Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-12-10
Western Grocer Company In.
terested in Federal Court
Duty Decision.
HAS 10000 POUNDS IN BOND
If Decision Holds viii Cost the Com
pany $4,000 to Secure the Dried
Leaf Imported Last Fall = Let's to
Go to Washington to Lobby-com.
pany Thinks Congress Will Act.

i y,
$5,000,o00 wholesale grocery corpora
ton organized with headquarters in
this, is deeply interested in the decis-
ion of the United States circuit court
for the southern district of New York,
affecting the duty on teas. now held in
bond by the different jobbers of the
country. If the decision holds it will
cost the Western Grocer Company $15,-
600 to get it's teas out of bond, and that
sum it will not pay. Instead the tea
will be shipped out of the country and
4 tea famine will result. The company
has 10000 pounds of tea in bond at st.
Joseph. Mo-, and the tax, now in force,
is 10 cents per pound.
The decision of the New York court,
briefly, is that on all teas, now in BOND
in this country, the duty of 10 cents per
pound shall be paid before they can be
secured, regardless of the fact that the
duty on teas is to be removed on Jan. 1.
The decision is based on the Dlngley
bill, but is not in accordance. SO the
jobbers and importers claim, with the
intent of the measure. Congress has
already been appealed to for relief, and
a bill introduced yesterday, by Repre-
sentative Payne, of New York, will be
worked for by every jobber in the
country, with the idea of securing an
Interpretation of the real intent OF the
Dingley measure.
The Western Grocer Company, thru
it's tea manager, Mr.. j. r. Hopkins, OF
st. Joseph, Mo-, purchased last sum
mer in China, Japan and Formosa Two
cargoes of teas that were shippeu "
this country, landing at San Francesca
and Seattle in August, September anu
October. Because of the duty, In iofce
now. only small quantity. compafa-,
tiyeIy. was shipped to the dlffefeht
ho,lses and the bulk of it was placed
in bond. with the idea of taxing II CUT
of bond after the duty should nave peen
,.emoyed. on Jan. /. Other big JoppeIs
did the same thing, and as the nssui.
IN the United States today there 10
comparatively but little tea IN sloeh
either with iobbers or retailers, Whlle IN
bond there are 70,000,000 pounds await
ing release on Jan. l.
Manager II. e. Sloan. of the Let's
branch of the Western Gro
oar Company. who is familiar with the
situation, said this afternoon IN speah
Irg of tbe case: Most of our tea is
already sold for delivery after the iirst
OF January, less the tax or, III o,usi
words, 1t is sold at price lower .nali
that the staple is commanalhs souas'
by 10 cents pound. IL TINS aeeislui
holds 1T simply means tea famine. we
have practically cleaned up on tea' anu
so have the retailers. in ANTICIPATION oi
the price the first of the year. Inc SIT
alton is this: If the decision holas the
tea will he shipped into CANADA anu
then reshipped into the United STATES
even tho the freight charges would pc
high. We can take the tea out OF
bond without paying duty to ship TO
foreign country, and there will be nd
duty to nav then on reshipping from
foreign country. 1t would take sixty
DAVIS to do this, however, and with the
of tea in the country TO-DAY II
would be as bad as colonial times, When
that little episode occurred in the Bos-
ton 'harbor.
eve look for congress to give us the
necessary relief, and Mr.. Let's Is al
ready preparing to go to washington
to ioin the committee of Chicago job
bers, to lobby for the bill presented
Yesterday. There is no doubt but that
The New York decision is wrong. wrong
FOR all parties concerned. from the I'M
porter down to the consumer, and am
confident that congress will see 1t in
this light
Secretary Shaw has deemed the mat
ter of sufficient Importance to call the
attention of congress to 1t In
!, special message. He urges q special
let remedying the difficulty and per-
hitting the tea to be withdrawn with |
tut payment of the duty. He says much |
If 1t has been contracted for delivery I
IAN. i. and the collection of the duty
win result in the expectation of large /
quantities Of the tea and in litigation
which will be very harmful to the
Wholesale interests which have relied /
mon the customs act to secure the |
product from the warehouses without
payment Of the duty after its repeal.
A telegram from the Associated Press
his afternoon states that the house to-
Law passed the Payne bill, which was
Introduced in relief of the importers.
This means, without doubt, that the
.uty will not have to be paid, as the
enate will undoubtedly concur.
HHEhTLEp nEl ave vVnRK