Higher Duty on Wine. 



125 



HIGHER DUTY ON WINE. 



The Ways aud Means Committee of 

 Congress have proposed to raise the 

 duty on low-priced wines from twenty- 

 six to fifty cents per gallon. This 

 class of wine comprises about ninety 

 per cent, of the whole quantity im- 

 ported. 



When gold was at 140 the duty de- 

 sired for the full protection or encour- 

 agement of American wine growers was 

 seventy-five cents per gallon, and it was 

 believed that such a duty would double 

 the supply of native vsdne in one year, 

 the present prices not being high 

 enough to tempt the grape grower, lo- 

 cated convenient to the large cities, to 

 make wine when the fruit would yield 

 a quick return at an average of seven 

 cents per pound. 



I'he proposed increase of duty, though 

 no more in proportion to the present 

 price of gold than the old duty, as com- 

 pared with the price of gold at the time 

 it was established, meets with remon- 

 strance from the wine importers of New 

 York City, who are preparing a me- 

 morial to Congress on the subject. In 

 this memorial they advance the follow- 

 ing argument : " It is a mistake to be- 

 lieve that the interests of our own 

 grape culture are unfavorably affected 

 by a low duty on imported wines. Our 

 native production of wine is far behind 

 the consumption, and the right applica- 

 tion of the wines of Europe, iu ration- 

 ally blending them with those of Amer- 

 ica, will do more than anything else to 

 open the market to the latter and make 

 it remunerative to the growers. In 

 support of this position we refer to the 

 well settled principles of cenology and 



to the testimony of all the experts in 

 the countr}'." 



That the wines of America are " ra- 

 tionally^ blended " with those of Europe 

 is well known, but as the blended arti- 

 cle is sold under the name of the Eu- 

 ropean, it is evident that the American 

 wine is not the one sought to be im- 

 proved. So long as our wines are ab- 

 sorbed to give sprightliness to the 

 imported wines, deadened by a sea 

 voyage, and in extending others of a 

 higher price, we can never expect our 

 products to become legitimately estab- 

 lished in the American wine market ; 

 and if Congress would raise the duty 

 on the cheap wines twenty-five cents 

 per gallon annually for three years, it 

 would be very soon seen that the sup- 

 ply would equal the demands of the 

 country, and that the increase of this 

 one duty at least y\o\\\(\ oppress no one, 

 give to our husbandmen, who are now 

 experiencing low^ prices on their pro- 

 ducts, a new field for efibrt, and take 

 from the debtor page an immense sum 

 in our account with Euiope. 



It is very probable that Congress is 

 not informed as to the growing magni- 

 tude of the wine business of this coun- 

 try. It is not possible ; for so far as 

 statistics are concerned we are igno- 

 rant ourselves, though an occasional 

 item gains the surface which gives an 

 intimation of it — an item, for instance, 

 in the last number of the Clltueist, 

 which gave a list of sixty vineyards 

 around Peoria, HI., having about 150,- 

 000 vines under cultivation, represent- 

 ing at a fair estimate as many gallons 

 of wine, if used for that purpose. 



