The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1922-10-20
NOTE BOOK SKETCHES


ing of the Wisconsin warehouse men
and packers teach? The question is
pertinent because the meeting furnish
ed the answer. In the first place the
meeting demonstrated by its size the
earnestness of the packing industry as
whole in giving the Northern Wiscon-
sin Cooperative Tobacco Pool an an
swer that was representative of the
entire packing fraternity. The answer
was not only representative, it was
unanimous. The first lesson of the
meeting is: The warehouse men of
Wisconsin are united when it comes to
the choice of methods to be employed
in dealing with the tobacco pool. Not
only were they agreed in turning down
the method suggested by the pool
Agreement" )" but they agreed per-
fectly in expressing their willingness to
deal with the pool as they would deal
with any honorable body or individual
approaching them with proposal for
business transaction. There was no
animosity, no pickering, no backdoor
method suggested This unity in adopt
ing fair and aboyeboard ways of doing
business also impressed the represent
atives of the pool present. Mr.. John
Holtan, pool warehouse director, called
The Reporter over the phone the even
ing after the packers meeting, and
asked that The Reporter make known
to the packers through its columns his
entire satisfaction with the spirit shown
by the packers. And we here and now
convey this message to the packers
from the pool warehouse director.
The second lesson coming out of the
meeting is just as definite and just as
unanimous: The warehouse men will
continue as independent packers in the
future as they have done in the past.
This also was recognized by the pool
warehouse director when he invited the
Independent packers to come to the
pool to satisfy their normal needs of
leaf for packing purposes. The pack
ers liked the invitation and cheered it
to the echo. While there was no for
| NAL agreement, no legal terms of an
understanding, there is gentlemen's
understanding established between the
packers and the pool that must be re-
spected, and undoubtedly will be re-
spected. Both will live, both will do
business, the one with the other. 1t is
not question of one driving the other
to the wall; it is rather question Of
establishing business relations which
are mutually agreeable and mutually
proftable.g Bullying tactics are to be
Stunned because they bring disgrace
and loss to the bully Agreements are
more likely to last when entered into
under the white flag than when they
are forced under the red flag.
This being the situation the plans of
the pool and the plans of the packers
cannot run contrary to each other, but
| in harmony. The pool will try to pro-
tect the growers in the matter of Sc
curing for them fair and equitable
price for their product, and the packers
will deal with the pool on the basis of a
price which will harmonic with the re-
quirements of the trade and leave them
q reasonable remuneration for their
service and investment. If the pool
holds more tobacco than can be taken
care of by the independent packers, it
will handle and pack this in warehouses
controlled by its own local warehouse
corporations. This arrangement seems
reasonable as we'll as economical. The
burden Of handling the annual crop
would be divided between the pool and
the independent packers, each furnish
| ing the capital required to handle its
end of the years production. The
larger the amount sold to the independ-
ent packers of tobacco in the bundle,
the larger would be the amount of
| money that could be turned over to the
growers at the time of delivery, and
the less would be the amount of risk
| assumed by the pool for handling, dam
age, storage and marketing cost.
This method undoubtedly would be
advantageous especially during the first
years of the operation of the pool.
That this also is the view held by the
Pool Warehouse manager, was reflected
| in what he said at the packers meet
n
ing. 1t may not .jibe'' with the spirit
of the Sapiro pool idea in every partic-
ular, but if it is practical, economical
and conducive to broad cooperation
along the whole line, and also fits con-
ditions of the tobacco industry in this
state, it deserves to be tried out along
the lines of the lessons brought out by
the Edgerton meeting. A plan that
may be excellent for one commodity
may fail if it is too rigidly applied to
another. The place and the makeup of