Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-12-27
THE POT and KETTLE.
4 COLLOOgT BETWEEN Il WHISKY
AND 4 TOBACCO MN.
In Which Each Abuses the Other for APP
plying to Congress for Redress of
Grievances "A Few Plain Truths Plainly
Stated---The Instability of Our Laws.
Especial Telegram to the Globe. I


New YORK, Dec. 26.-That congress is
still power in this country is shown by
the anxiety of the tobacco and whisky men
| to control its legislation Immediately. I
heard the following conversation between
tobacco and whisky man yesterday.
The whisky nam said:
''What is going to become of us? More
than $SO,OOO,OOo of taxes are due on
whisky next week, and congress has passed
no measure of relief. There must be a
sell out of this whisky. vast reduction of
| its price and the ruin of most of the
whisky men and perhaps of banks which
have been carrying these warehouse re-
ceipts as the only guarantee for loans on
| whisky"
'Well," said the tobacco man, ''you have
yourselves to blame. What right have you
to be asking for relief legislation and I'M
der its operation to go on piling up whis
Ky SO as to como back to congress when
you are in tight fix and ask for another
measure of relief"
"Well," said the whisky to the tobacco
man, II don't see why you should be so
virtuous. You have had such tax put
upon all foreign cigars that every time
man wants little Whit of smoke he has
to pay you direct taxation. You
can get the advantage of tariff of So
pound on all cigars, besides 25 per cent. of
their value, and have the 100000 of the
American people compelled to use your
commodities. The best of them will not use
these domestic cigars and consequently
have to pay from dime ito quarter for
a smoke. The most expensive thing a
man can set before his guests is a good
Havana cigar through your greediness. A
box of fifty cigars, which will cost 81, will
not last gentleman over four or five
nights, while gallon of whisky can be had
for $3.50, and the very best whisky in the
market for less than these fifty HAVANA
cigars, which ought to cost the consumer
not more than or 6 cents apiece"
sob, pshawv' said the tobacco man, 1--WE
employ quarter of a million people in
our industry. Our business extends
through every city. We have made
New York the leading cigar man
ufactory of the world. Your
distilling operation is very slow corpor-
alton. There are but two or three local.
ties in America where straight whisky is
made. Take out Peoria, Kentucky, Gin
cinnati and perhaps Pittsburg and the de-
struction of the whole whisky interest
would not affect industry at all.''
"That shows your ignorance" said the
whisky man. "What are you going to do
with the vast surplus of corn and rye if
you cannot make it into spirlts?'
"Why there is no surplus of corn" said
the tobacco man. "Hers is pork selling as
high as beef because there has not been
corn enough to feed the hogs, large
part of it being drawn off to
make your COMPOUNDED sour mash.
We have no surplus of corn
for natural purposes, and there is no need
of SO much of it being made into whisky
for purposes of speculation, drunkenness
and human degradation"
"Well," said the whisky man, 81 like that.
Here you are rolling up cigarettes for boys
to smoke, made Of everything under tho
sun that poisons their systems. Here is
your boosted cigar industry carried on in
tenement houses by the pariahs of Europe
who employ emigrants just landed and
unable to speak the language, and have
them penned up like sheep, rolling cigars
in the rooms where they sleep and cook
and where their children run about naked
over the abominable tobacco. And what
are you down at Washington for asking
relief?" resumed the whisky man holly.
"You all admit that you can make cigars
proftably and take off the IS per cent. ad
| valorem. Then you have left 81 specific
tax on all cigars rolled abroad, whereas you
know that cigars as good as the average
You produce can be brought here from
Australia at So to 81 hundred but for
this duty. You have made cigars by the
tens of thousands which you cannot sell,
and because there is stagnation in your
trade you expect congress to change its
revenue duties so as to let you out. The
whisky men do not ask any change of duties,
but only an extension of time in which to
pay tax for an article which we
have not sold. We ask the government to
save itself from injury and US from
| ruin"
| "Oh, pshaw," said the tobacco man,
&c the government is not going to be hurt
It will merely take the whisky and hold it,
and that will regulate the production of
more whisky for several years to come.
The government will get every cent ulti-
mately and can reimburse itself by put
ting up the tax on whisky at any subse-
quent period. It can run the tax up 80
per cent. and thus account for any def
cheney in present taxes"
Some further warm words passed and
finally third party who had been listen
ing like me remarked: The government
must have some standard of self-respect.
The whisky law was made at the request
of whisky men themselves, who earnestly
petitioned an increase of time to pay the
tax and promised the government and
business in general grea. advantages.
These advantages have not been realized,
at least to distillers and spectators in
whisky. They now want more legislation.
1t is not like the cry for greenbacks few
years ago when too many of them produced
certain evils of expansion, and then the
| o,,n5,, ,roo ,,ooro vroonha cha mora AGAIN