PRICE OF TOBACCO.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 41, 25 March 1914, Page 8

PRICE OF TOBACCO.

AN EXTRAORDINARY RISE AMERICAN TRUST AT WORK. An extraordinary increase in the price of several popular brands of tinned tobacco has taken place. The announcement was made to local retail tobacconists yesterday, and to say that they were surprised is to put it very mildly indeed. The increase in price came absolutely unheralded, and it is so great that the only explanation which retailers can give is that the colonial consumer is being exploited in the most bare-faced way by the American Tobacco Trust. Details of the principal increases are: —

Former New In-

It will be noticed that the increases range from 5d to 1/- per lb, a most extraordinary rise. They apply only to large purchasers taking delivery of bulk tobacco in bond. Smaller purchasers will have an additional 3d per lb to bear. All the increases are on aromatic tobaceos. Where there is a dark variety of an affected brand, no rise has been made in the price of that variety. There are various other complications, which the retailers confess they are quite at a loss to understand. ALL TRUST BRANDS. A representative of THE SUN called on a number of tobacconists this morn-, ing, but he found that none of them were able to throw much light on the matter. The most noticeable feature of a rather mysterious affair, said one prominent retailer, was that all the tobaccos affected were the manufacture of the firms of W. D. and H. O. Wills, the T. C. Williams Co., and Cameron and Co. These are the firms which comprise the Ameriean Tobacco Trust, and wkosjj products are sold in New Zealand by the British Empire Trading Co. "I consider it absolutely wicked," he said. '' Of course we recognise that the price of nearly every commodity is increasing the world over, and tobacco has been no exception, but there seems j to be absolutely no legitimate commer-] cial reason for such a tremendous in-« crease. The price of tobacco has been on the rise for years past, but so far the retailer has been the principal sufferer. On at least four occasions of late years the price of tobacco in tins has been increased, but in every case the rise has j been so small that we could not pass it on to the consumer, and had accordingly- to bear the loss ourselves. In this case, however, it will be the smoker who has to suffer. THE EFFECT OF THE RISE.

"The price of plug tobacco has also been steadily increasing, but here the loss has fallen on the consumer. Not so very long ago plug tobacco ran exactly seven to the lb; nowadays eight will rarely make the weight. The new rises in tin tobacco will be applied in the same way. The price of the tins will be the same —a shilling and sixpence^ —but the amount of tobacco in each tin will be considerably reduced. It practically amounts to this, that instead of getting 16oz to the lb, the smoker will get only 14oz. A so-ealled two-ounce tin will hold only l£oz, and a one-ounce tin about soz. This is a very considerable reduction indeed, and must tell heavily on thousands of smokers. COMPLICATIONS. "Exactly how the rises have been arrived at I cannot say. There is Juno, for instance, an aromatic form of which is sold in tins. This is a Trust tobacco, but the price has not been increased. Then there is Golden Eagle, also a Trust brand. There has beeti no increase in this make, but it is noticeable that, although a Trust tobacco, it is not sold in the Dominion by the British Empire Trading Co., but by the Wellington firm of Kronheimer and Co. It seems to me that the increases have been made in the most arbitrary _ way by the manufacturers, and that the wholesalers are merely acting on their instructions. A BOYCOTT SUGGESTED.

"The remedy? Well, all I can suggest is that consumers should not smoke the brands which have gone up. There are any number of other good tobaccos manufactured and sold by firms not in the ring, and smokers could very well stick to these. There is no circumstance that we know of which can possibly justify such a large increase. Eight members of the Wills family have died millionaires, and I have not heard lately that any of the survivors were in imminent danger of starvation through dwindling profits.''

.The other tobacconists interviewed agreed heartily with these views. One of them pointed out that the increases meant that smokers would now have to pay 9/- per lb for. these aromatic tobaccos, as against 8/- at present, which would make smoking more than ever a luxury. '' I have smoked Welcome Nugget for years myself," he added, "but I am going to take on another brand now." " GEOW YOUE OWN LEAF." A novel idea was expressed by a wholesale-retailer, who said that such happenings showed the necessity for New Zealanders growing their own tobacco. A good deal of tobacco had been grown in Auckland, but very little attention had been given to the industry, and the quality of the leaf was not very high. The trouble seemed to be that the kind of leaf grown was not suited to the soil and climate, but he thought it might not be a matter of very great difficulty to get plants which would grow well in New Zealand, and furnish a leaf of excellent quality. There were as many varieties of tobacco plants as there were of turnips, he said, and there must be some which would be suitable to New Zealand conditions. Now was the opportunity to look into the possibilities of local tobacco-grow-ling.

price. price. crease Capstan -.. .. 3/2 4/2 1/Havelock .. .. 8/3/10 0/10 Victory .. . n 2/2/6 0/6 Diadem .. 3/1 3/10 0/9 Diadem plugs . . 2/0 1 2/51 0/5 Ruby .. 2/6 3/0/6 Lucy Hinton 3/3 4/0/9 Welcome Nugget 3/7 4/6 0/11