National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1879-02-13

VINO cneWS MS pound OF plug mOnJn Will
have to chew pound and half; the man
who smokes his four-ounce package in six
days will have to do it in four days. and so
on, to say nothing of the snuff, with which
he will be obliged to fill mouth or nose.
Will he do it? If not, how is the increased
quantity to be made up? Will that portion
of the community who studously avoid the
weed will men who have grown to man
hood, resisted all the charms, allurements,
and fascinating pleasures of tobacco, COM
mence to learn the business OF using tobacco
out of pure love to the Government and a
desire that IL shall suffer no detriment in
consequence of yielding to the importuni-
ties of the few, and reducing the tax col
lccted so easily and with so little injury to
any material interest of the country? We
judge not
The only hope that we can see for the
Government in this direction is the hope
that the young and the rising generation
may be brought up to ignore the customs
and precepts of their fathers, where those
fathers have abstained from the use of to-
bacco, and to commence early the patriotic
habit of smoking and chewing tobacco.
But here comes in the well-known fact that
the young ordinarily commence the use OF
tobacco by smoking first the cigarette made
from some mild weed; gradually he learns
to smoke cigarettes Of tobacco; then q por-
tion of cigar; then whole cignr; aud so
on till his daily consumption reaches from
ten to fifteen cigars, costing him from fifty
cents to dollar and n half day. But it
will be borne in mind that this discrim-
ination-this imposition of forty cents n
pound on every pound of cigars while the
tax is only sixteen cents pound on tobacco
will tend directly to discourage the use of
cigars and cigarettes by the young; and,
therefore, the great army of consumers
needed to make up the loss which the. Gov
hrnment will suffer from reduction of the
tax will not be recruited from the children
and youth of the land
1t is presumed, however, that there is not
an intelligent man or woman in this whole
country, however strongly addicted to the
use Of tobacco, who would not look upon it
MS national evil to see the children and
youth of the nation fully committed to u
habit of such doubtful utility rs is the con-
| frmed habit of tobacco using.
The general sentiment of the country is
in favor of taxing tobacco for revenue pur-
poses; and the rate of tax, it is believed
should be adjusted mainly with reference tC
the amount of revenue which can be secured
from that portion of the tobacco raised and
manufactured in the country, and made M
article Of common traffic and domestic con.
sumption.
If the excise taxes which are now being
collected by the Government mainly on dis
titled spirits, malt liquors, and manufac.
tured tobacco are greater than is required
for the legitimate purposes for which Con
gress is given power TO lay and collect
taxes, to-wit, pay the debts, provide for the
common defense and the general welfare OF
the United States, then,very properly, those
taxes should be reduced But in making
the reduction, Congress should so adjust
the rates of tax imposed upon tho
different branches of this great ma
tlonal industry rs not to give any undue
advantage to the tobacco manufacturer owe
the cigar manufacturer. Certainly the,
should be so adjusted as not to discriminate
against and oppress labor while fostering
and favOring machinery. In other words
the tax on n pound of cigars or pound o
cigarettes should be no greater than on
pound of smoking tobacco, by reason of til
fact that it costs more in labor to produce
pound of the former than of the latter.
Is the Government collecting more rev
enue from internal taxation than its neces
stiles require? If so, then taxes should b
reduced; otherwise not, Such, it is be
lieved would be the verdict of the grea
majority of the American people, includin
the consumers, who alone pay these take: