The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-01-18
T he Death Blow to the
Cigar rade.
INTERNAL REVENUE LAW
SMALL MANUFACTURERS CAM
NOT GET ANY TOBACCO.
A Ruling That Appears to Have Been
Made in the Interests Of
Those Who Would
Monopolize.

The recent ruling Of the Commissioner of
Internal Revenue, by which dealers in
tobacco are prohibited from selling the
article in broken packages or small guam
titles, promises to make lots of trouble
for those who are unable to purchase in
original packages. In fact 1t now appears
that it Is "all up with the hundreds of
small manufacturers of cigars and several
thousands of cigar-makers who have di-
rectly or indirectly been making a fair
living under the old system. In times past
small manufacturers of cigars in this city
purchased their material from the to-
bacco dealers in such quantities as the
trade demanded and their means permit
ted. In this way they were able to get
few pounds at time, give work to one,
two or even half dozen cigar-makers
make their sales and buy more for anoth-
er lot.
The ruling of the Commissioner the
other day made this impossible, the or
der being that tobacco must be sold by
the dealers in the original packages AS
these packages, cases and bundles cost
from $500 to $500 and several different
kinds are sometimes necessary to effect
desired blends capital amounting some
times to several thousand dollors is re-
quired.
AS may be expected the small makers
in this city were greatly alarmed and at
once took such means as lay in their
power to call the attention of the Com
missioner to the injustice done them and
the disastrous results that would follow.
The officers of the Chamber of
Commerce, the City and State Boards
of Trade, the Manufacturers and Pro-
ducers and Merchants associations at
once became interested, for they had rea-
hzed that to throw 1000 cigar makers out
of employment would be to drag three
times that number of persons dependent
upon that business down to the lowest
stages of poverty. The thought of the
community having to provide for the dis
tress of such number was so appalling
that the commercial people at once placed
themselves in communication with the
powers that be at Washington to see if
the unjust ruling could not be modified
An examination of the statutes convinced
them that there was some hope, as shown
by the following dispatch that was sent
last Saturday by the presidents of the
bodies mentioned:
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. Il, 1899
To the Honorable Commissioner of Internal
Revenue. washington IS dIa D; C:-sir: Treasury
tobacco in quantities less than a bale, case,
etc, seems to be in conflict with the follow
section 3244, Revised Statutes:
Provided it shall be lawful for any licensed
bacco of any licensed dealer or other manu-
facturer in quantities less than the original
clusively."
In considering the matter your attention had
probably not been directed to this clear and
unambiguous statutory provision, and conse-
Quently it must have been overlooked Would
you please re-investigate the question as speed
lily as possible, and In the meantime order a
suspension of proceedings on that decision?
We call your attention to the fact that the
remaining in force of your ruling will virtu-
ally destroy the cigar manufacturing industry
in this State, and entail great distress upon
thousands of employees and their families.
Their hopes were dashed TO the earth
yesterday by the receipt of telegram
from headquarters which shows that the
ruling must have been made in the inter
ests of the wealthy manufacturers of
cigars, who in the past have done all in
their power to monopoliZe the cigar bust
ness. Tbs is the dispatch:
Mr.. Hugh Craig President Chamber of Com
merce, San Francisco, January 16, 1899: Section
So of the act of August rs, 1894, repeats in part
subdivision G. section 3244. Increased rates of
tax on tobacco products enforces a more care
full supervision over the sale and disposition
of leaf tobacco Treasury decisions 20 260 and
20, 1894 afford manufacturers ample opportunity
to purchase from other manufacturers, under
special permit authorizing sale, small quanti-
ties of unstemmed, stemmed, resweated or
C. w WILSON, Acting Commissioner
The clause to the effect that the small
manufacturers may secure all the tobacco
they want from the large manufacturers
might as we'll never have been inserted
for it is not at all likely that the larger
makers of cigars will furnish the smaller
makers with the material with which to
compete for trade in the open market.
The former cannot be compelled to sell,
and there is nothing for the unfortunates
to do but close up shop, unless the entire
business communities of this and every
city in the Union unite in a general de-
mand for the repeal of the Commission
er's unfair ruling. 1t is stated that to
throw the small cigarmakers of the
United States out of employment would
cause more distress than has been exDeri-
enced for years and extend over more
territory.