Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1885-02-27
The Tobacco Warehouses.

The Tobacco Warehouses.
We Opserve that our esteemed Contem-
porary, the Hagerstown Mail, has nothing
further to say in regard to the Tobacco
Warehouses. In its issue of two weeks
ago, it assumed the erroneous statement
made in the Comptro'l er's last report to
the effect that the Inspection System is q
charge upon the State treasury, as a basis
upon which to predicate renewed con-
demnation Of the State Inspection System
and an urgent demand that the system be
abolished In the TINES of the 18th, We
showed from the Comptroller's own figures
not only the erroneousness of this state
ment that the Inspection System was a
charge upon the State during the past fis-
Cal year, but demonstrated by data taken
from the Cnmptrol er's report and calcu
lation based thereon that the treasury
seems at present to be very considerably
indebted to the Inspection Sysem.
1t might have been expected that the
Mail, when it saw clear demonstration
of its error, would have the fairness to
qualify its charge, or at least to give the
other side of the case, which came forward
so we'll fortified behind facts and figures
a hearing in its columns. 1t has, however,
seen fit, according to the Washington
county custom, to leave its erroneous state
ment and unjust condemnation unquali
fed and uncorrected. This, however, will
not be productive OF any very great mis-
chief, as the people have already learned
by past experience to take the Mails state
nents cum grace salo, and, like the boy in
the fable, the wolf Of the Mail has long
since been regarded by the discriminat.
ing press and people as a mere sheep.
For the information of the fairly dis
posed press, who may not have directed
their attention to this matter, and to cor
rect any enron" ous impressions the Nails
statement may have tended to convey, it
may not be improper for us again to refer
to the fact that the receipts from the State
wha:ves, an appurtenauce to the Tobacco
Warehouses, which during the past fiscal
year, as appears by the Comptroler's ia
bles, amounted to $5.12S 05, have through
inadvertance not been credited to the
Warehouse Fund since May 1858 Put
ting these receipts at an average of $4,000
per annum, which seems fair, and We have
an aggregate principal sum in the thirty
one years that have interviewed OF Sl24 900,
the interest upon which receipts as they
annually passed into the treasury would
amount to Sill 900, making sum total of
$685., 600 which should have been a credit
to the Warehouse Fund
1t will readily be seen that after deduct
ing the sum of s61,16S 04 which appear
ed by the careful statement of Conptrol-
Ter Woolford made to the Legislature in
1874, to be then due to the treasury from
the Warehouse Fund, and any apparent
excuses of expenditures over receipts
which may have since occurred in the
management Of the Tobacco Warehouses,
and there will still be a considerable
balance of money due to the Warehouse
Fund
Now, as there is prohibition in the
Federal Constitution against State ley
Iinga1y tax upor =: :. except ictts that
may accrue to the State treasury from the
outage charge upon tobacco, which is es-
sentially tax upon exports, over the bona
hde expenses OF operating the system is
an unconstitutional extortion from the
people. 1t, therefore, becomes the clear
duty of the Legislature and the executive
officers of the State government to so re-
gulate this Inspection System that the
funds accruing from the outage charge
and the incidental renis of the appurten-
ances to the property would be exactly, or
at least approximately, equal to the expenses
of the system.
To this end we recommend, instead of
the nihilistic proposition of our esteemed
contemporary, the Nail, that the mex,
Legislature cause the treasury Ulcers to
supplement Comptroller Woolt rd's state
ment of 1874 with correct summary of
the Tobacco Warehouse account down TO
the present day, giving proper credit for
the wharfrents and all other incidental
receipts, and then make a proper adjust
ment OF the balance that may be shown
with the counties of the State from which
it has been obtained. This beng done.
let the Legislature so regulate the Inspec-
ton System as to comply with the recon-
mendation of Comptroller Turner and
make the salaries of the Inspectors and
all other expenses OF the System depend
on the outage receipts and the incidental
rents. In other words require the Lnspec-
ii IN System to be sel-supporting This
is the only lawful and just disposition
that can be made of this vexed question,
and while entirely within the range of
practicability, would be just and satisfac-
tory to all sections of the State. Thi.
branch of the public service stands much
in need of the exercise of little common
sense in dealing with it.
A correspondent of the Baltimore Sun,
writing from Wilmin. ton, Del, has the
70 lowing in reference to Eas ern Shore
politics:
A well-known politician of the Eastern Shore