The Wilmington morning star., 1947-10-05
John Skies Uses
Up The Vice ersas
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"At last" Mr.. Setter told me
Just last week, "I've found a place
on my farm dry enough to walk
in without hip boots" I take it
that if Mr. Setter has found such
a place there must be dozens of
such places in this area, maybe
thousands.
I starred out to say though, be-
fore I became fascinated with the
excess of clauses and phrases that
just naturally clacked from this
typewriter, that a couple OF
weeks ago I got downright seri-
Gus with DR.. Hess. I cornered
him in his office in the Customs
House sprawled among his charts
and graphs and doo-hickies he
uses to brew the weather.
"Looka here, Bud" I says to
him not even showing him the
Difference his title of U. S. States
Meteorologist for the Wilmington
Area seems to warrant. "Look-a
here, I got about 1900 or 10000
farmers on my hands over here
in the Wallace area who're try
ing to realize something from the
hard work they've put into their
tobacco this year"
I took a firmer seat on Mr..
Hess's desk and glowered at him
squarely in the eye.
"Thehe farmers" I went on
as I do on and on and on, "have
been struggling with this tobac-
co every since last winter when
you connected snow flurries and
cold rains. They went right or
through the summer when you
tapped your understanding
brow and brought forth gushes of
rain. They practically widowed
through the early Autumn dank-
ness and couldn't get their to-
baccos in any kind of order so
they could get decent prices out
of them. You're practically ruin
ing these boys who have to work
13 months every year just to
make tobaccos SOS you and your
kind can have expertly blended
cigaretts and pipe tobaccos to
1smoke.
"When," I demanded in a tone
of voice that practically had Mr..
Hess shivering with both the
heat and humidity high, when
ere you going to get your stuff
together and do right by our
farmer boys?"
That was a couple a weeks
ago. My righteous anger must
have had it's effect on Mr.. Hess.
He cringed in his swivel chair
and said as follows:
II promise you that the rainy
season is just about over and
we'll soon be having some of
those champagney, crystal, clear
,bracing, crisp, p%epperizing &C.
tober days.-Probably."
I forgave Mr.. Hess the prob
ably. He would have been tossed
out of the USMEC, Local No. IA
653 Omitted States Meteorological
Experts Caucus, Local No. Ect.)
if he hadn't added that "Prob-
ably.
And I forgive him his incle-
mency with the weather in earlier
days this Fall and Summer. He
did come through with those per-
feet October days.
And farmers in New Hanover
are farming again, probably
growing new Hanover Salad, and
radishes, and such-like. I under
stand even the fishing rodeo boys
are able to find a place to cast
their bats upon and into the
waters.
AS for me, I'm happy because
our farmers in this area finally
are getting some decent money
for that tobacco they spent 10
months to make. Starting last
Monday the buyers on the Wal
lace Market fell all over them
selves to pay real money for the
offerings of my farmer friends.
Where they'd. been paying $55
and $50 per hundred for tobac-
CO they paid $50 to SOL. (The
sterilization Corp, and semi =
governmental agency for pegging
tobacco prices, pick up lots Of
baskets for as high as $685.
But the buyers didn't stop at
the top grade tobaccos. They
reached into their tills and
brought out dollars that caused
them to pay from 81 to $40 more
per hundred for common and
medium grades of tobacco. And
since there's lots of these in
ferior grades in the country this
year higher prices for the inhe-
tweens helped our farmers more
than the big prices for the top
tobaccos.
|. What is more, buying spree the
boys started on last Monday con-
ltinued right on through the week