The Forrest City times., 1891-10-23
A TRUST IN CIGARS FORMED.
How the Manufacturers win Take Full Ad-
 vantage of the Mckinley Tarin.

This time it is the cigar manufactur. CTS. Mckinley adde1 several boards to the already high fence around the cigar industry. The duty on ordinary cigars is now from ljO t) 200 per cent Of course, only expensive cigars are import cd, on which the duty, being mostly specific. Is much less Dome tic prices have been advanced several points, but they are still often below the level of the top of the new tariff feuce. I he situa- tion is tempting to manufacturers who consider 1t a dsgra c to their calling to let such an opportunity go to waste.
 Large cigar manufact lrers of New York, PoughkeepSie and Binghamton held meeting early in October Tue objects of these meetings, as reported fin the papers were to form cigar trust, with a capital of S25, ,001, GOO. to crush the life out of small manufacturers and labor unions, and 10 raise prices.
 Mr. Theodore II. Allen, of Is Broad way, in whose 0 lice tho meetings were held, is tho reputed father of this im- mense trust He admits that meetings were held. but" he says, "they were to discuss business prospects and possibly to devise some means of reducing prices.
 MllliDns Ot SfnOkcTS Niii HNdlb Wllu anxiety the outcome of this attempt to "devise some means of reducing prices They know how extremly difficult and risky it is for single manufacturer to lower prices when profits become SD high as to impinge upon his sensi- tive conscience. The people ace be- coming accustomed to these meetings held for their benefit. They expect philanthropic manufacturers to go to much trouble and expense to lower prices. Consumers might at first resist reductions if they thought that only few firms were concerned.
 There are l5. GOO to 20,00O cigar manu- lecturers in the United States but less than 200 control the majority of the capital. Wbether O. not the 200 can so unite as to Xii out, or buy out, the majority of the smaller manufacturers, and suppress cigarmakcrs' unions, 1t is certain that the Mckinley tariff bill has greatly favored large and discouraged small manufacturers One of the ways in which it did this was by increasing the duty on tobacco to be nsed as wrappers from 75 cents to s2. 15 per pound As Sumatra tobac 70 about the only kind heretofore used as wrap per') costs only from 40 10 50 cents per pound in Amsterdam the rate of duty Is nearly zoo per cent Small manufac- turers with little credit and less capital. were unable to buy more than few ba es of Sumatra tobacco before the duty was advanced. These were eX- hausted in lew months and now these unfortunate manufacturers, unable 10 pay S3.a0 per pound for wrappers that cost their competitors g, have been trying to convince the trade that domes. tic are just as good as imported wrap pers The trade is only convinced against it's will and is inctining more and more towards the wealthy manu- lecturers who still have on hand from one to two years supply of Snmatra to- bac %, and who take pleasure in sup plying goods in familiar wrappers The small manufacturers are now weakened from heavy loses of Mckinleyism and can offer but feeble resistance to the at ta ks of their more fortunate and az gressiVe brethren