Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1921-06-02
Prohibition OF Weed Would Mean
Big Financial Loss to
Allied Trades.
WHO USES THE MATCH?
The Smoker MaInly---Also Responsible
for spending Aur@rcds Of Millions
Annually FOR Lloortea. Sugar
Coal, Cigar Boxes, TIN
Foh, Eta
BY GARRETT eMtTH
SCOT q matCh?S


unnecessary because nor; pocGets are
kept wen supplied with the useful
little article7 Anyhow, irasmucn as II
is estimated that there are Sn0o0,000
tobacco users In The country, vsa would
guess that the answer TO that question
would run into the hundreds Of NH
lions.
For If IT weren't for the snTeseap 70
these days OF electric lights how many
matches would be useds A pretty
ANAL proportion Of The number OF
these ~sticks Of biaSes7 produced tn
the country every year. Abolish to.
bacco and the match business would Be
shot 10 pieces
But the match business rs orfy one
Of dosen or more Allied Industries
which derive mrge revenues directly or
Indirectly from the tobacco trade and
would gutter heavily If national pro-
hibition Of tobacco we're TO go into
effect as come OF our reformers would
have H. The annual sales of tobacco
products, based on retail prices, is e.
} IllllubSu clybCI 'ODO,pOo. vi lli6 COOt
of producing and selling this quantity
OF cigars. cigarettes aEG other forms
of the weed, some hrnGrods Of million
dollars are paid out for other things
than the raw tnhacco and labor Of
making it up
$25,D0aoo0 a Year for Boxes
T7ov example, the tobacco trade CON
surnes each year 45,G0002J pounds Of
Ucorice, 50,0O0000 pounds Of sugar,
both used IN navorinR tobacco, and
! 650,G0o tlnG Of coal. II Is estimated
, 4 at tie value Of wooden cigar boxes
Ueed Is *25OoAoeo d year, quite an
! ttaln 70 the amber business and 60
rnanEfa cturere Of the boxes.
! To making these boxes $50, nn0
! 3nvrn1c Of naile are employed. O[7er
! large Items used In making and pre-
pairing tobacco FOR sale are tin and
lead fo'l ,,a7er for rags and cigarette
wrappers cloth for tobacco bags la
bells coupons, etc. involving Che print
| Ing trade extensively.
Then building contractors ard manu-
fnctuTors Of machinery a"" largely In
telrsted. investments in plants and
machine employed IN manufacttIr~
ing tofac~o are estimated at 100000
| 600. Replacement up-keep and inter-
est on the investment make no small
sum. annually.
And let realty men note there are
| no %
in the country, with a total estimated
valuation of S16O,O0O,00O. OF 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-ke2p impossible to esti-
mate besides the large amount of Of
flee space occupied by administrative
branches of the general business.
The insurance men, too. have their
share Of the pickings. The tobacco
bus hess pays out annually S7,000000
in premiums in the United States.
And there are the railroads who reap
revenue from 2,S0. 900 tons Of tobacco
products every year.
40 W. VIC duNtILlSllIS DuSlIGSSS,
here again 1t is impossible to form
any estimate Of the enormous annual
outlay.
| The prohibition Of tobacco would aise
knock q good-sfsed 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, 1884. Customs duties
| provided an additional 100000 in
round figures, making the total revenue
return to the government $320OO0,OOO.
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 &C.
rlous aspects n the proposal to pro
hibit the sale Of tobacco, a proposal.
however, which he's little support by
public sentiment II the newspaper edi-
tors OF the country are correct in their
estimate Of that sentiment
In pom Of the editors made recently
by the Tobacco Merchants Association
Of the United States, through the Press
Service Company Of New York City,
05 per cent Of the T,s47 editors who
replied expressed the opinion that the
people of their communities were op-
posed to any law against tobacco. Az
these editors represent some sO,OOOOO0
readers the results form pretty gen
eral test Of national opinion.
In their remarks accompanying their
replies many of the editors expressed
It as their opinion that the opposition
of their communities to tho abolition
Of tobacco was based to some extent NJ
least on the damage such a change
would 90 to the business interests Of
the community. This was particularly
true IN the tobacco growing states and
centers where there were large tobacco
pinnta
But when the extent Of Che business
involved m Che allied interests Of the
tobacco truds Is considered, a. atove
briefly outffrcd II n clcaY snst tircre
ID hardy a Scetfcn of cAt eomtry thnt
would hot b AFFECTED directly a. 10
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