the 1921 crop, if this
proves to be good one, is out of the
way; but it will be taken care of.
Some of US are asserting on the farm
as we did years ago, and are going to
store it at home or in cooperative
warehouses; others are having it put
up by local packers, and the rest of
them are forming pools. 1t may be
August before all this tobacco is out
of the way, but it will be in safe keep
ing, somehow, by that time" He was
asked what he thought of the influence
of the non-sale of the 1920 would have
on the financial condition among the
farmers. He said: "Some of us will,
of course, feel the pinch of not being
able to sell. The crop cost us heavily
to grow, and we anticipated that there
would be market before this; but we
can make arrangements to tide over.
We are going to take good care OF our
cows, and by so doing we have some
thing flowing in every month, and at
the same time, the more intensely we
go into dairying, the better we shall be
in shape to put our tobacco ground in
condition for producing good crop of
tobacco. Aside from this we figure
that it is going to cost us somewhat
less to feed and take care of our stock,
sand that wages for farm labor will be
lower" ''What influence
.on tobacco acreage do you think it
would have if the farmers should go
into the-raising of fax for fber?" he
was asked "1t may reduce the tobac
co acreage where tobacco never was
success, but on the good tobacco farms
it will not disturb the acreage in the
least There is plenty of land to cake
care of both these crops; the success
ful farmer will not give up his tobacco
for flax, though he might raise few
acres of that also; the farmer whose
soil is not of the kind to produce, at
any time, an A No. crop of tobacco
would be justified in putting in flax
crop, upon which he has guarantee of
a fair return, counting the labor and
other costs. Flax as a rotation crop
with tobacco is not going to be the pol
icy. but rather fax instead of tobacco
where soil conditions for tobacco are
not right.
The latest from Washington in the
Way of tobacco legislation is given pub
Voices have been raised in the house of
representatives in favor of govern
ment monopoly on manufacture and
sale of tobacco, along the lines OF ma
tional monopoly of this industry prac-
ticed in many European countries. The
Journal reports: Government opera
tion of another industry, tobacco man.
ufacturing, is now advocated in Con-
gress. Representative Cantrill, Demo-
crat, of the Seventh Kentucky district,
declared in a speech In the House that
while Congress was considering taking
over coal, meat packing and other in
dustries, it should go step further and
assume control of the manufacturing
of tobacco. Mr.. Cantrill charged that
the manufacture of tobacco in the
United States is under the control of
-four or five concerns, and that such
control constituted private monop-
oily" He inquired why, if there were
to be monopoly, it should not tie a
government monopoly as is the case in
several other nations. While the to-
bacco industry is now paying something
| like $400, 900, 900 annually in taxes into
the federal treasury, Mr.. Cantrill be-
lieved that, through governmental OPP
ordtlO0, L0aE SUN COulQ UG SWGllSu W
approximately $1,000, 100000 year.
And at time when the House Ways
and Means committee is searching ev-
erywhere for sources of revenue, the
Kentuckian thought it wise for that
body to give heed to his suggestion.
**#
In spite of the large opposition to the
wrapper tobacco amendment to the
Emergency Tariff bill, the u. S. senate
passed the measure on February 10th.
The amendment provides as follows:
Wrapper tobacco and filler tobacco
when mixed or packed with more than
Is percentum Of wrapper tobacco, and
all leaf tobacco the product of two or
more countries or dependencies when
mixed or packed together. if unstem-
med, $2.85 per pound; if stemmed,
So. SO per pound; filler tobacco not spec
tally provided for in this section, if un-
stemmed, 35 cents per pound; if stem
med, so cents per pound. The term
wrapper tobacco as used in this section