Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-10-30
TARIFF AND TOBACCO.
Effects of the Mckinley Bill on the Nico-
tine Industry.


| The tariff Oh stemmed leaf suitable for
! cigar wrappers has been raised from 81 to
! 81 Is a pound Free trade papers have
distorted this fact into a statement that
| the price of cigars will be greatly increas-
ed without any corresponding benefit to
anybody. How much truth there is in
such campaign talk can be seen from a
case here given.
Last spring Buffalo cigar maker real
izing that the republican party would
keep its promise to revise the tariffs, and
that the duties on tobacco would be in
creased, planted two acres of land between
Eden Valley and Hamburg with Connecti-
cut broad-leaf as an experiment. He be-
lieved the government would protect his
venture. The crop has just been cut, and
will not only equal the Connecticut leaf in
texture and color, but large part of it
gives promise, it is said, of developing the
peculiar shade and bright brown spots for
which the Sumatra wrapper is so highly
priced.
Last spring the land which produced
this crop could have been had for 500 an
acre. Now not an acre can be bought
anywhere around for less than $3.50. The
owner of the crop mentioned received an
offer of $3.50 for it as it stood, but he de-
clined it. AS result of these prices, at
least forty acres will be set out next spring,
and number of Hamburg's leading bust
ness men talk of forminga stock company
and building a big tobacco factory. 1t IS
interesting to note that one of the men
who propose to profit by this direct effect
of the Mckinley bill is Thomas l.. Bunting,
the ardent free trader who is the demo-
cratic candidate for congress IN the Thirty
third district
So much for the producers side of the
new tobacco tariff effects. The consum-
er's side is that it promises to develop a
homegrown leaf the equal in every way
of the Sumatra leaf which has been popu-
! lar mainly because OF its color. I'm
prejudiced smokers testify that the flavor
of the American leaf is as good as that of
the imported article, and that when the
latter goes out of use, men will wonder
why they ever preferred it.
After May l all taxes on tobacco dealers
will be repealed, and on Jan. all internal
taxes on smoking and manufactured to-
b2Cco will be reduced to 6 cents pound
while all provisions Of the statues i'm
posing restrictions of any kind whatso-
ever upon farmers and growers of tobacco
are repealed. This means cheaper cigars
OF better ones for the money.
So what does this hue-and-cry about the
prize of cigars under tire Mckinley act
amount TOP Just this, cigars Of the same
quality as can now be bought for 10 cents,
for instance, will either be made cheaper
or will be made larger. Five-cent cigars
will in the future be found good enough
for the man who has always paid twenty
five cents for three weeds. Havana cigars
are luxuries, pure and simple. The tariff
on them has been raised, as it should have
been, but the laboring man doesn't care a
continental. The price of his tabacco has
been reduced, and the farmer will make
more money out of his tobacco crops thao
before and more money out of his farm
because he has turned his attention to to-
bacco raising.