The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-04-19
WHOLESALE GRocERs A UNIT.
GOVERNMENT ENTITLED TO ALL
THE REVENUE 1T CAN GET.


THE REVENUE TT CAN GET.
GrOcers Think the Tobacco Tax WIN
BE Different From the Coffee Tax,
However-Large Purchases of To-
baccO Made Yesterday With the
Hope of Getting the Benefit of the
Increased Price When the Tax Is
Put on-ThOught That the Govern
ment VIII Not BE Able to Collect
Second Tax After the First Has
Been Paid.
The wholesale grocers' association did
not meet yesterday. Monday being a busy
day with the grocers, the meeting was
postponed until to-day. The purpose of
the meeting is to discuss war taxes on the
line already announced in the Morning
News, 1t having been announced that a
bill imposing. special taxes for war pur-
poses had been prepared for introduction
in the House.
There is no longer any necessity for
holding a meeting for this purpose, as the
grocers have practically all expressed
themselves on the subject, and there is a
practical unanin1ity among them. Their
conclusion is that it would be unfair to
the government not to collect the special
tax to be imposed upon coffee and tea
upon stocks now on hand or afioat for this
country, as the only result of such action
would be to place millions Of dollars in
the pockets of spectators without CORE
spending benefit sto the public and with
a heavy loss of revenue to the government
for some months to come.
Il have canvassed the wholesale grocers
of the city on this subject" said Presi-
GERS Association yesterday, land they are
practically a unit. Their position is as
stated by you in Sundays Morning News.
They think the government should get the
benefit of the large revenue which will re-
suit from collecting the special taxes en-
stocks on hand and afloat. 1t would be
money in our pockets should the govern
ment decide otherwise. The bulk of these
stocks is held in New York, however, and
the few thousands which we would make
here would not be drop in the bucket TO
the millions which would be made in New
York. all of which would be a direct loss
to the government
With regard to the taxes on tobacco, a
different impression prevails among the
grocers. There Is a belief, though it is
not held to as a certainty. that where the
government has once collected the revenue
and issued the stamps therefor, that It
cannot go back of the transact ton and col
lect additional taxes. IL this should be the
case, the holder of tobacco upon which
stamps had been issued would be the gain
er by just the amount of Increase In The
tax. AS a result, the Savannah grocers
nave been placing heavy orders for to-
bacco Probably more tobacco was sold
in Savannah yesterday than in any prevl-
Gus day in the history of the trade One
house placed an order for $1,000 pounds in
addition to otner large orders placed in
the last few days. Other houses placed
large orders. The representative of a we'll
known tobacco house of North Carolina
sold over $4,000 pounds by ] o'clock yes
terday.
I'VE are proceeding on the idea" said
President Ferst, that the increased tax
on tobacco will not apply to stocks on
which the internal revenue has already
been paid. We have placed large orders
by wire in the last few days In order that
the stamps may be secured before the
bill increasing the tax becomes a law.
1t requires a considerable outlay of money,
but on the other hand there is a pros
pect of neat profit The present tax on
tobacco is cents per pound. Should the
tax be increased 10 u cents there is a DIFF
ference of cents. The present average
price of tobacco is about 80 cents per
pound. Six cents on 30 is just 20 per cent,
a very neat profit
'It is not by any means certain that
we will realize on the specula-
ton continued Mr.. Ferst when
the duties on tobacco were de-
creased by the recent tariff act the
government sent its officers to measure up
all stocks on hand and the difference on
the amount on hand between the old and
the new duties was refunded. Now that
the tax is about to be increased the ques-
ton is will the rule work the other way
and will The government collect the differ
ence between the present duty and the
new duty on all stocks on hand? This
remains to be seem.
The question of the proposed war taxes
affords the grocers an interesting subject
of discussion. While proba bly, every whole
sale grocer in the city is opposed 10 war
they are not especially everse to war
taxes 1t is the old story that the con-
sumner pays the duty, not the merchant,
and the merchants have a well founded
impression that there is a better chance
for profits when prices are high than when
they are low.
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