The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1921-04-22
NOTE BOOK SKETCHES

| About 40 interested farmers came
out to the meeting held in the Edger-
ton Farmers warehouse last Thursday
evening to hear Mr. Foster of the Di-
vision of Markets explain the plan and
purpose of tobacco sales organization
which tobacco growers in the state of
Wisconsin are considering as an agency
for the marketing of tobacco directly to
the manufacturer. Meetings at James,
vile anG Stoughton on Wednesday were
not largely attended. but practically all
who met signed up for the proposed or
ganization. The men at the Edgerton
meeting did the same. AS was stated
in The Reporter last week, similar
meetings will be held throughout the
tobacco growing areas of the state to
acquaint the farmers with the new
plan, and it is hoped to have the state
pretty we'll covered before the middle
of May. After the meetings have been
held, the growers associations of each
community will be expected to canvass
their territory for members until at
| least so per cent of the Wisconsin acre
age has been pledged. At the sugges-
tiJn of several men at the Edgerton
meeting the date for the close of the
campaign is the 1st of August. If the
so per cent has been signed by that
time, every signer of the contract will
be bound by his signature to the con-
tract to stay in the pool, or forfeit 5
cents pound on all the tobacco he
raises to the association. The contract is
written for term of five years. During
this period the grower who has joined the
association has contracted the tobacco
he produces to the association, and he
can not withdraw without breaking the
contract and making himself liable to
| the fullest extent. Mr.. Foster ex-
planned that the Marketing Division
was not in the field to induce the to-
bacco farmers 10 organize such sales
organization, but having been ap-
preached by the growers, it offered its
services of showing the growers how it
can be done, if the growers really want
it, and think 1T will be of benefit to
them. The speaker also warned the
farmers that the success of the under
taking would depend upon the size of
the pool, and upon the efficiency of the
sales manager, and that of the board
of directors. He also pointed out that
the type of handling given the leaf by
the grower and by the local associations
that are to put it up would have to be
such as to guarantee the highest excel
lence in order to be acceptable to the
manufactures and make ready sale pos
sible. The contract provides that the
cost of the sales end of the services
| the corporation must not exceed one
cent per pound. The new Warehouse
Receipt act passed by the present leg
islature admits of financing the grow
ers on the basis of grading of the leaf
delivered to the association warehouses.
! And sales of tobacco held in any ware
house will be credited to the entire or
| ganization who distributes such portion
| to the growers as is left after the cost
of management and liquidation of obli-
| cations to the banks under the redis-
counted warehouse receipts have been
| taken care Of In fact all that the
grower has to see to is to produce the
leaf and deliver it at the association
warehouse; all the rest is attended to
by the local associations and the gen.
eral sales management. After the leaf
has been accepted by the warehouse,
the individual crop is lost sight of, and
the good crops and the poor crops share
in the total receipts for all tobacco sold
by the corporation on basis OF amount
and grade delivered by each. The aver
>age sales price of the different types of
| tobacco disposed of by the sales man.
agement would be the price returned
| to the individual grower who has signed
up with the corporation. The speaker
| called attention to the fact that this
state has no law recognizing corpora
| tions organized on no stock, no profit
/ plan, but that it is hoped that such a
law may be placed on the statute books
by the present legislature. On the
whole Mr.. Fosters presentation of the
matter was done effectively, and he
laid the entire responsibility for the
success of the plan upon the ability of
the farmers to put the thing over, Sc
cure the proper men to manage the
local organizations, and above all, the
right man to act as general sales man
ager. The Division of Markets assumes
no other responsibility than that of Of
fering the plan, explaining it to the
growers, and lending the same kind of
assistance, in the form of marketing
news, as it gives to other similar or
| ganizations, for instance, the Wool
| Growers association, the Cheese Max
ars' association and others The sI1c-