The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-02-21

walter werman in Chicago Times
Herald)
WashingtCn-An ugly scandal lies half
concealed in the war tax reduction bill.
The great tobacco trust has been made a,
present of about 100000 through the Ia
vOritism Of its friends in the senate com
mittee on finance.
When the extraordinary bill Of the sen
ate committee was made public the shares
of the American Tobacco company rose
eleven points IN the Ne@ YORK sCOcn mar
ket, ana II is Understood that certain SEN
atOrs prouUed ny their INSIDE ln-orma-
tIon concerning the royal gIIt that was
10 be mace 70 the trust.
For scme time It has been rumored that
the tO1accO monopoly has powerful
friends IN the finance committee, and
that they had SUCCEEDED IN working one
OF the pretuest schemes known 10 the
annals OF American legislation. But 1t
was only during the last rev days mat
known.
As Senator Tillman said, characteristic
calty but indignantly about the SUBSIDY
blil, the deeper we get INTO IL the louder
il stinks."
The war tax reduction bill is now in the
hands OF q conference committee repre-
sentlng the two houses, and this scandal
IS stirring up the anger and fndlgnaC iOn o.
the house cOnIeTeeS ana their colleagues
TO such an extent that they swear bsAofe
high heaven the scheme Snan not be
consummated, even IL ali war tax reduc-
ton Legislation fails. 1t Is well to re-
member that oath ana await results.
9 q g
To their surprise and CONSERVATION, the
house cOnferees have discovered that the
senate bill makes a total reduction Of
about SlN,Us0,J,J on cigars and tobacco OF
all sorts. Where the house Dill reduced
these take S3.ZUU.J1J on ali cigars, the SEN
ate goes them SI5,OoJ,GG9 better.
The power of the UOBacCO trust in the
senate committee is shown IL the tact
"a of = f-sf "a M n y-o Gr-T
by the senate, Sl,CO0,Jv0 Is on goods in
which the two tobacco cOm-alie les. the
American and the COnuneEo3i (wnicn are
really the same concern and Nl:tuaiy
under the same management have al
most monopoly.
1t has been computed by experts that
these two corporations will beuerst to the
extent or 100000 II the senate bin pre-
ValIS. as they control about % per cent
Of the business in manufactured tobacco
In this connection it is recalled that
when the senate bill was reported the
committee made no detailed estimate of
the effect OF Its provisions IN reduction
OF revenues, but issued a general ana
unsigned statement 10 the eILect that the
/ total reduction would be "a little less
than the house bill.
Nor Is there any record that adequate
/ explanation of toe bal was Offered on the
] floor OF the senate during as DrIeI con-
I sideration. The upper branch actually
ably not nl0Ie tnan dozen OF the Sena-
/ tors actually understood ITS PROVISIONS,
and they. Tor same reason, were sIlen..
No one understood that the tobacco mo-
nopoly was beng made a present OF
1 NS,Jtc,VJA. Otherwise IL is only lair 10
/ suppose that there are senator's who
would have objected, who would have GX-
pose0 the iniquity OF the scheme
rms legislation wIH pass INTO history
/ as an example Of the sleek work that
can be done IN Jhe senate when great
! corporations know where to go for their
attorneys and tine workers
Instead OF reducing the revenues "a lit
tie less than the house DILL, the senate
/ bill viii PROBABLY reduce them 50. -35,0yJ OF
/ $leOC0,CJ E1oTe. The SENATE gives the to-
: bacco ana cigar people $1S,C-J,6-J, and Il
/ gives lne brewers &l4,v-5,y,l Here IS To-
tai OF $32,cj0.O0J to Two industries. The
other reductions carried by the senate
/ OIL are estimated at SIS,U53,OJJ OF more.
/ In other words, more than Jhree-tutns
! or the whole Teuucuon IS gwen 30 Caese
/ two industries.
! Here are the figures which tell the
story OF this extraordinary legislative
favoritism:
ESTIMATED reduction by
House blil- SeEa e nlh-
} Beer .......... .....-$lO,cG0,Jj Sl4.03J.0y-
/ Manufactured tobacco -. 5000
/ Cigarettes -....- ---- $500. 2,0gJ.CUl
Little cigars --.-..-- $780,. $4,000
Totals ...... 49,. .s13. 2Go0}o SCI. 710.0y
/ The senate friends of the tobacco mo-
+ nOpoly reduced the tax on manufactured
! JC-acco from y to cents per pound on
/ cigarettes from $3.50 to 81 cents per thou
} sand, on little cigars from 81 TO 81 cents
! Per thousand. and on cigars as follows
] Valued at more than S36 a thousand, from
/ $50 TO $3.50 per thousand; valued at less
/ than $50 per thousand, from $3.50 to SIT
] per thousand.
/ About 1.Cc0CG0,000 cigars will come IN
/ der the first class and about 5OCg, O00, CG-
/ VIII get the benefit of the reduction OF
/ $l-46 per thousand. The reduction on Gig
/ drs IS defenStble. because d host of man.
/ ufacturerS all over the country are bene-
/ fitted by it, and consumers are likely to
note the difference in the quality of their
/ scent smokes.
/ - s. 9
! But the $40, 10000 reduction on manufac-