The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1911-12-02
SMOKER" ORDER / !, IS
. HARD ON C|GARMEk
G. w. Perkins, President Of the
international Cigarmakers
Union Tells Why.
Workman Disseminated Against
and Not Given Fair Chance
to Test His Work.

makers without the payment of a
government tax protests have been
made by cigarmakers from all over
the country.
1t is held that it is an unfair and
unjust discrimination against the
workmen, and does not give them a
fair chance to test their own work
or the quality Of tobacco they are US
ing.
G. w. Perkins,, president of the In
ternational Cigarmakers' union, gives
very able and timely defense of the
right of the cigarmaker to make free
smokers when he says: a.
Many Legitimate Reasons.
There are great many legitimate
reasons why the free smoker privi-
lege should not be abolished and they
are not grounded upon kentiment.
The free smoker" privilege was not
originated by the cigarmakers. The
cigarmaker, in order to become pro-
ficient in the making of cigars SO as
to get the best possible results and
to produce cigars that would smoke
properly and give proper satisfaction,
out of necessity had to test them by
actual smoking of his own work.
Tobacco is perhaps the most pecu-
liar in it's nature of any plant grown.
1t has to be handled properly by the
cigarmaker in order to give the best
results. The cigarmaker can better
judge the manner in which to make
the cigars properly by smoking one
and in doing so is helping not only
the customer but the manufacturer as
we'll. Tobacco is one of the hardest
things in the world to correctly judge.
Almost any other commodity can be
judged by the test of seeing, feeling,
and tasting, while tobacco has to be
seen, felt, tasted and smoked before
a correct Judgment can be reached.
Hard to Judge Tobacco.
Thousands of manufacturers To-
Gated everywhere experience great diff
ficulty in correctly judging tobacco.
They have asked the cigarnaker to
roll it, smoke it, and pass judgment
on the quality of the tobacco. This
is particularly true in the smaller
shops. These two facts, that is, the
testing Of the workmanship and the
tobacco by actual smoking at the re-
quest of the manufacturer inaugur-
ated the so-called free smoker privi-
lege. This privilege grew out of a
commercial necessity which exists to-
day to a greater extent if anything
than it ever did in the past.
The few free smokes the cigarmak-
ers get are of greater, benefit to the
consumer and to the manufacturer
than to the cigarmaker. The leaf
man has to give the prospective buy
er, the manufacturer, tobacco with
which to make his smoker for the
purpose of testing the tobacco, and it
is commercial necessity that he do
so. Yet the government does not at
a tax on the smokers made for this
purpose.
Brewers Have Samples.
The brewer and distiller have to
sample their own wares and to give
free drinks to prospective buyers.
The government recognizes this as a
commercial necessity and does, not ex-
ACT a LAX upon Tree uAAuAS.
There is a commercial necessity for
the cigarmaker for the reasons ex-
planned in the foregoing, being per-
mitted to sample his workmanship
by smoking, and in the right of the
manufacturer to ask him to do so for
the purpose of jointly reaching con-
clusion as to the value and quality of
the tobacco.
We hold that the lawmakers fully
and the necessity of it, and never con-
templated that free smokers should
be taxed. We hold that it is a mat
ter of Interpretation of the law. The
very best law is developed by pre-
cedent. custom and usage. The stat
ute books in the older states are full
Of obsolete, unenforced, and unen-
forcible laws.
Rule of Common Sense.
The rule of common sense, Gus
tom and usage have supplanted these
obsolete laws although they remain,
but forgotten, 'on the statute books
We hold that the government has a
right to and should enforce the laws,
but in this instance for the reasons
stated, the intent OF the lawmakers
should have direct bearing when in
terpreting the law. ~,
We again assert that the lawmakers
did not intend to tax cigars, such as
free smokers, that originally and now
are commercial necessity in the
business. We hold that the lawmak-
ers only contemplated the taxing. OF
cigars that were removed for sale and
on which profit: was made. @
The best Interpretation of any law
is based upon common sense, ujdg-
ment, usage, and the intent of the
trainers and upon Justice. @
The cigarmaker did not originate
the free smoker. It was forced upon
| him by the necessity of judging OF
his own workmanship and the test.
! ing of the tobacco, which is create,
/ today than ever before. .,
The halter may try on hat to tell