152 PHILIPPINE AGRICULTURE 



Taxation on Tobacco. Aside from a very limited me- 

 dicinal use, tobacco is altogether a luxury. It is the 

 most important crop in the world which is not valuable 

 as food or clothing. It is chewed and snuffed, and 

 smoked in pipes, cigarettes, and cigars. 



Because it is an article of luxury, tobacco is usually 

 handled at a large profit. Most countries tax it very 

 heavily, and some make it a government monopoly. 

 It was a monopoly in the Philippines from 1781 to 

 1882, the whole tobacco business belonging to the gov- 

 ernment during this time. In 1882, the profit on this 

 business paid half of all the expenses of the govern- 

 ment. In the United States the government taxes the 

 tobacco business in several ways ; the internal revenue 

 tax on it amounts to more than one hundred million 

 pesos a year. 



PRODUCTION 



Production in the World. The foremost country in the 

 production of tobacco is the United States, the yearly 

 crop there being more than two hundred thousand tons. 

 All of Europe produces hardly so much ; Russia and 

 Hungary produce more than the other European coun- 

 tries. India produces almost as much tobacco as the 

 United States. Turkey raises over thirty thousand tons, 

 the Dutch East Indies about as much, and Japan nearly 

 twenty-five thousand tons. Cuba, the Philippines, and 

 Brazil are the other important countries. 



Production in the Philippines. The export of tobacco 

 from the Philippines at different times has been, in tons: 



