The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1922-08-04
NOTE BOOK SKETCHES


Wisconsin has 10000 farms with a
total area over %, 600, 600 acres. Over
10, 600, 600 acres of fertile land in upper
| Wisconsin are still unsettled; 20, 600
acres of new land are opened each year.
| Wisconsin is famous as Americas pre-
mier dairy state. With 2, coo, 600 milk
ing cows in 1920, or 10 to each farm,
there were produced over 5000, 900, 900
pounds milk. That year the state ranked
| first in the production of cheese and
condensed milk and second in butter
and in milk powders. In 1920, 649 per
cent of Americas cheese, 26.6 per cent
of her condensed milk, "a per cent of
her milk powders and ia per cent of
her butter were produced in Wisconsin.
| Wisconsin is adapted to large variety
of crops and products, q kinds in all.
She is first in America in such special
crops as canning peas, dry peas, clover
seed, hemp and cigar-type tobacco; sec
| ond in cabbage; third in tame hay;
fourth in oats, rye and potatoes; fifth
| in barley, Of the north central states,
Wisconsin is first in ten-year average
yields per acre in two of the seven
| principal crops, wheat. and potatoes;
Isecond in two, barley and tame hay,
and third in the remaining three, corn,
oats and rye. In no state is scientific
agriculture further advanced. Wiscon-
sins past has built upon its agricul-
tare. Its future will rest in an equal
manner upon the improvement and de-
velopment of its fundamental industry.
| 1t would be fatal mistake to push the
commercial development of the state at
the expense of its agriculture.
| The III. S. Tobacco Journal wrote to
1 a grower of tobacco in East Windsor,
] Conn, to get his view on the tobacco
| pool now promoted in that state. The
answer of the grower is printed in the
Journal in the July % number. AS far
as we have been able to ascertain this
| is the first voice from anybody in that
| section registering in print a doubt of
the success of the pool as a money
1 maker. The name of the writer is not
given; he signes himself "A Grower.
| The article would have been stronger if
! the writer had permitted the. Journal
| to publish his name. We cannot pub
/ lish the whole letter; it is too long for
this column; but we give what we con-
| sider a fair sample of the argument
fused. 1t is interesting because, as
stated above, it is one of the first, If
not the very first printed argument
coming from anybody whatever against
the pool. The manufacturers, the pack
ers, the jobbers, the growers outside
| the pool and the general public have
been absolutely silent there has been
! no opposition - and that in the face Of
hundreds Of columns discussing the
pool, either effectively or favorably
/ In so big an undertaking this is rather
remarkable situation, and it is also re-
| mark able that the first puDlic utterrnce
of any Importance should come from
among the growers. This grower starts
| by saying that he cannot see how the
/ association, if formed, will benefit the
/ grower. Then he discusses the favor
able price situation during the war per-
| iod, the difference in the quality of
| growers and handlers and consequent
difference in returns for their crops.
These and many other matters have
! often been treated in articles in the
press. Finally he says, and that is the
point of the argument:
81 do not see how he will benefit
from financial point Of view. There
| is nothing in the contract which he is
asked to sign about how much he will
receive as first payment on his crop.
| It does state on page of the a B c of
the Association that first payment
/ will be made as soon after delivery as
the tobacco can be graded and the
banks determine how much they will
| loan and that loan will constitute the
first payment, which on page 3 it is
stated will be in normal years about 40
per cent of the loan valuation-in other
| words, if grower has crop worth in
normal times $4,000, one would hardly
expect the loan valuation of this crop
to be more than $1,000, of which the
/ grower may expect to receivee 40 per
/ cent or $4,000, little different than the
present method of getting his check for
the full $4,000, upon delivery of his
crop to the buyers warehouse. Under
the present system he gets his check,
puts it into the bank, goes home and
pays his bills and his worries are over.
1 Under the proposed method, he delivers
his tobacco, gets receipt for the
| weight, waits until it is graded, waits
until the trustee bank says how much
they will loan, gets loan of 40 per
cent of the loan valuation, pays inter-.
est on that loan for longer or shorter
[period of time, waits until all the to-
bacco in his pool is sold, and eventually
gets his money, less all manner of
| charges, all Of which are perfectly fair
and all of which under the present sys-
tenn the buyer has had 60 stand and
after be figures it all up question?
Did / get any mere than would have
received under the old system?
g ae A Grower
| The Wisconsin growers who have
| joined the pool contend that the plan of
! the pool in this state is not to sell until
a reasonable profit can be had above.
the growing, handling and selling cost.
The overhead is to be charged up
lagainst the price to be asked for the
| pool holdings; it is not to come out of
| the growers nockpfg hut ont of