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

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 and Means to Impose a Heavy Duty on
 sumatra stock-such Action Would In
 crease the Price of Domestic Tobacco 30
 Cents u Pound-A Plea for Protection.
 Washington, Jan. 4-The tobacco schedule was the subject of the hearing before the ways and means committee to-day. Michael Tobin of Baldwins- vile, N. Y., representing the New York State Tobacco Growers association, of which he has been president nine years, was the first witness. He said the to- bacco growers were badly in need of relief. They had expended vast sums in warehouses, etc, and had been, until the importation Of Sumatra began, fair ly prosperous. Tobacco farms were then worth $125 an acre.
 Such farms now were generally mort gagged and would not to-day liquidate their encumbrances. He did not think it fair that the Holland syndicate, which employed coolie labor at 12 cents day should be allowed to annihilate the great leaf tobacco industry in this country. He denied that American leaf was not suitable for wrappers. Su- matra, he said, had no merit, except in appearance.
 He was not prepared to suggest a schedule until he had further consulta- tion with his association, but he did not hesitate to say that $2 on unstemmed wrappers was not enough.
 In reply to a question from MT. Payne MT. Tobin said that one and | one-half pounds of Sumatra would wrap 1000 cigars, while it would take sixteen pounds of American to secure enough wrappers for 1000 cigars.
 Frederick A. Schroeder, ex-mayor of Brooklyn, said that in 1890 he had then protested on behalf of the importers | against Q differential rate of duty on the wrapper leaf He had said at that time that such a rate would not per- manently benefit the domestic grower, but would very much disarrange and injure the business of cigar making. He thought he could prove that what he had said then had come true. He | leaf tobacco from a differential of $1. 50 per pound on wrappers and 35 cents a pound on filters to a uniform specific rate on all unstemmed leaf tobacco, with a. reasonable addition, also specl- 1 fic, not exceeding 40 per cent. on stem med leaf He believed rate of fifty cents pound on imported leaf tobac- co was all the trade could stand.
 | The chairman called Mr. Schoeder's S attention to the fact that the foreign price of Sumatra tobacco had largely l gone up between 1893, when the duty was S2 a pound, and 1926, when the duty 1 was $l.50, and asked whether the for | eigners had taken advantage of the re- | duction in duty to put up the price in a corresponding degree.
 Mir. Schroeder did not coincide in that view, remarking that the increase in price was larger between 1893 and 1894 1 75 cents a pound-during which period the Mckinley law was in force, than it was between 1894 and 1S96 Besides, the | consumption of Sumatra tobacco was not limited to the United States. It was used for cigar wrappers in every country in Europe. He added that there was no market anywhere for American wrappers.
 1 Moses Krohn, president of the Ma tional Association of Cigar Manufac- turers, said that cigar manufacturers well understood the conditions which rendered a revision of the tariff neces- sary at this time, and they did not ap- pear for the purpose of asking any ex- emption from bearingsR just and prop CT share of the burdens of maintaining the government, which compared with other industries, they had borne in ex- cess of their proportion The total amount of tobacco withdrawn for con- June 30 last was 143, ,4S2,72S pounds. on which were paid dues amounting to $74,71S,013, which showed an average | duty on all kinds of tobacco of 52. 35 cents per pound. The output of cigars in the United States for the past fiscal year was 4,039, 137, S55, which was a de- crease of over 64,50O,0 900 from the pre- ceding year, whereas the output of ci- garettes had increased by nearly SS2, ,000,. 900. The business of manufacturing ci. gars was not an increasing or a profit. able one, as compared with other in- 1 dustries
 1 The difference in the duty on wrap. per and filler tobacco had also begot. ten an unfair competition in the trade because in many ports of entry fully 95 per cent. of all unstemmed tobaccc imported from Cuba and perhaps ever a larger proportion had been entered under the thirtyfive cents per pound filler duty. Not only had the govern nent lost large amount of revenue but an unhealthy, unfair and most in equitable competition had been ren. dered possible and indirectly encour, aged. This condition of things hat operated most disastrously to the cigar manufacturers and their workmen.
 He suggested uniform duty of no exceeding fifty-flve cents per pound or all tobaccos unStemmed This. ht said, would afford the growers as full and fair protection as could be giver by any tariff not virtually prohibitory and would yield a proper revenue. 4 fifty-flve cent duty at the present aver. age price of tobacco would be a pro. tective tariff of about zoo per cent. Tn, growers of tobacco should receive thu