The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933)(about) |
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Tuesday 21 July 1896
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THE TOBACCO TRADE.
A VISIT TO DIXSON AND SONS'
FACTORY.
The tobacco industry is one of con- siderable importance to Queensland, sup- porting, as it does, a large number of factory workers and providing an outlet, under ordinary circumstances, for a fairly payable crop to farmers. Its real value, however, may be said to have only become thoroughly recognised dur- ing the past five years, manufacture prior to that being carried on in an intermittent and by no means exten- sive way. Its growth in Brisbane has been largely due to the enterprise of two firms, one of whom is Dixson and Sons-a name prominent also in to- bacco-making records in the mother colony. The Brisbane branch of the business was established about six years ago, and considering the difficulty of obtaining suitable local leaf, and the alteration of the tariff, it has in the in- terval grown remarkably. The pre- mises of the firm occupy an elevated site in Brunswick-street. The building is a four-storied one (not reckoning dry- ing space on the roof), with numerous outbuildings, and, indeed, every con- venience for turning out a first-class article. Some idea of the magnitude of the business can be gathered from the fact that upwards of ninety persons find employment within the building, and an amount considerably In excess of £100 is distributed every week in wages. The place is, indeed, a perfect hive of in- dustry, and the activity thus displayed is useful as an index to the trade that has been, and is being, developed. The different makes of tobacco are so varied as to be almost bewildering. Tne visitor, in fact, loses count as he is in- troduced in quick succesion to " Yankee Doodle," " Conqueror," " Champion," " Nailrod," in American grades, and " Challenge," " Dark Flat Aromatic," " Bright Aromatic," " My Pet," " Boss," "Tiger," and all the rest of it in the colonial grade, to say nothing of "Sport," "Tip-top," "Marvel," and " Union," put up for special distribution. At the present time there seems to be a run on that know as " Challenge," «which is made from picked Texas leaf, and which is described as the perfection of colonial tobacco. So great is the de- mand that Messrs. Dixson and Sons felt justified in cabling to America for addi- tional machinery in order to increase the output. This plant is now on its way. A considerable business is also done in cigarette tobacco, and when the exigencies of the Custom-house are such as will permit of a reduction being made in duty or excise, or both, cigar making will be added to the already long list of manufactures. As a matter of fact, Messrs. Dixson and Sons, a few months prior to August, 1894, when the excise on cigars was increased, laid down a plant which cost them something like £1000. With the Introduction of the new order of things, cigar-making was stopped, and so it will remain, so far as Dixson and Sons are concerned, until the excise charge is moderated.
A glance through the factory fur- nished much that interests. Reversing the usual order of things, a tour of inspection is commenced on the roof. Conducted toy the local manager, Mr. J. H. Forrest, the visitor makes his way up four flights of stairs, and standing on the top of the building (from which, by the way, a commanding view of the greater portion of the city is obtainable), it is explained that the large quantity of leaf seen there is being dried. Re- tracing one's steps to the top floor, men and boys are to be seen shaking out the leaf preparatory to what is technically
known as " casing," while on the same floor others are engaged introducing the leaf to the first machine process-the rollers-and some of the space is given over to the storage of bulk leaf intended for cake and cigarette tobacco. A change comes o'er the scene on the floor immediately beneath. Almost before one is aware of the fact the visitor is ushered into the presence of nearly
score of women and girls, who, com- fortably " housed" in a spacious well lighted room, ply their trade of plug coverers and strippers. In other words, the seniors cover the cakes of tobacco as they come from the plug-machine with the outside leaf ; the others dis- sever the leaf from the stem. The plug-machines, on the same floor, but walled off, are worked by men. Dixson and Sons have three of these machines, one of which has a capacity'per diem of 2000lb. This plug-making is an in- teresting study, if only to watch the ac- curacy and uniformity with which the cakes are turned out. In a corner is the large steaming chamber, where the leaf is made sufficiently pliable to allow the stemmers to manipulate it. On the floor below the visitor finds himself amongst the twisters. Each in his own little box, as it were, weighs his tobacco, and twists it in the size required with amazing deftness. Seventeen twisters are at present at work at Dixson and Sons, and it says something for the in- dustry, that in the last two years the firm have been able to pay in wages to their twisters alone £4300. From here, missing the clerical department, and numerous storerooms, the visitor is taken to the pressing-room on the ground floor, which is a perfect maze of machinery, tramlines, and drying cup- boards. Indeed, every foot of avail- able space is taken up by the scores of hydraulic presses with main and lateral tramways. The finishers, or " pots," as they are commonly called, within which the tobacco has to be pressed, are pon- derous pieces of steel plate, bolted and riveted together in many places, with some of the bolts measuring 21n. in diameter. At times so enormous is the pressure brought to bear that these bolts are broken, and this is perhaps hardly to be wondered at when it is ex- plained that the gauge shows that the pressure capable of being exerted Is equal to 10,000lb. to the square inch. The squaring of the plugs is performed by placing the roughly made pieces of to- bacco in a steel frame or mould, and then subjecting them to the enormous pressure of the " finisher." After seve- ral pressings of this nature they are ready for tagging and box-
ing. Even when tucked away In the strongly-made sycamour boxes further pressure has to be brought to bear on the package. This over, the boxes are nailed up, and, having passed the eagle eye of the excise officer, who is stationed near the doorway, it is placed upon the market. This, roughly, is the process of tobacco-making.
In the yards, however, is found another branch of the Industry-that of box making. A long shed contains a large stock of sycamore, which, of course, has to be imported from America. So far It has been impossible to get a suitable local timber ; but the firm intend experi- menting further with a view to putting other colonial woods to the test. Then there are the bulk store-rooms, engine sheds, &c, connected with the establish- ment-all occupying space and necessi- tating labour. The bulk store-rooms present a valuable object lesson, and tell unmistakably of the want of either ex- perience or enterprise on the part of Queensland leaf-growers. Bales upon bales of crumbling leaf are to be seen - in many cases only the stalks remain - and it is asserted that hundreds of tons of this rubbish are to be found stored up and down the country. The creed of the farmer seems to have been " quantity, not quality," and unfortunately much of the loss has fallen on the shoulders of the manufacturer, who in times gone by has bought stuff that can never be utilised. He has grown wise with ex- perience, however, and these stocks are not now added to. He prefers to make up an increased quantity of imported leaf-in fact, to maintain his trade he must do it,-and locally there is set up the cry of over-production. The experi- ence of manufacturers is that the Queensland farmer will insist on mixing with his good leaf the lower leaves of the plant, and, indeed, every part of the plant he conveniently can, with the re- sult that his tobacco is really only one remove from a noxious weed. Last sea-
son only two places in Queensland cleared their crops-Texas and Bonshaw. On the whole the leaf from here turned out very uniform. The leaf graded as No. 1 was really excellent, but No. 2, being the refuse, as it were, could be made very little use of, the leaves being " dead" and pulverised on handling. This inferiority is the more remarkable in view of the literature which has been circulated among the growers on the sub- ject of culture and curing, not only by the Government, but also by Messrs. Dixson and Sons, who have issued large numbers of pamphlets.
The duty and excise charges are natu- rally matters In which firms like Messrs. Dixson and Sons take a deep interest. They consider that the excise of 1s. is excessive, unless things are equal- ised by admitting imported leaf (necessary if the smoking com- munity are to be provided with mixed grades of tobacco) with a duty of 1s. instead of 2s. It is pointed out that this excessive charge has a deterrent effect on local manufacture, and New South Wales is held up as an example. In that colony in 1886 2,044,240lb. of ex- cise tobacco were issued from the fac- tories. Shortly after this the excise was raised from 1s. to 1s. 3d. per lb., and since 1886 there has been a gradual de- creased output till in 1894, when it stood at 1,732,496lb., or a decline of 300,000lb. on the annual period. If the population re- turns between the periods were taken the decrease is, of course, emphasised. It is admitted that so far as Queensland is concerned, there has been a slight in- crease in the output recently, but it is not considered stable, being regarded as
simply due to the fact that the industry is struggling to recover itself. Judging by the activity displayed at the Con- queror works, Messrs. Dixson and Sons are among the most valient in the effort that is being put forth. As before stated, Mr. J. H. Forrest is the local manager. He has had considerable ex- perience in the trade, having been con- nected with Dixson and Sons for upwards of eleven years, although he has only been in Brisbane some eighteen months, and under his guidance there is no doubt that, given a fair chance, the develop- ment of the great business will be as
rapid In the future as it has been in the
past.