10 



CIRCULAR 10 0, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



chasing power of all United States tobacco, Burley,. flue-cured, Vir- 

 ginia dark-fired, and Virginia sun-cured tobaccos since 1909-10. 



Living expenses and the cost of production remained at high levels, 

 and this precipitous drop in prices for their chief and often sole 

 cash crop created much dissatisfaction, discontent, and even distress 

 and hardship among the tobacco growers of Virginia, North 

 Carolina, and South Carolina, as well as in other tobacco-producing 



areas. 



DISSATISFACTION WITH ATJCTION-FLOOB METHOD OF SELLING 



During recent years there has appeared a general dissatisfaction 

 with the auction-floor system of marketing tobacco. The great bulk 

 of tobacco is sold under this system, although some tobacco is sold in 

 the packed form to the highest bidder at public auction, some at a 

 closed-bid auction and some on the farms to buyers who visit the 

 producing districts (i, p. J^37) . 



Table 1. 



-Actual and adjusted prices in cents per pound for selected types of 

 tooacco in the United States, 1909-192S 1 



Year be- 



Burley 



Sun-cured 



Dark-fired 



Flue-cured 



All tobacco 



ginning 























July 1 



Actual 



Adjusted 



Actual 



Adjusted 



Actual 



Adjusted 



Actual Adjusted 



Actual 



Adjusted 



1909 



13.4 



13.2 



8.4 



8.1 



7.8 



7.5 



9.23 



8.9 



10.1 



9.8 



1910 



9.6 



10.1 



8.5 



8.8 



8.0 



8.3 



10.28 



10.6 



9.3 



9.6 



1911 



7.5 



7.7 



9.0 



9.2 



8.4 



8.6 



11.31 



11.6 



9.4 



9.6 



1912 



11.0 



11.0 



8.0 



7.9 



7.8 



7.7 



15.57 



15.3 



10.8 



10.6 



1913 



12.3 



12.4 



8.5 



8.4 



7.0 



6.9 



18.25 



18.1 



12.8 



12.7 



1914- 



8.1 



8.2 



6.5 



6.5 



7.3 



7.3 



11.29 



11.2 



9.8 



9.7 



1915 



9.5 



8.6 



8.0 



7.1 



8.0 



7.1 



10.55 



9.4 



9.1 



8.1 



1916 



15.5 



10.2 



14.0 



9.1 



10.4 



6.7 



19.04 



12.3 



14.7 



9.5 



1917 



26.5 



14.2 



28.5 



15.0 



17.0 



8.9 



30.54 



16.1 



24.0 



12.6 



1918 



32.6 



16.3 



20.5 



10.1 



17.7 



8.7 



34.25 



16.8 



2S.0 



13.8 



1919 



24.5 



10.8 



28.0 



12.1 



25.0 



10.8 



44.58 



19.3 



39.0 



16.9 



1920 



13.4 



7.3 



10.0 



5.3 



9.9 



5.3 



21.14 



11.3 



21.2 



11.3 



1921.. 



22.4 



15.7 



19.0 



13.1 



18.7 



12.9 



21.74 



15.0 



19.9 



13.7 



1922 



25.2 



16.2 



14.3 



9.0 



18.8 



11.9 



29.00 



18.3 



23.2 



14.6 



1923 



21.4 



14.2 



13.2 



8.6 



18.1 



11.8 



22.27 



14.5 



19.9 



13.0 



1924 



21.3 



13.8 



14.6 



9.3 



19.4 



12.3 



22.46 



14.3 



20.7 



13.1 



1925 



19.0 



12.2 



16.4 



10.3 



16.2 



10.2 



20. 02 



12.6 



18.2 



11.5 



1926 



13.1 



8.9 



9.5 



6.3 



7.8 



5.2 



25.60 



17.1 



18.2 



12.1 



1927.. 



26.0 



17.5 



13.1 



8.7 



9.9 



6.5 



21.30 



14.1 



21.2 



14.0 



1928' 



27.2 



17.8 



8.5 



5.5 



10.0 



6.5 



17.90 



11.7 



19.5 



12.7 



irj. S. Department of Agriculture Yearbooks, 1910-1928. Actual prices adjusted by dividing by the 

 Bureau of Labor Statistics All-Commodity Index Number, crop year, July, 1910-June, 1915=100. 

 * Preliminary. 



No uniform or generally accepted grade designations are used, and 

 no one central market exists which can be used as a basis for market 

 quotations, nor is there available to growers any market information 

 service. A futures market in tobacco has never been developed. 

 Kedried tobacco is a nonperishable commodity, and large stocks are 

 carried over from one year to another by the large tobacco companies 

 and dealers. The bulk of the demand for tobacco for manufacturing 

 is concentrated in the hands of a few powerful companies. 4 



Usually as soon as the farmer's tobacco is cured he hauls it to the 

 local market, which is open for a few months only. It is placed in 



4 The Federal Trade Commission {IS) in its report of Dec. 11, 1920, on the tobacco 

 industry states : " While opinions differ as to the existence of competition among the 

 buyers of leaf tobacco, and no conclusive evidence of collusion to bring about the decline 

 is at hand, attention should be called to the fact that in each of the growing areas the 

 buying is centered in very few hands." 



