The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1905-04-05
TEDDY USES OUR COFFEE
CONTINUED From Page u

In fact, it is more than likely that
| some such action as this viii be taken
at the next session of Congress, with
! the approval, and it may be by the
recommendation of the President. And
| if this is done, Hawaii VIII 1T once
take rank as a coffee producer. Even
with coffee at the present price, When
! it has not paid to pick, the island crop
| last year was the largest ever
grown With two cents per pound
added TO the price of it, there would
/ be money in it. With d five cent in
| crease it would be a wealth producer
Tha; the proposition TO put n higher
duty on coffee is being seriously con-
sidered in high quarters, the following
| Washington dispatch to the New York
! Sun, vii. demonstrate:
| FROM y. Y. SUN.
| WASHINGTON. March 16.-There
is It strong proba bil.ty that at the
next st ssion of Congress a small ,iuty
will be leyied on coffee. r Republicans
have beer quietly discussing a,.lpne
therns;o Ives what they regard as an i'm
| rerative political necessity of over
| coming. before the next Congress cleo
ton, the deficit now facing the comfy.
| ''TheX do not wish to go before he
| people with an ugly deficit as they
| k2cw il would be an extremely diff
| cI!- task. Why should there BE
| Treasury deficit in view of the cnor-
nous revenue of the country and the
| greatest prosperity? The ordinary eX-
penses. of the Government will natural
| Iy increase during the next two years,
| and the leaders cannot hope to en-
force next session the Spartan economy
1 loo Of
| the popular demand for public i'm
provements. Therefore, the leaders
agreed, the only way the deficit could
| be overcome was by increasing the
| revenues.
| The question then arose as to how
this could be accomplished-wheth
by increasing the internal revenue
| taxes or the customs duties, or by the
| imposition of document or stamp
| taxes. Objections were many to all
these propositions.
The attention of members of the
Senate Committee on Finance and of
the Ways and Means Committee then
naturally turned TO coffee and duty
as taxable property, and certain sug-
gestions made in the Ways and Means
| Committee during the hearing OH the
| Curtis Bill to reduce the duty on
Philippine tobacco and sugar. afforded
what many believed to be an effective
answer to any charge of taxing the
poor mans coffee pot
This suggestion was that instead of
encouraging the Philippines to com
pete with the American sugar and to-
bacco interests by giving them free
entrance to our markets, they should
be encouraged to produce some tropi-
cal products. which can never be rails
ed in the United States, and which are
, now imported in large quantities from
sub-tropical countries that take very
little from us in return-rubber, spices
and fibre, but especially coffee, of which
: this country imports immense quaint.
, ties
'An of these articles, it was repre-.
scented, could be produced IN our owl
possessions-Porto Rico and the Phil
e ippines.
1T was agreed that, by the impose
ton of slight tariff on foreign coffe,
and by admitting coffee from American
e possessions free, the attention OF tn,
|, Philippines could be diverted to an is
p land product industry which would no
interfere in any way with any Ameri
p can industry. Meanwhile, as it woul,
e require some years to develop COFFEE
t growing in the Islands. the duty woulc
e raise large sums of money for tn
b.. United States treasury and be of ines
- Unable assistance to Porto Rico,
{ Since it is now considered tina
Il some measure must be adopted thes
:. arguments have been considered by III
. Senators and members of the Way
" and Means Committee, and are meetin
= with much favor 1t is agreed that il
IT addition to relieving the Philippine
# and Porto Rico and, above all, tn
United States treasury, an ugly con
test with the beet-sugar and Tobacco
IS interests may thus be avertei.
Secretary Taft is to take 2 party G
Senators and Representative to Ii
= Philippines this summer, among ther
: Speaker Cannon and Representativ
Payne, chairman Of the Ways an
u Means Committee. 1t is proposed tina
n these gentlemen should study the DC
ID sibilities of coffee culture N the Island
A While there and it is expected tina
they viii enthuse over the Prospect,
& In 1871. Congress repealed the dur
lie on coffee in compliance with the ger
N eral public demand. Brazil immediate
y, ly imposed an export duty and trans
ferred eight million dollars per yea
- from the United States treasury int
st hers, and the price of coffee RENAME
lie the same. Since then, it is argued. III
&c United States has lost on Brazil COTE
alone SS04. S69,S52 in revenue, while tt
lie Brazilian trade balance against II
re United States during that period rs
m aggregated s1,32S, 49,, $50.
~ France raises a large amount
revenue by a duty on coffee of almo:
Is cents pound; Italy taxes it almo!
as much as France; Germany at II
ht rate of cents. While England. An
st | tria and other countries derive lars
revenues from this source.
The United States, the create
u coffee consuming country, alone d.
be rives no revenue from this article"