The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-01-05

Was CeTldln lllal uo LlSHeE Ehte Ol outy than fifty-flve cents pere pound for un- stemmed tobacco could be borne by the makers.
 The manufacturers, he thought, were entitled to protection of $5 per pound and 25 per cent. ad valorem on im- ported cigars.
 Replying to a question as to the amount of wrappers that came in un- fairly as filters at S5 per cent, he said it was enough to cover about 3,Oo0,oOO cigars. It was extremely difficult to determine the difference between wrap- per and filler tobacco, especially in the Cuban product.
 F B. Gumby of Tampa. Fla, spoke for the makers of clear Havana cigars. It took about five pounds of Havana tobacco, he said, to wrap q thousand cigars, whereas but two pounds of { Sumatra were required. It was true that only about per cent. of the Havana tobacco imported paid duty as wrappers. These goods were imported in bulk and the wrappers selected after importation. Until this tobacco was unpacked, stripped and prepared for use no one could tell the wraper from the filler. If a high rate of duty was placed on this class of tobacco 1t would prohibit it's importation and drive the makers of clear Havana cigars out of business. The makers of Havana cigars paid about as much duty on wrappers as did importers of other wrappers. A uniform specific duty on all to- bacco, he said, would probably yield a revenue equal to the present, but if , what the tobacco growers said to-day was true, there would not be much left Of the poor New York and New Eng land tobacco farmers.
 George J. Smith, 8. cigar manufac- turer of New York, replying to MT. Gumby, said that the Florida manufac- turers performed the miracle of wrap ping 100000, ,000 cigars annually with ] 50,OO0 pounds of tobacco. It was we'll known that the law was evaded in Florida. There were about 29,0C0 cigar makers in the United States employing 00O hands, using the Sumatra goods, and he asked if it was fair to discrim- mate against these in favor of a few makers In Florida Last year there was impoEted on which duty was paid. but 22,0OO pounds of Havana wrappers, while there was produced here 150,000,- 900 clear Havana cigars.
 l.. H. Neudecker of Baltimore said that the cigar makers of his city fav- ored duty of fifty cents a pound, and none other, on all imported leaf to- bacco This, in his opinion, would | give adequate protection and yield sufficient revenue.
 J. L. Ellison, editor of the United States Tobacco Journal, corrected the statement that the Sumatra tobacco was raised by pauper labor He as- serted that the cost of raising this to- bacco was 241a cents per pound. The laborers who worked the tobacco were hired by the season and were housed, fed and clothed.
 | George Mitchelson, a grower of Con- necticut tobacco, advocated a duty of $5 per pound on Sunlatra. It was, he here, and he wanted. to see it kicked out. If it could be kept out the grow CTS of this country could make their business pay They made money and were prosperous before Sumatra was so generally used In his opinion it's ex- cluson would advance the price of the domestic product to thirty cents a pound.
 The committee adjourned until to- morrow, when the agricultural sched- ule will be taken up, including live stock, dairly products, fish, meats and salt.