The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1892-10-21
CIGAR SMOKERS TAKE noT'eE.

Ot0AU 0MONBoS s~NG w.
The Two Dollars Per Pound Tax M wrap
ping Tobacco Has seterioras~d Nonr ~
xars-it Has Also Reduced the Wages 81
sigarmaksrs a Driven >mAis Nanuisrs-
urcrs cut III uu-tness-lt po~~ >of Help
Tobacco Growers and benefits Oaiy Mo-
nopoiists-
There are many outrageous clauses
In the Mckinley bill-made by and for
those whom Il would protect-but none
perhaps more demagogic aud absurd
than the clause which raised the duty |
on Sumatra leaf tobacco from - aud
80 cents 70 &c per pound. This was
done ostensibly to protect the growers
Of tobacco to be used a wrappers for
cigars
| Before mentioning the effects upon
growers. cgarmakcrs and consumers
I of this tax IL will be worth while to mo-
tice the effect ~ the use Of snmatra
wrappers upon the cigar industry. II
is the importation aud general use OF
Sunatra leaf a. wrappers that has.
during the past ten years. built up the
cigar industry in hfnesica, made mar
ket for native tobaccos. given steady
employment NJ good wages 10 thou
sands OF ci-ar-wor.zcrs. and satisfied
the aesthetic TASTE OF millions %
smokers.
No tobacco ia the world is grown
more cheaply than Sumasra- The
growers get bat or 10 cents per
poaud for it, II is carried on the backs
of mules to the coast. where II Is bought
mostly by Amsterdam merchants The
COS. at Amsterdam does not usually ex-
coed 80 cents, but now il is controlled
, by syndicate. which holds IL at 50
, cents or more per pound II is this
tobacco that used to cost our cigar
manufacturers about $3.50 before the
) market began to feel the effects of the
, Mckinley bill early in is9)-when the
: price climbed to 81. so. 10 -. on up 70
4 s.; and above-so high that "A quantity
> of 80 Sumatra leaf recently sold for -
per pound The supply here OF snmatra
. and leaf tobacco IS largely held by
spectators who get artificial prices
!, the duty. "a usual. fostering combines
= The United States Tobacco Journal OF
September Is announces the completion
: az a leaf tobacco trust in Cincinnati
!, which viii be incorporated in New
= Jersey. and tie same journal of Septcm
q Der II reprints from the New forh
Z Tribune a list OF tifty-six millionaire
& who hare made their fortunes il tbs
q tcbacro inlustry-:Dany by speculatins
IL Sufnatri.
IL Not only did the use Of Samatr;
TX wrappers build up the industry here
A but. when the duty was light it en-
n. courared small manufacturers VIII
Of could always be certain Of obtaining
il supply OF good wrapping tobacco at
q fair price Before the introduction O
m Sumatra the larger manufacturers
is would buy up the best domestic wraI
X. ping tobacco early in the season an
the small manufacturer with but littl
he caDital had To do business IT grea
.ir disadvantage. With high duty I'll
II. tendency is to again put the manufac
20 IRE of cigars into the hands of larg
e. manufacturers and monopolists- Thu
lie in 1880. when the Mckinley bill too
ne effect. nearly all the large manufactu
ell crs had an eighteen months or tw
Ike years supply Of Suma:ra on hand VIII
in the small manufacturers had only fe
its months supply and soon had TO u
nd wrappers at $3.50 or ~. - and conpe
his with wrappers that cost 81 less p
ad, pound. This duty at once increased Il
al. Wholesale prices of cigars from 81 to
led per thousand on cent goods erha
ri. scvcn-eighths OF all Then the ira
nd became dcmoralized and manufacture
lad were compelled TO use cheaper oilers
10 make smaller cigars and in 9th
AZ. ways to deterioratc their goods. Oft'
,al they squared accounts by reduciI
ls's wages. The effect upon the ten
"a, twelve million consumers has been c
the asperating. That they still dcrnai
nd Sumatra wrapped cigars IS seen fro
,re the fact that there has been no gre
ON diminution in the imports of Sunat
"a. tobacco. The caTcct then has been b
upon The millions OF cigar smokers. u
on the tens OF thousands of cigar wor
crs. and upon thousands OF small man
facturers. Ii Is doubtful boon TO hu
drcds of large manufacturers 4
\ only real benefits expected from II
n dut- were 10 be conferred upon I
\ comparatively few growers of ''wrn
per- tobacco. Not that Mckinley. "
~ increased the duty at the in>tigation
~ onrressman I.aFollctte, Of Niscons
~ Woo t.s8t lTtsA- a tRtt 49, AW'fA = -
,rict. wished TO aid the tobacco gro
X crs AT the expense Of the general Pr
lie, but that he wished ID make rept
= Ii an votes in farming districts.
= Now it 50 happens that Connectie
= totbaco growers have been pro~pcrc
since 1890 and have been getting re
prices for their tobacco The New "
Tribune and other republican pap
have been accrediting this prosper
to Mckinley 50 vigorously that II
even made some of the democrats
ne Connecticut believe its nonsense !
had United States Tobacco Journal 81 ;
geo tember 10. in two-column editorl
shows that, by the Tribnnc's own adm
tho sions. Connecticut tobacco has been
lie improved by the use OF new fcrtiiiz
the that il Is lin appearance as good
SUR. Surna;ra and better in quality
course this is rot true or cigar ma
lin. facturcrs would not pay 81 for ~uma
5 as when they could get better for from
,cl. 10 50 cents: but il Is true that the
rms M