The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1921-06-17
NOTE BOOK SKETCHES


The ruling of the state industrial
commission in the enforcement of the
minimum wage scale in its Application
to the tobacco handling in the ware
houses of the state is working hard
seips both upon the packer and the lab
orer. Especially is this true in the
stemming industry. Stemming is work
that can be done by older persons who
need work in order to live, or to help
support themselves and others depend
ing upon their power of earning. Many
of these worthy workers cannot handle
enough tobacco to reach the minimum
wage demanded by law, even on the
present basis. If the minimum IL in
creased their chances are still less of
being able to reach it. The chances
are that if the minimum wage is-raised
the stemming industry will be driven
out of the state and located where the
work can be done under more liberal
rules. This would be a loss to many
wage earners, especially in the smaller
towns, who can earn something if they
are permitted to work in the stemming
warehouses during the summer, but
are unable to take labor requiring
greater call upon their physical strength
and nimbleness of action. The young
and clever can make good wages under
the present rule. An increase in the
rate of pay for stemming would be
welcome enough for this class, it is
true, but those in the greatest need of
the kind of work they can do and make
fair wage would be eliminated for
good if the minimum scale is still fur
ther boosted.
%**
A meeting is held in Washington this
week that is of more than usual inter-
est to the entire industry. On June 13
representatives of farmers and grain
handlers come together to evolve plans
for national grain warehousing and
marketing of farm crops, and for ex-
tension of credits to farmers on the
basis of the produce that they hold in
such warehouses. 1t is the farmers
cooperative marketing plan on ma
tionwide scale that is to be given a
definite form. If Secretary of Com
merce Hoover and Secretary of Agri-
culture Wallace succeed in their efforts,
there is to be federal aid given to the
perfection of such plan and, event
ually, setting it into operation. Just
how this system will work .out is be-
yond the power of any man to forecast,
but it is going to be given trial of
serious nature. AS there is an Ameri-
can Federation of Labor, there is to be
and American Federation of Farmers.
The laborers are unioniZed to protect
the interest of their product, labor; the
farmers are to be unionized to protect
their products of the field and fold.
The union of farmers does not hope to
enlist all the farmers any more than
labor has been able to unioniZe all la
borers, but they hope, and this through
federal aid, to be strong enough to-
compete successfully against the unor-
ganized farmers in obtaining returns
for the products they put upon the
market to sell. 1t. is held that the
labor unions have succeeded through
their organization to keep the price of
labor higher than it otherwise would
have been, the labor even of the nom
union man. Thus it is expected that
by organizing marketing and ware
housing system for American farm
produce the general level of the prices
of farm produce will be raised and sta
bilized. That the idea Of cooperative
marketing has reached a stage when
the national government through the
heads of the department of commerce
and theI department of agriculture is
ready ahd willing to take hold of it and
to whipNit into workable plan, and
stand back of it with it's credit, is sig
nifcant, and puts it where the public
must deal with it as condition and
not merely as a theory.
***
The production of cigars decreased in
April as compared with April last year.
1t was also less than the production of
the month of March this year How
ever, class A cigars increased over the
production of a year ago. Class B de-
creased heavily as did also class d.
Cigarettes as whole increased, but
snuff and manufactured tobacco de-
creased as compared with the output of
last year. The situation for the whole
industry is not serious one from the
manufacturers point, though the same
influence is felt in the tobocco industry
as in all other industries, namely, of a
continual pull toward the lowering of
prices. The leaf market is dull both
in domestic and foreign demand, though
the export has picked up little during
tha last few weeks That Germany is