Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-02-13
LIVE WASHINGTON WAITS.
Congress. Called on to Suppress the Manu-
facture of Observation-Disclosures of the
Duty on Barley-Flax and Its Acreage in
the limited States

pare q bill invoking the paternal condemna-
tion of the Government upon the cigarette
habit. Representatives Cochran, Cummings
and Stshlnecker, of New York, all have in
their possession bills which they have been
petitioned to introduce, providing for the
suppression of cigarette manufacture by i'm
posing an internal revenue tax of $40 thou
sand on all imported or domestic cigarettes
sold i'll this country. Accompanying the
memorial is a statement which says:
Clippings taken from papers throughout
the United States show that during the past
year there have died about 100 dozen OF
young men, mostly under is years of age,
from the effects of smoking Daper-wrapped
cigarettes; in some cases there have been
analyses of the stomach, and in most in
stances there has been found acid, phosphor-
ous and arsenic which is largely used III the
manufacture of cigarette paper. Also, the
same clippings will show that about 100 men
have been consigned to insane asylums.
from the same cause. There has been In
about 40 of the different States law passed
prohibiting the sale of paper-wrapped cigar
cites to minors under l6 years of age. There
has never yet been chemist of any resron-
slDll1ty who has eXamipcd paper-wrapped
cigarettes who has not most decidedly pro-
nounced them injurious The internal
revenue tax is now 80 cents per LOGO paper
wrapped cigarettes of less than three
pounds weight per 1000 cigarettes To ac-
complish what the different States have ana
by prohibiting their smoking paper-wrapped
cigarettes-a law should be passed this Con-
gress making the internal revenue tax $40
per LOCO on all paper-wrapped, imported or
domestic, cigarettes. This would place them
AZ price that children could not pay, and
go further than any State legislation can do
and meet with the approval OF every man
and woman in the country
Following the statement are the names
and former addresses of over 200 people of
the various sections, of the United States
who have during the past year died or
grown hopelessly insane as the effect of the
cigarette habit. Representative Cochran
will file his bill with the Ways and Means
committee, of which he is member, Tor
such action as that committee may deem
proper.
THERE is practical unanimity among
Democratic members of the Ways and
Means Committee in favor of the bill of Re-
preventative Fitch, of New York, reducing
the duty on barley and hops, and there is
little doubt that this measure will be favor
ably reported to the House. At to-day's
meeting of the Democratic members of the
committee, Representative Lockwood and
Fitch, both of New York, made an extended
argument in favor of the bill and main
tanned that the mailing interests of the
country are being seriously impaired by the
operation OF the Mckinley bill. The price
of American barley, the speaker stated, in
stead of advancing, as prophesied by the
advocates of the Mckinley bill, has con-
stantly gone down since that law went into
effect. The price of Canadian barley, on
the other hand, has remained substantially
the same. So tar rs the Democratic mem
bers are concerned there appeared no oppo-
sition to Mr. Fitch's bill, and the New York
Congressman hope to have it reported IA
vorably at an early day. The bill intro
duced by Mr.. Fitch amends the law so as to
make the duty on barley 10 cents perb
40 oIs0
bushel of "a pounds, and on hops, cents per
pound.
THE Superintendent of Census has sent to
the Press u bulletin on fax production pre-
pared by Special Agent Hyde, in charge of
the Division of Agriculture. 1t shows the
total amount of land devoted to the cultiva-
tion of flax in the United States in 1889 to
have been ,6s9 acres; the production of
fiaxseed, II, $50, ,4l0 bushels; the production Of
fiber, "a, ,3s9 pounds; the amount of flax
straw sold or so utilized as to have de-
terminsble value, 2O7,757 tons, and the total
value of all flax products, $40 4S6, ,22s. Al
though flaxseed is reported from 81 States
Minnesota, South Dakota Iowa and Ne
braska produced s0.0j OF the total amount,
or l035, ,6l3 bushels in excess of the entire
production of the United States at the census
of 1885, HIaIseed is now cultivated almost
exclusively for seed, and i'll the old fiber
producing States its cultivation is almost
entirely abandoned. South Dakota had the
largest acreage in 1889, and Minnesota the
largest production of seed. OF the States
containing 1000 acres or upward in flax,
yield of f1a1seed per acre, 1l.42 BUSH
els, and the highest average value
per acre OF all flax products, SIS 49, The
average yield for the entire country was III
bushels per acre. Throughout the greater
portion of the principal haxseed-producing
region, flax straw is OF little or no value, and
much of the so-called fiber is only an in
ferior quality of tow, used chiefly for up
holsterlng purposes. There are Indications.
however, or the revival in the United States
of the use of linen that will afford a market
for fine flax fiber of domestic production,
and revive a branch of agriculture that has
for many years been almost extinct. No
previous census report. contained any sta
tistics of the acreage in fax or of the value
of flax products.
The Senate Committee on Agriculture
to-day considered the resolution OF Senator
George relative to the appointments OF a
committee to inquire into the cause of the
low price of cotton and the depressed con-
dition of agriculture in the cotton-raising
districts, and agreed to report back to the
Senate an amendment in the nature of
substitute authorizing the committee to
make general Investigation for the pur-
pose of ascertaining the present condition
of agriculture in the United States the pres
ent prices of agricultural products, and if
there be any of which the prices are de-
pressed, the causes of such depression and
the remedies therefor The line marked out
by the committee~is to appoint sub-com-
mittee to investigate the agricultural con-
ditions of the cotton States and to inquire
also into the present state of agriculture In
the grain and meatproducing States and
Territories, the aim being to cover the whole
subject of agriculture, with a view of de-
termining what legislation, If any, Is neces-
sary for the relief of the farm country. The
resolution will be reported to the Senate
Monday.
THE silver men have eight or ten petitions
in circulation on the Democratic side of the
House urging that the silver bill be made
special continuing order, and they had
early to-day secured about 100 signatures
There are some doubts entertained as to the
cxpediency of the silver movement, but
the silver men believe it may advance con-
sideration of the bill, and are doing what
they can to bring the matter to ali issue
early in the session. The resolution intro
duced by Mr.. Bland the day he reported the
bill fixed February II, which is next
Wednesday, as the day on which the silver
bill should be taken up, but it is not e1-
pected by the silver men that they will sue.
coed in getting it up so early, and they will
can be secured naming later date on which
the bill shall be taken up. There is earnest
work being done on both sides of this ques-
tion, but at the present time it is in quiet
way The anti-silver men are urging delay,
and are working to that end in the hope that
there may be developments which will aid
their cause and enable them to find
some way out of their difficulty. The free
coinage men are in favor of speedy action,
and say that on political grounds alone,
aside from the monetary principle involved.
the sooner the issue is met the better The