The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1909-07-02
FLAYED TO-
BACCO TRUST
Beverage Compells Com
mittee to Yield.
Tax on Leaf Tobacco
To Be Removed.

Washington, July 1.-Senator Aid
rich has withdrawn his objections to
the removal of the tax on leaf to-
bacco and is having a bill prepared
for the purpose of removing the tax
This means a great victory for the
Kentucky senators and congressman.
Following speech which Senator
Beveridee made in the senate. in
which he expressed the methods of tn
tobacco trust andshowCd how il has
prCfited enormously at the expense
of the people. he received voluntary
assurances from the senate finance
committee that the committee will
bring in amendments TO the tariff
bill putting a peremptory stop to two
of the practices Of the trust by
which it has cheated the consumers of
smoking tobacco and oppressed its
competitors. One amendment which
the committee promised to report with
a recommendation for lis passage
would abolish short weight packages o
smoking tobacco NJ d require the
trust To restore the full weight pack
ages that it sold before the Spanish
American war. The other amendment
would prohibit the giving away Of cou
pons fer prizes with tobacco and Gig
ar,ttes, by which the uust has gain
cd undue advantage over its ccmpe-
titors.
These concessions, while If i'm
merse importance to tie public. do
not go tar. enough Ct suit Senator
Beveridge. He will insist on nothing
short of the restoration OF practically
the entire Spanish war taxes On to-
bAcco and he will fight to that end
with a very fair prospect If success.
He pointed out in his speech 10 tie
senate to-day that when the extra
Spanish war taxes we've repealed the
trust which had shifted The eNtra lax
to the consumers did rot rtdrcc its
prices TO conform with tie reduced
taxes, but that ii had managed, by
holding up its prices to tie level of
900, 900 n year from the American peo-
pie. Senator Beyeridge's proposition,
as he forcibly stated ii to the senate
to-day, TO divert this stream Of gold
from the Golfers If the tobacco trust
into the treasury If the United States.
Senator BeveIidee Las got the To-
bacco trust on the run ard it would b
glad to compromise by some such lin
tied concessions rs tie finance COM
senator will push the fight against the
trust on the main proposition as well
as on these collateral Issues and will
see that the senate takes yea and
nay vote on the direct question as
TO whether the tobacco trust shall be-
permitted TO continre filching $2l,e00,
600 a year from tie pCckels CT the
consumers The speech made by Sen
ator Bevelidge to-day which gave evil
derce of having been prepared afr Il
most careful ard pairstakirg study Of
the subject was generally regarded
by these who heard ii as being ubso-
luely unanswerable.
In fact LcLCdy tried to answer it,
although Senator Simmons, of North
Carolina, a protection Democrat"
asked n few questions which showed
his sympathy fer tie uUst. II had
been rumored in advance Of Senator
ator Root, of New York, who was at
toiney for Thomas f. Ryan in organ
izing the trust and whose legal brains
shaped fits policy would take the floor
to answer Senator Reveridge but he
sat in his seat, silent ard attentive,
and did not ask a question.
Senator Beverage was fortified with
a mine of information about the tobac
co trust when he took the floor. The
thorouehness Of his preparation was
evident from the way he handled his
ease. His committee room on the
floor below looked like tobacco
store. The senator had sent his office
assistants out into the market to
purchase every brand of tobacco made
by the trust. They gathered togsther
a collection Of chewing, smoking and
snuff tobacco that would furnisk e
very respectable stock for tobac
conist. All of these samples were
paid for by the senator at the usual
rate of prices. The senator at first in
tended to exhibit them on The floor to