Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-09-16
TROUBLE OVER STAMPS
TOBACCO TIT FIGHTING IN
DEPENDENT DEALERS.
Assistant Secretary Armstrong is Said
to Have Ordered Change in
II Customs Stamp.

r. b. Armstrong assistant secretary or
the treasury, in charge of customs, went
out OF town few days ago and New YORK
papers report him as in the throes of a
fierce contest with the American Tobacco
Trust, which Unsupported to the President
to prevent Mr.. Armstrong changing the
customs stamp affixed to imported cigars.
Mr.. Armstrong has not returned to Wash
ington, and what the exact facts are
could not be definitely learned at the
Treasury today 5f
The customs laws provide that every box
OF imported cigars shall bear customs
stamp. This has gradually become guar
antee to cigar consumers of the genuine
ness of the goods offered them. In the Nc
kinney tariff bill high duty was placed on
imported cigars. but low duty was fixed
on imported leaf tobacco.
This low duty encouraged the transfer of
much OF the Cuban tobacco industry to TINS
country. The same tobacco used in I'M
ported cigars was sent here at low rate
of duty and made into cigars to be sold at
prices below the imported, but the aver
age cigar smoker can not be made to be-
lieve that they are Just as good" and fall
back upon the customs stamps as their
guarantee that they are getting what they
want.
Havana to Key West, Baltimore. New
York, Philadelphia, Richmond and else
where and have been turning out cigars
from imported leaf tobacco, said to be of
as fine grade as that in the imported CT
S.-S.
Design is Valuable.
By degrees the American Tobacco Trust
obtained possession of most of the Havana
and other cigar manufactures, and 1t Is
now claimed that it owns IS per cent Of
these concerns. thereby bringing into this
nfr1, hat
here. The customs stamp has become val
liable in the matter of identifying the inn
ported article and the trust has relied upon
this stamp to the fullest degree.
'The independent cigar dealers. however
have fought the stamp. They claimed it
was so distinctive as to advertise the i'm
ported cigar, and that it was unfair to
them. They claimed the Cuban reciprocity
tarih reduced the duty on imported cigars
~ per cent, and that the trust Immediately
cut the price on cigars to run them out of
business What they considered right was
a change in the stamp.
The stamp that had been in existence so
long was of brown or pink hue encircling
one end of the box. Printed upon it was
the name of the steamship on which the
cigars arrived and the names of the GUS
toms officials who passed 1t.
Assistant Secretary Armstrong, it is
stated. has given much consideration to the
question of changing the stamp. and re-
cehtiy gave orders to the bureau of eng raw
L..
His idea was to have the new stamp re-
semble. as far as possible, the regular rev.
enue stamp affixed to the boxes of home
made cigars.
It was further Intended that it should be
aHlxed In new way. The result would
have been. to obliterate entirely the dis
tinction that has heretofore gone with the
old customs stamp.
May Involve President.
According to the published stories, Mr..
Armstrong had hardly decided upon his
course before he was visited in Washing
ton by Secretary Wilcox of the American
Tobacco Company.
Mr.. Wilcox told Mr.. Armstrong at his
desk in the treasury that the company did
not want the stamp. saying that the pres
ent customs stamp is equivalent to a trade
mark for their business.
Mr.. Armstrong said that he proposed to
put out the new stamp. and Mr.. Wilcox at
once told him that he would take the case
to President Roosevelt. -'-'-'-' 49, ''-'-.'--.
Mr.. Armstrong said that course would
not prevent him going ahead with his prep
arations The independent tobacco con-
Germs are taking hand and threaten to
make an issue of the matter if the Presi-
dent orders a change in the plans of Mr.
Armstrong. kilograms have been sent to
the President from independent tobacco in
terests all over the country.