The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1921-07-22
MANY INDUSTRIES
TIED TO TOBACCO
Prohibition of Weed Would Mean
Big Financial Loss to
Allied Trades.
WHO USES THE MATCH?
The Smoker MalnIy-AIso Responsible
for Spending Hundreds of Millions
Annually for Licorice, Sugar,
Coal, Cigar Boxes, Tin
Foil, Etc.
BY GARRETT SMITH

ItOu dShtu III tHcSO Oulltu tSldlcS
How many more times is the question
unnecessary because most pockets are
kept well supplied with the useful
little article? Anyhow, inasmuch as 1t
is estimated that there are 3O,000.00O
tobacco users in the country, we would
guess that the answer to that question
would run into the hundreds of mil
lions
For if ii 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 a dozen or more allied industries
which derive large revenues directly or
indirectly from the tobacco trade and
would suffer heavily Ii 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 $t,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 and labor OF
making 1t up
$25, 900 900 Year for Boxes
For example, the tobacco trade con-
sumes each year 45,000.0o0 pounds OF
licorice, 50,0O00o0 pounds of sugar,
| both used in flavoring tobacco, and
650000 tons Of coal 1t is estimated
| that the value of wooden cigar boxes
used is S25,000,000 year. quite an
item to the lumber business and to
manufa cturers of the boxes.
In making these boxes $50, coo
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-
facturers of machinery are largely in
terested Investments in plants and
machinery employed In manufacture
! ing tobacco are estimated at $l02 0O0-
| 600. Replacement, up-keep and inter
est on the investment make no small
sum annually.
And let realty men note there are
approximately 5000 tobacco farms
| in the country. with total estimated
! valuation of $160 100000 or further in
! terest TO real estate men is the fact
| that there are 100000 retail establish
| ments selling tobacco, involving a total
rental and up-keep impossible TO esti-
mate, besides the large amount Of Of
| fee space occupied by administrative
branches Of the general business
The insurance men, too have their
share OF the pickings The tobacco
| bus ness pays out annually S7,0o0000
In premiums in the United States.
And there are the railroads who reap
revenue from 2,210,000 tons of tobacco
products every year.
AS for the advertising business,
here again II is impossible to form
any estimate Of the enormous annual
outlay
The prohibition Of tobacco would also
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 1896, ,S09355.44 Customs duties
yrovidad on addt+iopaI cox Oa0 600 ;o
round f1gures making the total revenue
return TO the government 20000000
Influence on Popular Sentiment
1t is this interlocking of the tobacco
business with so many other interests
and the vast amount of financial loss
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,
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 of New York CITY.
95 per cent of the 7,847 editors who
replied expressed the opinion that the
people of their commun ties were op-
posed to any law against tobacco. AS
these editors represent some $4,000, 600
readers the results form pretty gen
eral test OF national opinion
In their remarks accompanying their
replies many of the editors expressed
1t as their opinion that the oppos ton
Of their communities to the abolition
Of tobacco was based to some extent AT
least on the damage such a 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 that
would not be affected directly or In
diractlu nv aholiShfno tnh0 aca