Evening star., 1909-06-24
BIGGER TOBACCO TAX
Beveridge Would Make the
Trust Pay More.
REHEARSES ITS HISTORY
Shows How It Has Grown at the Ex-
pense of the People.
TRIBUTE PAID BY CONSUMERS
Estimates That His Amendmen to
Tariff Bill Would Bring Addi-
tional Revenue of $21, 100000.

senator BeVerldge OF Indiana IN an
exhaustive speech today urged the SEN
ate to partially restore the Spanish war
tax on tobacco as an amendment to the
tariff bill for the purpose of supplying
revenue. He said it would bring into
the Treasury about s21 100000 annually.
Mr.. Beveridge had prepared an amend
ment to the tariff bill embodying his pro-
posals. 1t restores in large measure all
the war taxes on tobacco, except on ci-
gars, which, he explains, are not in the
control of the trust, being made by
hand. 1t re-enacts the Dingley provision
prohibiting the giving of coupons for
prizes with tobacco and cigarettes, and
it puts on the free list licorice paste,
which, he says, is monopolized by the
trust.
Senator Beveridge offered his amend
ment and was about to press 1t Tor
vote when a number of senators from
both sides of the chamber asked him to
let it go over for the present in order
that they might examine it.
Mr.. Aldrich promised that the finance
committee would take the subject up. Be
lieving that he would get more support
for the proposition if it were postponed
for few days, Mr.. Beveridge tempor
arily withdrew the amendment.
Peoples Tribute to the Trust.
This tax, said Mr.. Beveridge, was re-
psaled, but the legislation permitting the
tobacco trust to sell short weight pack
ages in order to tighten its burdens under
the tax was not repealed and is still in
force. He charged that the American
people are still paying this war tax, but
that instead of going into the Treasury
it is going to the American Tobacco Com
pany.
Notwithstanding the extreme heat in
the chamber and the fact that the finance
committee was in session during the
morning, Mr.. Beveridge had a good-siZed
audience of senator's, who accorded him
close attention. The senator from In
diana made a number of revelations in
the course of his speech which he de-
clared would not only startle the country,
but many members Of the Senate.
1.-The ruling note of this debate" said
he, has been the need of revenue. This
tobacco amendment will give the govern
ment more than $21,0OO,OCO dollars of rev.
enue and also correct wrong which the
people and loss which the government
has suffered for eight years.
He said the tax on tobacco in this coun-
try is but fraction of the tobacco taxes
of most other civilized nations, and is
less than that of any other civilized
planned, are consuming now about six
teen pounds of tobacco every year for
every male person above sixteen years of
age. He said also that this country now
taxes it less than at any time since it
began to tax it at all, except from 1870 to
| 1898.
In Grasp of the Trust.
1T has not been content with the man
ufacturing and wholesale business he
10 10 1ol
the retail trade, and is now making as
rapid strides toward the control of the
as it did in other fields of activity. The
stores of the. United Cigar Stores Com
pany now seen in every large city are
owned by the American Tobacco Com
pany. Indeed, it would take many hours
to lay before the Senate the detailed
activities of this giant combination.
Notwithstanding its enormous over
| capitalization it's profits have been SO
| great that it has paid the interest on its
| bonds and preferred stocks and very large
dividends on its common stock. The as
| tonishing growth of the profits of the
combination are indicated by the fact
that in 1899 its profits We're S7,2O4 55O.92,
while in 1906 it's profits were $50, rs, ,5l6.1
an increase of more than 800 per cent.
This, then, is the corporation upon
which the greater proportion of the tax
proposed in this amendment will fall, this
the corporation which is now so bitterly
| resisting the adoption of this amendment;
this the corporation which has added TO
it's profits every cent of the tax, that was
taken off in 1901 and 1902 and which,
from that time to this, has been putting
into its own treasury the tax collected
from the people through the increased
price which 1t made when the war tax
was put on
The old American Tobacco Company,
he declared, had grown in a few years
from capitalization of $4,000 600 into
the new American Tobacco Company
with capitalization of $3.50, ,00O,OU and
Notwithstanding this enormous over
capitalization it increased it's profits be-
tween 1899 and 1906 over 800 per cent.
Comparison With Foreign Rates.
Mr.. Beveridge first took up the ques-
ton of the relative size of the American
tobacco tax, which he said was but a
fraction of that of most other civilized
countries.
For example" he said "our tax on
most tobacco is cents a pound: but if
you take our tariff off on the quantity
imported and our tax on cigars and Gig
arettes, the total average of our tax on
tobacco is ID cents per pound; but the
United Kingdom taxes tobacco 76 cents
per pound; France taxes tobacco 76
cents per pound; Italy taxes tobacco 81
cents per pound; Austria-Hungary taxes
tobacco 30 cents per pound: etc. France,
Italy and Austria Hungary have govern
ment monopolies of tobacco, and their
tax is estimated on the government
profits which amounts to the same thing
as a tax.
IF we taxed tobacco at the same rate
as England or France. we would every
year derive $333,3S6, ,666.62, instead of
less than s50,0O0.00O we now derive. If
we taxed tobacco at the same rate the
| Italians tax theirs, we would every year
derive $399.1S6,666.61 instead of less
| than $50,000,000 we now derive If we
taxed tobacco at the same rate the Aus
| tria- -Hungarians tax theirs, we would
| every year derive S2S0,746,66662 in
| stead Of less than $50,O00,000 we now
derive
Smallest Tobacco Tax in History.
The third fact is-and it is a
startling fact-that not only do we tax
tobacco at a rate grotesquely low COM
pared with other civilized countries, but,
what is more important to ourselves
we now tax it less than at any time
since we began to tax it at all, except
from 1879 to 1898. Most people will be
surprised to learn that in 1879 we taxed
tobacco from two to five times as much
as we tax it now. For example, in 1879
the tax on cigars was S6 per thousand
today it is So: up to 1879 the tax on
all kinds Of tobacco, except cigars and
cigarettes, was "a cents a pound, today
it is 6 cents per pound; up to 1879 the
tax on snuff was 80 cents per pound
today it is 6 cents per pound. From
1868 until 1879 our tax on tobacco and
SNUFF, which now is cents per pound,
was from "a cents to 40 cents per