The daily times., 1921-08-13
CONDITIONS ON S. C.
TOBACCO MARKETS.
Especial to The Times.)
lDy ID w Mcfarland


am going to repeat by saying that
Mullins, S. c., is to the Tobacco Belt
of all that Section east of the Big
Pee Dee River and Lake City, 5. C.,
O all that section west of the Big
Pee Dee River. what Winston-Salem,
N. c., is to the Old Belt OF North
Carolina, what Wilson is to the New
Belt. what Danville, Va, is to South
eastern Virginia and what Lexington
XIV. is to the BLUE Grass" section
In Tobacco parlance, dumping
grounds, for into the cruc1ble or
these big markets are poured many
types from all the border countries.
1t is for this reason only that l am
using Mullins, S. c., as standard IN
wiring and writing you. No reflection
is meant on any the markets of South
Carolina, nor is this article intended
to convey the idea that the large
markets | have mentioned as dump
| ing grounds" sell tobacco higher
, than any of the smaller markets.
From time to time reports go to
the press from very small markets
showing a very high or a very low
average These reports are generally
true, but are to be disregarded as
| standard for the reason that on the
day of the reports only a few loads
| of tobacco and that locally and of
very high quality or of very low
\ Il 10 WI
made. For instance, in what is
known as Indian Swamp" good to-
bacco, as a rule is always raised.
1t is the Fuqua Springs, Varina and
| Apex of the "Old North Carolina
Belt" the Vanceboro of the New
North Carolina Belt. Most of the to-
bacco raised in Indian Swamp is sold
at Fairmont, N. c., one of the best
tobacco markets in the South Caro-
lima Belt and therefore the market
of the highest averages. 1t has been
jnothing unusual for Fairmont to av-
erage this week, and that with large
sales, around 20 cents.
A portion of this good tobacco, as
well as the good from Horny County
finds it's way at first hands to Null
Inns where it mixes in the great
melting pot of the large market
whose daily sales are now from 300,-
Mullins the sales have been very
heavy and the writer desires to COM
pliment the Big Companies for
standing by and carrying the load
carry. They are not equipped to take
care of the situation like our large
markets. When wet tobacco con-
tinues to come in and the plants are
full up so far as their re-drying ca
pacities are concerned, they cannot
possibly buy it at anything like a de-
cent price, nor can any speculator
handle it, for when it is "winrowed"
and dried out it always looks like a
! bunch of strings
The grades of tobacco sold last
week, those sold this week and those
that will be sold the coming week,
are from the middle of the stalk, and
are therefore the better grades. At
ter the time mentioned the grades
will commence to deterioate in quality
and the averages as given to the
press will be lower. Medium grades
of tobacco are holding their own but
prices have ttstiffened'' materially on
al lof the better grades. Some little
OF what we call the Orange type"
of tobacco is now being sold with the
market just as high now on that type
as at any time last season in this
Belt The Imperial seems to be the
. big bull" this week, but Reynolds
Liggett and Myers, the Export, the
American, j. P. Taylor Co., (what
, we. know in Wilson as the r. P. Wat
son Co.. and the China-American
are all buying quite freely. Last week
| spirit of Indifference as to purchas-
Ing seemed to prevail, this week all
Of them are showing ginger" and
much pep.
The Mullins average for the entire
week will run between S14.SO, and
t S15.25. About one-half the crop has
been sold and even now while we are
selling on the best of the plant, only
small quantity of what 1 would
call real good tobacco is showing up
1t was not made this year in this
Belt
From what I can garner, the crop
of Eastern North Carolina will run
IN the Fairmont class 1 have men
: toned. If this be so, you may put
Wilson down for a $40 average al
the lowest If l was an Eastern North