The daily morning journal and courier., 1894-08-16
WE'LL PROTECTED.
Connecticut Tobacco Industry.

Hc fluItluTu lllHte itlH"'hb' e''
 tobacco growers Of Connecticut fare
 quite we'll under the new tarif bill, The duty of si,5O per pound on impor'
 ted wrappers Is wise protection or our
 native tobacco against the cheap eooiie
 product of Sumatra, Under 1t our
 growers can continue to produce tobac- co at fair profit.
 They may regard 1t as fortunate that
 the duty is placed at so high figure
 when 1t is considered that the demand
 for heavy reduction of the duty on foreign tobacco came from tens of thou- sands of citizens engaged. not in tobac- co production. but in various kinds Of tobacco manufacturing Numerically. they far exceed the number of tobacco farmers.
 Our growers may thank Mir. Sperry for having the duty fixed at sl.bo in- stead of sl. The senate preferred the latter figure. but the $50 rate was al. lowed to stand in the bill on MT. Sper- rvs arguments and presentation of facts in regard to revenue and the in- terests of homo producers"
 The Hartford Post says: There Is relief felt among the grow CTS and handlers of tobacco in this vi- cinity over the news from Washington that congress has agreed on q customs duty of sl.50 per pound on Sumatra tobacco. Ever since the pres ent congress convened. and began tink- ering with the tariff, the tobacco Inter- ests of the Connecticut valley have suf- fered severely from the uncertainty as to what the democratic congress would do with Sumatra tobacco. Dealers have been buying from growers in small quantities, and cigar manufac- turers have purchased no more Con- necticut tobacco than was absolutely necessary, while at the same time leav- ing their Sumatra stock in bond. All this has had the effect of partially par alyzing the industry. But the news from the national capital has cleared the atmosphere to some extent.
 The Wilson bill, as it first passed the house, provided for duty of but s1 a pound on Sumatra tobacco. reducing the present tariff just one-half, but when the bill reached the senate and MT. Platt, of the New England Tobac- co Growers association, made a splen- did fight for the tobacco grower, with the result that the tariff bill, if it be- comes a law, makes the duty $1.50 pound only reducing the present duty 25 per cent.
 This" said w. F. Fuller, the we'll known State street leaf tobacco dealer this morning q regard as a signal victory for the Connecticut grower. The duty of $1.5O will be satisfactory to be considered a victory for the farmers. The law previous to what is known as the Mckinley tariff, had what may call sliding scale for Sumatra tobacco, and I think the duty only averaged about 52R cents a pound, the maximum duty being 75 cents and the minimum 35 cents. So you see the Wilsan bill leaves the farmer nearly a dollar a pound better off than they were previ- ous to the Mckinley tariff. The duty of $1.5O pound will cut no figure with the '93 tobacco, which was so poor a crop as to be fit only for binders and filters. What effect it will have on the good crops of '91 and '92 cannot say. That this action of con- gress will send the price of Connecticut tobacco up there can be no doubt, but fv,,n pn,oon NnY that the present supply of domestic to- bacco is greater by far than the de- mand.
 L. M. Dickenson said; "The passage of the Wilson act will relieve, the mar ket considerable, but how much it will benefit the dealer am not prepared to say. It will certainly benefit the man ufacturer, and relieves the grower of his suspense and uncertainty. It will not affect the '93's crop, however, which was so poor that 1t sold for from ten to fifteen cents pound-sometimes less" MT. Miller, of the firm of Miller & Diamond, said; T am glad congress has seen fit to do something. If this had been done six months ago we would all be better to-day. Reducing the ta- riff from $2 to $1.50 pound has hurt the farmers. but has not affected the dealer, and has benefited the manufae- turers In other words it is a stand off," I confess that my opinion has all ways been that the price of Connecti- cut tobacco has been too high. It's
 greatest benefit is to the cigar manu- lecturers who have Sumatra tobacco in
 bond, for they can take it out at fifty
 cents a pound less when the tariff be-
 comes a law"