The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1922-02-10
As He Was Coming DOWN.
ITALY SEEKING TO FREE
SELF FROM DOMINATION
,Bv H.nrv Wood.

Rome, Feb 1O.-Along with Italy's
present effort to free herself from the
bondage Of foreign coal domination
by the Identification other state rail-
ways, Italy is making an equally
heroic effort to throw of the yoke OF
foreign tobacco slavery. e. ,fz1 ..s%
T. Between what Italy now pays for
foreign coal and foreign tobacco, Il
can be truthfully said that a goodly
portion other national wealth goes
annually up In slnoke-and foreign
smoke at that. i . H. : ~ : x
= What makes 1t particularly hard
for Italy to gain her tobacco indie
pendence is the fact that just as she
gets her nostrils nicely filled with the
sweet scent ofgliberty and is on the
point of burning her betters with the
lighted stump of a domestic made
cigar, the Italian population as a
whole suddenly takes to smoking moro
than ever, and Italy has to return to
spending millions, abroad in order to
supply the demand. <..5~AT = : =
=, Before the war Itely smoked 4OO,-
600. 600. lire worth Of cigars and Gig
arettes. annually. Now she smokes
2,7OO,OO0,O 900. While, a portion of
this increase is due to the advance in
prices charged, yet the greater bulk
of it is due to the fact that the war
taught hundreds of thousands of
young men to smoke, many of whom
had they remained in their native
peasant districts would not have been
able to, and also to the fact that Ital-
ian women are in no way behind their
sisters Of other modern civilized ma
tons in taking to the wicked weed.
All Of this has 2 very direct bear
ing upon Italy's finances owing to the
fact that the government operates a
state monopoly on tobacco in Italy as
regards both the manufacture and the
sale. Asssfle also has to buy the raw
product the question of whether she
can produce enough at home to sup
ply her local demand or whether she
has to bu yabroad thereby increasing
her expectations and sending up her
exchange, becomes Of great import
ance. v
Italy's monopoly on tobacco is the
only one that as matter of fact mas
been real success as a revenue pro-
Queer. She has been able to operate
this on basis Of about 10 per cent
profit. In other, words Of the 7,00G,-
600 lire which the Italian "a public
spends every day for tobacco, 5,000,-
900 lire goes into the state treasury
as profit and revenue and only 2 ,OO0,.
600 lire actually goes up in smoke.
= Frankly, Italy thinks that it would
hardly, be possible TO- do. better than
this; III fact she doubts If the public
would stand for Q larger percentage
of; tax and a smaller ratio of smoke
Hence her only chance of making ths
monopoly more profitable to the state
is by producing all Of her. tobacco at
home and avoiding foreign purchases
Of the raw material K, ~ =:
The government is therefore en-
couraging end doing everything pos,
sible to promote tobacco growing
However, Italian peasants are neither
fond of novelties in the matter OF
crops or of the difficulties involved in
tobacco growing. but little by little
the Italian government is winning her
freedom. from foreign tobacto mar
I! AT the present time the Italian gov;
eminent spends $50, 0O0, 900 lire an:
nualIy for raw tobacco Iof which only
10000, OO0 is spent at home, tbs
othst 100000, 900 going to: foreign
tabaeco growersl
20 date Italy has made the naosl
progress IN the growing of light. to.
baecot az which she uses $4,000 gun.
tails annually In the. southern prov
!ince Of Geccese about $1,000 acres are
{ now under cultivation and this about
supplies the local demand. - i
with dark tnbecco of the Ken
lucky, type for her cigars Italy ]:
not SO fortunate. At the present timt
this being cultivated principal yin
Tuscany. However, her needs arr
100000 quiAtals annually and .sht
produces only $4,000. But by bring :;
Ing her present acreage from 5000
up to 10000 Italy hopes eventually
to win her tobacco independence anc
blow her smoke in the face Of othel
nations instead OF having to blow baci
their own, for which she has paie
theu1.