Democratic Sentinel, Volume 17, Number 2, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 January 1893 — NEW DUTY ON TOBACCO [ARTICLE]

NEW DUTY ON TOBACCO

lT ROBS tHE WORKMAN, FAR'MER AND CONSUMER. The *2 Daly, Though bat Two Years Old, Has Decreased Wages, Closed Factories and Increased Prices or Deteriorated the 'txoods. The McKiniey Tariff Tree. • 1? the 53d Congress does not reduce or 1 remove the $2 per .pound d®ty ’ which McKinlqy placed on Sumatra tobacco,- it will not be because it has * not done great injury- to legitimate business and has not worked havoc to all except a few monopolists. A McKinley tree, though only two years old, is easily known by its fruit—reduced wages, closed factories, increased power to monopolists, benefits to speculators, increased prices or deteriorated goods, deception and perjury. The $2 duty has already borne all these varieties Of fruit. “There are more cigarmakers tramping the streets to-day," said a manufacturer of Havana cigars in New York the other day, “than I have ever known before.” When asked the cause he explained it by stating his own case.

“We have 1 not,” said he, “done as most manufacturers did increase the price of our goods because wrappers cost more. Here is one of our ‘Conchas Especial’ cigars, which we have sold for ssl per thousand for five years. We tried to get square with McKinley in -the first place by reducing wages. We now pay but $9 for making that $5.1 cigar, instead of $lO as formerly. Many other houses stopped paying union wages for the same reason. They were compelled to do it. -In the next place we required our workmen to cut closer. They used to use two and three-quarters pounds to wrap 1,000 cigars, now two and -one-quarter is a liberal allowance. This, of course, makes it harder for men to earn high wages. Then we pay less for seed leaf tobacco than ever before. The tobacco growers thought they were getting protection. The fact is that the extraordinarily high duty compels us to pay morq, for wrappers.— which our farmers -can’t raise—and forces us to pay-less for fillers—which they can raise.

“In spite of all these facts, we have been unable to -keep our workmen busy, and .have had to let some go. If it were not for .the McKinley duty, we could mow be employing twice as many men .and .paying them union wages, too.” This same man -who, by the way, did not wish .his name mentioned in print, in connection with reduced wages, said .that the $2 duty had not hurt him as much as it did small manufactures, nor benefited him like i-t had benefited large ones who had sufficient -capital, in 1890, with which to purchase a two years’ supply of Sumatra tobacco, before the McKinley tax doubled the price. Many small manufacturers have gone to -the wall 'because-of this duty, and many workmen are prevented from going into business because it requires so much more capital-than formerly, to purchase wrapper totacco. “The duty,” he said, ‘'protects only the monopolists .and sneculators at the expense .of small -manufacturers, workmen, farmers and consumers.” He mentioned three New York speculators who had made at least $1,000,000 by buying Sumatra tobacco before the duty took effect, and selling it a year-or two later. That this high duty has, as usual, led -to undervaluation, and perjUry and favored the dishonest importer, is evident from the statement of this manufacturer, accompanied by a wink, that-a neighbor manufacturer had actually imported 600 hales of Havana fillers; and that although tliese hales-contained,in -their centers, enough wrapping tobacco .to wrap the fillers -outside, .yet-wrapper duty was paid only on .one bale. This, said my informant, has become , the usual method of procedure.