The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-07-18


modify Consumed AnnuaIIy by the
People OF the United States-Costs
From 10 Cents 10 sI-25 a Pound
We cannot be any zoo careful with the
inspection of foOdstuGs which are i'm
ported into tIse United States from for
eigu countries for home CONSUMPTION
said prominent official of the Division
Of Customs OF the Treasury Department.
this morning
The proceedings which have been
brought IN the Supreme Court of the Dis
tTict Of Columbia against the Secretary
Of Treasury is the result Of his adoption
Of such standard for teas to be brought
into this country as would exclude teas
containing certain percentages of dust
as broken and ground-up leaves are call
ed. The people Of the United States con
sumo every year S0C11oJ5 pounds of tea.
II ranges in price from 10 cents 10 50
cents This is the wholesale figure, and
the enormous quantity Of poor teas
brought into this country is proved by
the fact that the average price of all the
teas sold here IS Il cents. Seventy per
cent OF the whole amount consumed here
comes through New York The first skip
ments sometimes come to the Pacific
Coast and overland The samples Of
shipments Of teas always come across the
Pacific ard overland to New York They
are put UP in little tin boxes Theoretically
sealed, each being labeled so as TO iden-
tify the shipment it represents. These |
samples are selected by the agents for !
importers, who are stationed at the cen
tres of trade in China and Japan The 1
tea comes from the tea farmer to the
Chinese middleman or jObEer and he sells
1t TO the resident agent. It is then ship
ped to America, usually BIZ way OF the /
Suez Canal BY zhe Sucz route it takes
it sixty days 10 get here It crosses the
Pacific in forty days The freight rate
by the SueZ Canal averages about ?
cents 4 pound; by the Pacific route, in
GLIDING the overland freight. it costs 3 |
cents early IN the season, and then a lit
tie less It has been brought across the /
Pacific and across the continent from San /
Francisco for cent a pound.
For the last seventeen years we have /
had law against the importation of /
adultCTated and inferior teas. but the or /
Grafton of it until three years ago was /
poor IN fact. its enforcement has de [
pended so much on the humor Of one /
man or the uncertain judgment Of others, (
inferior judges Of tea that it has been /
almost worthless
The Old law worked like this said /
the official There was. for instance a (
tea examiner in New York. There were /
other tea examiners at other interior /
ports Of entry, like Rochester The ex-
amiueTs at The small places were more /
than likely to be poor judges of tea The (
examiner at New York might be a good /
judge of tea. but there was absolutely no /
rule to guide him in mis- rejection or &C /
-ceptance Of an importation The law
said that adulteTated and spurious teas /
should not be imported; but it did not de- /
fine adulterated and spurious teas. II the /
examiner was feeling pretty good one /
morning a sample might taste all right !
to him and he would pass a big lot of
tea without question. The next morning.
perhaps his liver was out Of order and (
the very same kind Of tea would be re-
jected- There was an appeal then to a
board composed Of one representative OF /
the importer. one representative of the /
Government, and third man to be Sc /
lected by them \ controversy USUALLY !
resolved itself into fight 10 get on the /
board a third man, who would be partial
To one side or the other
Sixteen standards Of tea were cstab-
Ushed by the Treasury Department and
samples OF each standard were sent TO
New York, Chicago, Tacoma. and San
Francisco These cities are the only ports /
Of entry for tea and all tea received in
this country IS examined al one Of these
ports and compared with the standards. !
II it IS rejected il Is deDCTted or destroyed. /
TO illustrate The iniustices that were
possible under the old law, 1 can cite the
case of one Importer at New York VINO
had $4,000 worth of tea rejected by the
examiner, of which $500 was aftcrward
admitted OF appeal The $1,000 worth e1-
Guided was q total loss. The new law
aimed particularly at the 2inE-Sucy tea
which is sold under the name Of Noyun.
The M0yUU tea is a good tea of low price
The FiuE-SUcy is sort Of weed which
grows around Shanghai. and which the
Chinaman fires and rolls with his hands. /
and makes up into a tea which looks
much pTsttic- than the real Moyun-
No attempt Is made 20 establish exact
divisions Letween the different kinds and
7av0Ts of teas, for there are at least 1000
differences in perfectly good teas OF Con
gOu teas alone there are nearly 3g1 fla ors. /
But different faFors do not mar4 differ
ent grades. The variations in flavor as
rule represent the variance in tastes of
the tea consumers. The best tea that Is
brought tc this country for general sale /
is worth So cents a mound wholesale
Sometimes especially choice teas have
been brought here and sold for SI.25; but
though they differed from the others il
would be entirely matter Of Individual
taste to determine whether they were any
better than the SJ-cent quality In fact
the S9-ccut tea IS a dyink fl for an en-
peTcT. You can get very fine tea for 60
cents wholesale. You can get good tea
for % cents
There have been iuauuerabIe dis
putCs over grades of tea and the testing
of IL since the law went into effect This
was to be expected, but however much
OF the testing of tea by The Government
( done much good Il is q fact that tea
drinking was failing into desuetude in this
country before The new grades OF tea were
established. This was particularly true in
the South. where enormous quantity Of
bal tea was sold In the time III which
the population of the GuiJCC States had
doubled the consumption Of ten per capt
Il had Increased only ~ per cent. and We
were rapidly getting to IN, point where
IL was actually diminishing.
The consumption of tea In the S1gth
was EOJ half pound year p.r e.. ILL.,
and the consumption for tn. whole Ia
try was only one and half pounds. The
English CCnSuyUe five to six pounds Der
capita each year
| Tea is very poTishabIc- II IS best pack
| cd in glass; and one Of our CguSulS 81 Chi
IA told me that where tea H. bought IN
quantity il should De- taken from the box
| and put in bottles with glass shoppers aud
carefully sealed. IN spite NJ these pre-