Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1886-12-21
OK cai,faSter 1lttelligentsf
LANCASTER. DECEMBER lsss
The Sumatra Duty.

) The tariff issue is evidently creating
good deal Of feeling in Congress, and We
fear that the members are not in condition
% treat It with very calm consideration.
The overwhelming vote by which the very
proper Sumatra tobacco legislation was
rejected, shows not only that the members
did not vote Understandings, but
also that that they did not vote very hon.
eotIy and with a sincere purpose to under
stand. As Pennsylvania was supposed to be
chieay interested in the bill, the Demo-
>crstiC majority, which had been solidly op'
posed by Pennsylvania members in the
vote on the Morrison bill, was not ami
mated with a desire to treat very
kindly that states interests. But the
members should have been just. And they
should at least not have shown that they
did not understand the question they were
considering.
The bill simply proposed to effect the in
tention of Congress, which is defeated un-
der the present levy Of a duty Of seventy
I'VE cents per pound on tobacco having
over q hundred leaves to the pound and
thirty Ave cents on leaves of less number
to the pound. The manifest intent Of the
law was that wrapper tobacco should pay
seventy-fve cent tax and tobacco unfit for
nne wrappers thirty-ive cents.
This intent was first defeated by the im-
rorters repacking the tobacco at the ship
ping point in the Netherlands, TO which
country it all goes from Sumatra, so that
there would be sufficient quantity Of the
coarser tobacco to let in the whole bail
Of fine and coarse goods at the lower duty,
under the then existing construction Of our
revenue officers. To defeat this fraud,
Secretary Fairchild in February last in.
structed the customs officers to open the
bales and assess each grade of tobacco at
itS proper duty.
Then the importers adopted new praC-
tice. They packed the leaves weighing just
under one hundred to the pound, in sepa.
rate bundles, for our market, and the i'm
portatic1 was suspended until the new
wrinkle could be put in operation in Su.
matra but since the close Of the summer
the importation has been very heavy, and
almost every bale has been under the 100
leaf limit, and has come in at the thirty
nve cent duty.
There is clearly an evasion here of the
spirit Of the law, and 1t was this which
Congress was asked TO correct by making a
uniform duty of seventy.fve cents on all
wrapper tobacco. 1t was reasonable re-
quest and wholly in the line Of honest ad-
ministration. II should have been passed
unanimously and would have been passed
II 1t had been possible to get proper COM
prehension Of the matter into the minds Of
an unprejudiced Congress.
1t was not surprising, after the Re
publican members and contingent of
Democrats had refused to hear Of tariff
reform, that the majority took them at
their word as to reform which they
wanted. 1t may be considered good
specimen of retributive justice.
Mr.. Breckenridge was mistaken in say.
ing that the Sumatra tobacco wraps the
poor mans cigar. 1t is not used on the
cheapest cigars. 1t is a smooth tobacco
OF uniform color, and is supposed to make
q better looking, and does make a more
salable cigar, than the homegrown wrap
per. 1t has bitter favor and really
makes the cigar worse in quality; but ap-
pearance seems TO be everything in the
trade.