Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-12-10
RECIPROCITY WITH CUBA.
NEW YORK STIRRED UP BY THE
PROPOSED NEW TREATY.

| TObaccOnfsts and sugar Merchants
Somewhat Divided, but as a Rule
Opposed to RatifeatiOn-Both Indus
tries Fearful of Death BIOw-Cuban
Steamship Lines Pleased.
| NEW YORK, Dec. 9.-The San contains
! a number of interviews with people we'll
informed in regard to our Cuban COM
merce. The following are among the
most important:
THE new treaty pinches trade in two
| ways" said one of the editors of the TObaccO
Leaf. First, 1t lets in manufactured cigars
| at greater reduction than is allowed on leaf
| tobacco. This is unjust to American cigar
makers, who make good cigars cheap. Cigar
makers are not affected, although low grade
| Havana cigar Is about the worst cigar made
| The Key West cigar makers are affected most
| because they use all Havana tobacco. Another
| objection, and it comes chiefly from Ameri-
| can planters, is that when once this treaty is
| adopted the Dutch will want to bring
in their Sumatra tobacco. This is now
used, in spite of the heavy tax of IS
cents per pound on it. 1t can be
sold here in competition with American
| seed leaf wrappers because it is raised by
coolies. With the duty reduced to l715 cents
American planters would have small show
| against it. Another place where the treaty
plnches particularly hard is with men who
have large stocks of Havana filed cigars and
Havana tobacco on hand. They will lose the
reduction of l715 cents per pound on tobacco
and 81 20 per pound on cigars.
TO BE DRIVEN OUT OF BUSINESS.
That loss will compel some to go out of busi-
ness whether they wish to do so or not, ana it
Is inevitable because daring the interval be-
tween the ratification of the treaty and the
date On which it takes effect trade
VIII be from hand to mouth and prices con-
stantly falling. The present evil of the treaty
IS stagnation caused by agitation No one
Will buy until the question is settled. Manu-
facturers shut down so as to run off surplus
stocks. The trade is wholly disorganized and
operatives are thrown out of employment.
One of the features of the tariff which will be
retained under the new treaty is the govern
ment import stamp. Instead of allowing i'm
ported cigars to stand on their own merits
stamp on imported goods, which is
a guarantee to buyers that they
are imported. The curious result Of this
was shown in Mexican cigars that affected
this market" said George Storm, of Straigh-
| ton y Storm, last night. "Mexican cigars.
| simply because they were imported, sold dear
| for long time at from $50 to $40 thousand
! 1t took the public two years to learn that they
were eNecrable. The other day an invoice Of
| them sold in bond for IS a thousand to go to
| Canada, and about all the Mexican cigar
makers are bankrupt.
A PREVIOUS SCARE.
"Here a year or two ago tobucco raisers
| thought that the free import of Mexican to-
| bacco would ruin them. / made a per-
| sonal inspection of Mexican tobacco
| plantations and their tobacco. | had another
| d0 1t over again for me. | know that Mexico
| cannot produce tobacco for this market Not
10 per cent Of her product is fit for the Uni
| ted states cigars. Her tobacco would not
Drlng IN market here 80 per cent. of Its cost in
| Mexico"
What are your objections to the Spanish
treaty?"
"Che1y that it does not 20 far enough. Its
| trainers kept American commerce in view.
| but forgot urindustrial interests. We ought
| to have free leaf"
what would become of the American
| planter?'
HE would continue to flourish He can
| raise good tobacco and sell it
| at II cents pound with good profit. There
| was an agitation over Sumatra wrappers
| Sumatra wrappers are handsome to the eve
| but eNecrable to the taste. The importation
! OF them led the American planter to adopt
| the Havana seed. Three years ago 40 O00
! cases OF II were raised, and this year 100000
cases. lie gets from 600 to 200 pounds of this
| Havana seed leaf per acre, aud the price has
| been going up. am sure that we will yet
| export this kind to Europe in competition
| with the much-feared Sumatra tobacco, and
| production here can be extended indef-
nltely.
NO ONE TO BE BANKRUPTED.
81 do not think that this treaty will
| cause any American manufacturer
| to go out of business. The production of Ha-
| Yana cannot be increased enough to ruin
| American manufacturers.
When r. r. Rosenwald, of the firm of
| Rosenwald j. Bros, dealers in seed leaf and
imported tobacco. was asked why he opposed
| trade, but this treaty is grossly unjust. 1t
will work ruin to the American tobacco
| planter. 1t IS wOrded in such way that the
! bulk OF tobacco which is used as filters wilt
pay more than the wrappers. You see it saws
that tobacco leaves requiring more than 100
leaves to make pound pay 81 cents
tobacco used for lers, but all
other kinds, that is leaves which require less
tran 100 to make pound, are let in at 171a
cents per pound, which is ridiculous Those
VINO assert that under this treaty QNr-
port our cigars do not know the facts We
could only export them If we had free trade.
1t is one-sifed treaty. 1t requires us to give
ali with no return. The I'm ted States is one
of the greatest tobacco producing countries
in the world. The production has been i'm
proving until it has apprOXimated the Havana
lear, but this treaty means ruin to the whole
industry
Schroeder Il Bond said: 'This treaty means
annihilation to the tobacco producing inter
ests of the country. If it prevails and others
must go out of the business
AN UNEVEN EXCHANGE.
Among the many sugar men opposed to the
new treaty is GUstave A. jain, who handles
Louisiana sugar. He said: I'VE are opposed
to the treaty because we do not see in it any
advantage to the United States. There is a
million or two of population down there to
consume our products. Their gross imports
are about Sl0,000,000 from us. We DrOpOse TO
| give them in return $25. 100000 net The prices
Of sugar are low enough now. If they go any
| lower the entire Louisiana planting industry
! ID BpuO. We DGIlCNt III projecting nome IN
! dustrg, and this is step toward free ira ie."
John K. Searle was one of the government
| commissioners sent to the Sandwich Islands
| to see how the reciprocity treaty worked
| there. he said yesterday: This Spanish
| treaty gives no advantage to the consumer of
| sugar. The whole reduction will go into the
pockets of Cuban planters"
'Our total import of sugar last year
| amounted to 900 tons. Cuba furnished
| less than half and the price will be made i'm
/ market nv the of hot
| duty. In return for clear gift of $4,000 600
we get back a trade of $40, 500 .OOO gross"
"But that trade will increase?"
A PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATION.
GLOW much? The gross imports Of Cuba are
only $40, 900, 900, 1900, 900 of which are from
Spain. Our sugar machinery now goes in
free. In the Sandwich Islauds we gave the
planters $3,OOOOOO year, and in return we
raised gross trade of 100000 to $l,40O,OO0.
The planters there planted every available
inch of ground on account of the profit in the
business. Our measure proved a bounty on
cOOlie labor. The sugar refners are all in
favor of free raw sugar, but they oppose this
measure, which gives so much bounty to
Cuban planters and does the United States no
good"
.'If l was going to say one thing in favor of
the new treaty." said James b. Carberry,
leading Havana merchant, II would say that
If we could induce Cubans topay more atten-
ton to sugar, for which their climate is well
adapted, they would raise less of the products
for which our climate is well adapted We
would sell InOse products TO them at profit
and buy their sugar at reduced rate"
HAVANA's IMPORTS.
The Havana import of lard is now nearly
100000 pounds weekly; bacon, 10000
pounds weekly; hams, the same: beans
SEQ barrels weekly; flour, l,500 barrels weekly;
hay, 10000 bales per annum, and potatoes for
nine months of the year over 5000 barrels per
week. The shipments to all other parts of the
island aggregate twO-thirds of this and to
Porto Rico one third of the Havana trade It
is not unreasonable to expect this trade to
quadruple. The treaty will be a very great
step toward a revival Of the American mer-
chant marine.
Another merchant in the Produce Ex-
change said; ''The duty on sugar has
got to come off anyhow. 1t is not fair that
the people should be taxed $52, ,OOO. .OOO the
| that Louisiana may produce barely 100000
| tons, much less than she produced before the
war when the duty was "a of a cent, instead of
2 cents as now. IL is nonsense to suppose that
| the repeal of the duty on Cuban sugar will
not bring down the price to the consumer
| Other sugar countries will make concessions
| to us in order to get their sugars in free Ad-
/ mitting that there is a temporary injustice to
! other countries, 1t will soon be rectitied to
| our advantage.
DIFFERENT KINDS OF BASES.
"Refners say that the price won't come
! down, and the Louisiana planters say that 1t
| will. The opposition does not seem to agree.
| But the main point to consider is thai we
| build up our merchant marine. Here is the
| first step.
When James Z. Ward, of the Ward line
/ of steamers, was asked how the treaty would
| help the American merchant marine. he said:
EVERY American vessel has hitherto Daid q
| touDaUp fay which N Il TO e1 o.