The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1888-07-26
STAUNTON, VIRGINIA. JULY 26 1888.
Tax on Tobacco.
REMARKS OF MR.. j. YOsT.

i REMARKS OF MR.. j. YOST.
| In the House On Monday last the inter-
nal revenue part of the Mills bill was under
consideration. We quote from the pro
ceedings, as reported in the Congressional
Record of that date:
| Mr.. Chairman. 7 he Chair has recognized
! the gentleman from Virginia Mr.. Yost
| Mr.. Yost. move the following amend
| ment.
| The clerk read as follows:
| In the lines 2 and 8. page SO, strike out the
| work ''chewlngn and the words smoking
| tobacco" and in line insert after the
word s'leaf' the words ''or manufactured
so that it shall readI
al taxes on manufactured tobacco and
| snuff. all special taxes upon manufacturers
or dealers i'll said articles. and all taxes
upon wholesale and retail dealers in leaf or
| manufact ured tobacco be, and are hereby
/ repealed
| The Chairman The Chair thinks that
the amendment is not an amendment to
the pending amendment.
| Mr.. Y oSt. 1t covers the same points and
also provides for repeal of the tax on all
dealers in tobacco as well as the manufac-
! turers thel eof.
| The Chairman. The amendmet only re-
lates to cigarettes and cheroots.
! Mr.. 4 ost. This is intended to embrace
| cigarettes and cheroots, and it does EN-.
brace them, as it relates TO all manufac
turers of and dealers in tobacco.
Mr.. Wise. l have not had the oppor .
tunity to examine the gentlemans amend
as mine; that is, repeal of the tobacco
tax
| Mr.. Yost Yes, that.is the object of my
amendment.
Mr.. Wise. My object is to repeal the en-
tire tobacco tax.
Mr. Yost. Y GU do not state it then in
your amendment.
Mr.. Wise. But that is the object of the
amendment.
The Chairman. The Chair will enter
tain the amendment of the gentleman
from Virginia Mr.. Yost] as an amend
ment to the amendment upon the principle
that the greater includes the less.
Mr.. Yost My colleague Mr.. Wise], in
view the same object which my amend
ment is designed to accomplish, and the
truth is the gentleman has made about the
Same speech which intended to make.
If, Mr.. Chairman, the representatives
of Virginia stood as solidly on every single
solitary item of the Mills bill as they stand
On the tobacco feature it would be a great
deal better fer the State and for the people
who are directly interested in the prCduc-
ton of very many of the articles which
that measure so disastrously affects. APP
pIause.
Tobacco is just as much product of
the soil as corn or wheat or any other kind
of grain. and why it should be insisted
that you shall place such restrictions upon
an agricultural product | can not under
stand. 1t is a restriction not imposed
upon any other product of the soil. In
time of war it is true we needed the
money derived from this taxation. 1t
then became matter of public necessity.
But that time has happily passed away,
and the greatest difficulty we now have to
contend with is how to get rid of our sur
plus revenues.
Here, as [ said, is a strictly agricultural
product which. it seems to me, every con-
sideration Of right demands should be
placed upon footing with other agricul.
tural products, The burden imposed upon
it should be removed. It has an unjust,
inequitable discrimination which has all
ready been too long tolerated and for the
continued imposition of which no reason
able excuse Can be given.
So far as the bill affects manufactured
tobacco, and L refer now to the regular
bill pending, it retains the tax on the E,an-
ufacture of cheroots, cigars, and cigarettes.
The rest Of the tax is repealed. That may
be all right so far as the interests Of the
| large manufacturing establishments are
involved. They doubtless want this re-
striction. But, Mr.. Chairman, it is not all
right so far as the small manufacturers in
our tobacco districts throughout the South
ern States are concerned.
Here are cigar makers carrying on little
establishments at many of the cross roads
poor men, men who are dependent on
their own lahor-who are forced to sell
the. manufactured product on sixty and
ninety days time, and yet the revenue tax
must be paid at once 1t is not only IN
fair to them to be required to pay for the
| of fao of h1t iu
greyous wrong to compel them to pay the
tax upon the product as soon as it is man
ufactured and yet have to walt two or
three months for their money. They are
not able to do it. Their capital is their
skill and labor. This they must employ to
the best advantage in order to gain live
lihood at all. They must sell their product
and get quick return for it or they must
retire from the business. To remove
practically all of the other restrictions
upon the manufacture of tobacco and re-
tain the tax on cigars means the crushing
out of the individual cigar maker and a
concentration of the business in the hands
of large establishments.
| AllOW. MI kudll ludu, GlldG Sdl uldhCIO
of the North-those who live in the large
cities-have petitioned Congress to retain
the tax on cigars. 1t may be to their best
interest that this should be done, but it is
not to the interest of the cigar maker of
the South, who owns his own little estab
| lishment and wants to turn his time and
skill to the best account. His desire and
the desire of the people represent is that
the whole system of internal revenue, so
far as it relates to tobacco, shall be wiped
out.
They want this odious supervision of
| the General Government abolished. They
want the privilege of raising tobacco and
disposing Of it as they may think best, and
without having Federal officer Messing
around their doors or the fear of technical
violation of law and consequent cost and
trouble continually overshadowiDg them.
This is a matter Of simple justice to them,
| r bo oh1n