The St. Louis Republic., 1904-09-25
Assistant Secretary Taylor Will
Render No Decision Until He
Receives His Cue.
LABOR UNIoNisM INJECTED.
Samuel GOmpers Champions
Cause Of Independent Manu-
facturers in Label
Fight.

REPUBLIC SPECIAL
Washington. Sept. 2+.-PresideBt Roose-
Welt himself will now be obliged TO settle
the spirited controversy between the
American Tobacco Company and the in
dependent operators. From a political
standpoint he Is in the position OF 2 man
who Will be damned II he does and
damned il he doesn't"
1t was the President who reopened the
case on the protest Of the American To-
bacco Company after Assistant Secretary
Armstrong had twice decided to change
the label. and it vas by the Presidents
own orders. given directly 10 Assistant
Secretary Taylor. now the Acting secre-
tary Of the Treasury. that to-day's hear
ing was held. No one expects Mr.. Taylor
to render a decision until he has first con-
suited the President. SO important is the
political phase of the case in the present
national campaign.
The independent men who impor, TO-
country desire that the size OF the label
on imported cigars be reduced. a. IL is
now 80 conspicuous as to give the so-calied
trust an undue advantage over United
State. manufacturers. The American To-
baccO Company. on the other hand. holds
that to change the label would be an I'M
position upon the public.
LABOR UNION.
The labor-mion element was injected to-
day by the appearance at the hearing Of
Samuel Gompers. president Of the Amer
lean Federation Of Labor. who argued
with considerable spirit In favor Of the
contentious Of the independents The lat
ter have insisted that their factories tn
ciuded all Of the union cigarmakers Ia the
country. but IL was not until to-day that
the labor element became prominent with
Mr.. Gompers's active participation in the
contest
The President must decide between the
American Tobacco Company. on the one
side, who deal almost exclusively in i'm
ported cigars. bearing the Government
stamp, which has caused 50 much trou-
BILE. and on the other the independent
manufacturers and their men. who to-day
reiterated to Mr.. Taylor that they repre-
sent nearly 30O0o men at work in Amer
lean factories. Both sides have seized
upon the political feature of the case. and
il is not stating it too strongly to say
that both are making open threats on
the administration.
THREATS.
The one insists that il will withheld inn
portant campaign contributions from the
Republicans and turn them over TO the
Democrats. while the other states with
considerable frankness that an adverse
decision Will ALLEVIATE from the Republican
ticket nearly 10000 votes
The American Tobacco Company in this
contest has come to be popuIariy known
as 4 tobacco trust. ard on this account II
is regarded here and throughout the coI1-
try as trust and antitrust fight.
The contentious made before Assist
ant Secretary Taylor to-day were much
in the line OF the arguments made at the
hearing in New York The independents
asserted with renewed positiveness that
the present customs stamp has been d.
verted from the use originally intended to
an actual assets for the trust while the
American Tobacco Company asserted that
10 change the form or color of the stamp
now would simply be an imposition cn The
public Mr.. Taylor announced tonight
that he was not yet ready to make his de-
cision as there were several legal points
to be decided which have been referred 20
the Solicitor OF the Treasury. Mr..
OConnelI.