The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1909-04-28
THE new TARIFF
Full Protection for the
Tobacco Industry.
PHILIPPINE PRODUCT NO MENACE
Tobacco Raising a Great Pennsyl-
vania Industry - Lancaster
County the Largest Cigar
.. Manufacturing District
in the United States.
tFrom The Citizens own Correspondent


WASHINGTON, April 27.--Mem-
bers of Congress who are directly
interested in the tobacco schedule
of the Payne bill are positive in the
statement that under the provisions
of that bill the tobacco industry will
be as fully protected as it now is
under the Dingley law, The grow
ing and manufacture of tobacco is
one of the great industries of Penn
sylvania. That state produces more
cigars than any other state in the
Union. Several delegations have
come to Washington and consulted
Senator Boise Penrose regarding
the revision Of the tobacco sched-
ule. In the Keystone state the raw
product is at the factory door. The
Ninth Internal Revenue District,
which includes Lancaster county, Is
the largest cigar manufacturing
district in the United States. In
1905 there were manufactured In
that district nearly 802,000,000
cigars and in the last seven years
it has paid the federal government
in revenue $17,377,343. In Lam
caster county are over 400 tobacco
factories employing many thous-
ands of men and women.
The tobacco men who called on
Senator Penrose argued against
any reductions in the duties on to-
bacco imports and against free to-
bacco from the Philippines. The
Senator presented their arguments
to the House Ways and Means Com
mittee and brought them before the
Senate Finance Committee, of
which he is a member. Both COM
mittees revised the tobacco sched-
ules. The House bill makes no re-
ductions in the Dingley rates but it
contains a provision admitting to
this country certain tobacco i'm
ports from the Philippines free of
duty. The free imports were limit
ed by the House to these ship
ments: Wrapper tobacco, 100000
pounds; filler tobacco, 100000
pounds, and cigars not to exceed
15O,OOO.UOO The Finance Com
mittee adopted an amendment ad-
mitting free 100000 pounds of
wrapper tobacco and 100000
cigars and reducing the amount of
filler tobacco from 100000
pounds to 100000 pounds. The
provision admitting Philippine to-
bacco free was adopted upon the
recommendation of President Taft.
Mr.. Taft stated that justice requir-
ests of the United States fear in the
open her sugar and tobacco market
to the Philippines. He said he was
confident such course would not
injure by way of competition either
the sugar or tobacco industries of
this country, but that it would
merely substitute Philippine sugar
and tobacco for comparatively
small portion of the sugar and to-
bacco that now comes in after pay
ing duty. Mr.. Taft added: $50 con-
fident am | that the development,
which the sugar and tobacco inter-
ests of the Unietd States fear in the
Philippines from an admission of
those products free to the United
States. will not ensue to the injury
of those interests that l would not
object to a limitation on the
amount of sugar and tobacco in it's
various forms, manufactured and
manufactured, which may be ad-
mitted to the United States from
the Philippines, the limitation be-
ing such a reasonable amount as
would admittedly not affect the
price of either commodity in the
United States or lead to a great
exploitation of the sugar and to-
bacco interests in the islands. The
free admission of sugar and tobac-
co up to the amount of the pro-
posed limitation, for the purpose OF
restoring the former prosperity in
these two products to the islands is
very important"
1t was in accordance with Mr.
Taft's recommendations that the
committees of Congress inserted the
provisions admitting free of duty
the amounts of Philippine tobacco
stated. Experts who appeared be-
fore those committees stated that
in the Philippines tobacco is cult.
waited by crude methods and as 6
result Is of very inferior quality
Secretary Wright, of the War De
partment, who is thoroughly famil
lar with the Philippine tobacco in
dustry, informed the Ways anC
Means Committee, that the industry
in this country had nothing to feal
from Philippine competition. He
stated that the islands would MOI
produce sufficient tobacco to sup
ply imports to the amounts under
which the Payne bill may come in
to the United States free.
Some of the tobacco men oppos
ed free Philippine tobacco on thu
grounds that it would open the wa,
for larger imports of Sumatra wrap
pers. They urged that the tobacco
dealers in the Island of Sumatri
would ship their product to tn,
Philippines and then send it int
the United States as Philippine to
bacco and free of duty. The Senat,
Finance Com mittea met thia ohiao