The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-02-21
How Congress Has Given Tobacco Trust
100000.

tured tobacco and cigarettes is a gift to
the tobacco monopoly. which had lts
friends planted in the senate committee
on finance, or at least s. per cent OF IL Is
Members of that committee said they
wanted to reduce the taxes IN the poor
mans beer and tobacco but the hypOcri-
81 OF this claim is shoWn@by the fact Inat
according 10 the testimony OF experts not
ore dollar OF this sum VII so 10 the
benefit Of either the. smokers OF clgar-
cites and smoking tobacco or the cheW-
ers OF plug and fine-cut, nor yet 70 the
growers OF tOLaccO. but every penny OF
II will be added TO the profits Of the trust
manufacturer. Herein lies the eXplana-
ton OF the eleven points rise Of tooacco
trust stocks. This is done by manipula-
ton of the sizes of packages, so that the
consumer IS made TO pay all the tax.
q 9 q
Both the brewers and the tobacco man
ufacturers have claimed that they bore
the burden of war taxes and did not take
it out of the consumers Members OF
is true as to the brewers, but taise as 10
the tobacco trust. In support OF their
assertion they disclose the following re-
markaDle stare OF affairs:
PTlor TO the passage Of the war rev
enue law the manufacturers OF smoking
tobacco were not allowed to put up tobac-
co IN less than two-ounco packages, and
on this tobacco they paid revenue tax
OF cents a pound. The great bulk of
smoking tobacco is sold IN twO-Ounce
packages, sells tor cents, and Is the to-
bacco of the masses. The war revenue
act increased the tax TO y cents pound
and permitted the manufacturers 10 PIT
up packages containing one, two and
three ounces, and inasmuch as the con-
sumner paid the same price for the small
er package, il was supposed that while
the bulk of the increased tax would fall
upon the manufacturer. portion of it, at
/ least. would be borne by the consumer;
The rough and ready statistieiaus who
assume that as two and two always
make four, and as twice six 1t always
twelve, jumped TO the conclusion that as
I
doubled, the manufacturers were contrib
uting twice their original quota TO the
revenue On the surface that appeared to
be a sound proposition, but the guardian
angels OF the tobacco trust in and out of
congress knew otherwise Reduced TO
TlgueS here is what the trust lost by the
I imposition OF the new tax:
The bulk of this package tobacco sells
: for . cents a package, or 40 cents q
! m3nufaC tuTers q cents wholesale By the
/ law of 1898 the manufacturer was able to
/ set nine full packages and three-fifths
. OF another package out OF pound or to-
4 baccO, which, at cents package,
yielded him IS cents to the pound. From
! this deduCting the taX OF y cents a
pound, the manufacturer was left 36
/ cents a pound tor his product, that,
! instead or being worse off than he was
/ before the law was passed. ne was , cents
/ a pound better off, and the consumer gets
/ a ChIrd of an ounce less for his } cents.
This was the little joker concealed in the
/ existing law.
/ Not content with that generosity, the
senate now proposes to give the strug-
Cling trust further bonus. 1t proposes
to reduce tax from Z TO cents. and to
I still retain the smaller packages, which
would add another 3 cents to the manu-
! facturers' profits over the present law,
! and . cents more as compared with prior
{ to 1888.
/ Tins the house conferees say shall not
/ bc done They DO not object to the tax
I being cut to cents, but II that is done
/ they insist that in justice to tire cOnSum-
/ er the size OF the package must be in
/ creased. The members of the house COM
/ mittee say that members of the senate
/ committee are extremely friendly to the
] tobacco trust. and have always looked
after the interest OF mat corporation.
/ There are a great many other things in
/ dispute between the two houses. but they
] can be easily reconclied. The members OF
the ways and means committee say the
l senate VIII either accept their bill or else
/ there viii be trouble at this session. They
insist that the senate must accept the
+. house rate of Sl.ej on beer. They are
/ wiling TO accept compromise on cigars
/ OF $50. TO yield 10 the senate on the
/ taxation o. insurance companies, allow
! the tax on bank checks to remain and
] Concede ether minor matters, but on the
] tobacco question they have their backs
up against the wall and viii either con-
/ quer or go down defiant 10 the last.
! If the senate should surrender every
| thing except on tobacco, the house con-
! ferees say, they would not accept the
! bill, Is they regard the bill as drawn sole
/ ~ in the interest of the tobacco trust,
and it has made them furiously angry.
. % 9
1t is well understood in Washington
that the senate friends and representa-
I tives of the tobacco trust purposely tore
/ the house bill all to pieces and put in a
! lot of Objectionable legislation. Their
/ idea was to use this as trading capitaI'
/ with which TO save their tobacco trust
/ scheme They are now willing to yield on
| bank checks. Insurance, even beer, if the
/ ma m
| featured tobacco and cigarette rates
| stand. But the Representatives of the
| lower branch, fully informed and thor
| Oughly reused. vow they will stand firm
| TO the bitter end rather than permit this
| tobacco monopoly gift to reach the
statute books