The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1882-01-12
The Tobacco-Inspection Laws.

To the Editors Of the Dispatch:
We notice that the everlasting "tobacco-
inspection laws are again up before the
Legislature for amendment. Our impress
son is that there are only two States in the
United States which have tobacco-inspec-
tim laws and, strange to say, that almost
an the complaints about the improper or
supposed unfair inspections come from
buyers who buy in the two States referred
to. The Governor OF one OF the two States
which have tobacco-inspection laws Gov
ernor Hamilton, OF Maryland, in his late
message TO the Legislature OF that state,
suggests "that the people can manage their
own affairs better than Legislatures can for
them.v Now, the warehouses in Maryland
unless we are greatly in error belong to
the State, and one would suppose that they
would yield a fine income; but having
been run, we think, as "political ma
chine" such warehouses for the past two
years, If not longer, have brought debt
on The State. Is it possible that the
planters Of Virginia are such idiots
that they cannot sell their tobacco
without having TO call in some one ap-
pointed by the Governor to inspect such
tobaccos Surely planter having sense
enough to buy horses and mules and TO
make a crop OF tobacco ought to have sense
enough to know how to sell ii. Now, in
some Of our cities, or certainly in one OF
them. what is a sampler OF tobacco, or what
are some OF such samplersS That we will
try and explain. Remember that all of the
tobacco warehouses i'm Virginia are private
warehouses except the Public warehouse,
in Richmond. Well, the Governor APP
points samplers for such private ware
houses, and greenhorn would suppose
that all their duties were confined TO
"samping and inspecting tobacco" sent
to such warehouses. Let 1t be known to
all the world that some Of such samplers
are nothing more than nearly regular COM
mission merchants. They are large sellers
Of tobacco at a commission OF 2 per cent
They Will to a good customer make adj
vances, and some OF them are actually en-
gagged in the selling OF cotton on commits
sion. The idea is that one who samples
and inspects" thing is an officer who Is
unbiased between the seller and buyer Of
the thing so inspected That moment
such State inspector becomes himself
large seller OF the very article he
has sampled and Inspected" don't you
see his position has become valueless to
the buyer? Wewould like for some OF the
long-headed businessmen in the Legisla-
ture to name single State Except Virginia
and possibly Maryland that would pass a
law, or has law, which would permit a
State sampler and inspector OF an article to
be, in the broad open day, large buyer or
seller Of the very article he inspected (whe-
Their on his own account OF on account OF
some one else). Ii such inspection was
worth anything, it was based on the idea OF
one who had acted land who had no motive
to act otherwise) as perfectly impartial ms
between the seller and buyer. What We
wish to make ridiculous is, that Virginia
should have "samplers and inspectors OF
tobacco" at the warehouses OF private par
ties, and that such samplers and inspectors
should have the privilege OF being favored
tobacco commission merchants, and to do a
general cotton and other commission busi-
ness II they saw tit. Now, some OF them,
We know, have not desired, and have re-
fused to solicit and receive, consignments
other than tobacco. II the real object OF
the bill Is TO be OF service to the planters OF
Virginia, 1t seems to us that such planters
should have the privilege to say whether
they desired their tobacco inspected by a
State inspector or not. To accomplish the
latter burmese LET the owners OF the private