Daily Los Angeles herald., 1878-09-18
0noegeaie Action Needed Our
Wane Iuseresss.

WI8o nOtottosss
The conspicuous protection which
Congress has at various times ex-
tondsd to certain branches of man
ulhctures In the United States sadly
emphasixee the neglect with which
Il has treated our wine and brandy
Interests. No legislative favor was
lhcught too great to be extended to
eur iron and cotton and wooden
lnanufactures. Items have been
Inserted In the tariff which enabled
the onondaga Salt Manufacturing
Company to earn dividends at the
rate Of tive hundred per cent.
year, the company even exporting
their surplus .salt to Canada and
selling II for one third the price
they sxacted from our people, and
Cougrsss has not been above so ar
ranging its imposts on foreign
ehsmicals as to enormously enrich
two or three favored firms. But
when II has come to protecting
eoeh . great and promislng interest
- the growth Of American vine
9ards and the production of Ameri-
can wines and grape brsndies, Con
grsss has been absolutely indif.
fsrsnt. We have been accorded
ep!y the scantiest boon Of protec-
tlon, and the making Of our wines
and brandies has been hampered,
With 20 many re strictions that 81
experienced . viticulturist as Mr..
Landsberger was led to exclaim
that they were almost fatal TO th'
prosps rity and even to the contin-
uanos OF the industry.
We refer our readers to the note
from Mr.. J. DeBarth Shorb in our
local columns enclosing the circu-
lar Of Mr.. Arpad Hara szthy. We
learn that an active French in
trigue is on foot, which has much
prospect Of success, to further re.
duoe the duties on French wines
and brandies. 1t is proposed, In
fact, to lower these duties to p
merely nominal figure. TO our
surprise and indignation the
Chamber Of Commerce Of Sar
Francisco has memorislized Con-
gress In favor of the passage Of q
treaty which ought, If entitled cor
rectly, to be known as ga treaty to
sxtirpate the vinicultural and viii
cultural interests of the United
States.n
II 10 impossible to exaggerate the
Importance of our as yet infant
wine and brandy Interests. France
IL to-day the most prosperou
country In the world mainly be-.
cause Of her trim vineyards. They
are source of unfailing income
California is destined, in time, tc
make quite as much brandy and
Wine as France herself If our gov.
ernment shall extend the proper
protection to our vineyarlists.
Henry Clay advocated protection
to our struggling iron, cotton and
other manufactures, in 1889, on the
ground that they were then in
their Infancy. Whatever force there
was in that argument then, when
urged In favor Of the specialties Of
Pennsylvanis and New England,
applies to our wine and brandy
making interests now.
Not only is the tariff on the
French staples low, but the San
Francisco importer can remove his
foreign wines and brandies from
the Custom House in that city anG
place them in the bonded ware.
house 10 Cincinnati, ii lie likes
with no obligation to pay the duty
on them except when they
are remov ell for sale. This gives
the handler of imported liquors
prodigious advantage over the
Californian, Ohioan or Missourian
who undertakes to handle his own
manufactures. 1t Is true that Con-
gress did, after an inexplieable de-
lay, provide system of local
bonded warehouses for our vine-
yardists, but when the wine is
withdrawn for sale the duty must
be paid on the spot and the owner
has not, as In the case of the i'm
porter, the privilege OF transport
ing his staple over the whole
country.
We heartily trust that every one
In Los Angeles county who takes
nn interest in what will ultimately
be the greatest source of our pros
psrity will make his voice heard
IN protest against any such treaty.
II II be true that the San Francisco
Chamber OF Commerce has MEM
orislized Congress in favor of the
outrage, the resolution should be
rsscinded anil counter one adopt.
ed. We have got along very we'll
with France during the past hun.
dred years or 30 without any such
special and extraordinary mani.
festations Of amity. which are only
designed to give France a more
sbsolute range If our markets.
.FLEETyvooD. - the Los Angeles