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UNITED CIGAR STORES CO. MAY GET A JOLT,
THROUGH BILL NOW BEING DRAFTED
The monopoly built up by the
United Cigar Stores may he rudely
disturbed if a bill jaow being drafted
by Sen. Duncan U. Fletcher of Flor
ida is passed. The bill will attack the
company as violating the Sherman
anti-trust law. Recently the trust ad
ded to its fortifications by buying up
the Ricker-Hegeman string of drug
stores.
"The United Cigar Stores Co. was
once a part of the American Tobacco
Co., and now is also, though pre
sumably dissolved, since the suit
against the combine under the Sher
man anti-trust act," said Geo. W.
Perkins. Not G. W. P. of the house
of J. P. Morgan, of course, but the
president of the Cigarmakers' Inter
national Union.
The American Tobacco Co. con
trols about 85 per cent of the smok
ing and chewing tobacco industry in
the United States, except cigars, of
which they control about 15 per cent,
it requiring but little capital to open
up a small shop, so there are a few
free individuals yet left to compete
with them. But soon these, too, will
be crowded out of business if the
United Cigar Stores keep gathering
in the points of distribution. Recent
ly they bought the Ricker-Hegeman
string of drug stores, a $10,000,000
corporation, where, of course, noth
ing but trust tobacco is sold.'
Another significant statement
made by Mr. Perkins was: "The trust
could control every bit of .the tobacco
industry, only they think that by con
trolling only 85 or 90 per cent of it
they can crawl out of the monopoly,
category."
The United Cigar Stores Co. with
its millions is able to crowd out the
little fellow. This it does by buying
up all desirable corner locations and
by outbidding on the rent with small
competitors. It will open up a store
next to a small cigar store and com
mence a campaign of underselling.
It will put an old man in there at low
wages and merely wait for the victim
to expire. If the place is a small
store, handling tobacco among other
things, the United Cigar Stores Co-,
will pursue another method. If the
store has a demand for only one
brand of trust goods, it will not sell
that brand, unless the store buys oth
er goods also. The company does
this very diplomatically, but surely,
and in that way force their goods on
the store and the market
When it comes to selling the trust
goods the smaller merchant is at a
handicap and this is because of Unit
ed Cigars Stores Co. coupons.
The coupon strikes the smoker's
imagination. He imagines he is get
ting something for nothing. The cou
pon is a great factor in helping to
perpetuate the monopoly, for when
a 'man is saving coupons he will buy
where he can get them. The inde
pendent store tha,t sells trust goods
must sell them at the same price as
the United Stores, but has not the
coupon to offer as an inducement.
Result the little fellow goes to work
for the United Stores as a clerk.
The Retail Dealers' Association of
Washington, Oregon and California,
will meet in Seattle, January 10 to 14,
and take up these questions. There
is a bill being drafted and will prob
ably be presented to the present ses
sion of Congress toy Senator Duncan
U. Fletcher of Florida. The bill aims
to tax the coupon sufficiently to do
away with it. The coupon, it is claim
ed, is a fraud," because it is not, ac
cording to the United Cigar Store
Co., a profit-sharing scheme. The
coupon is supposed to represent 4 per
cent of the amount of purchase, but
if the company makes 50 per cent
profit on the premium then it only
represents 2 per cent.
Florida, Washington, New York
and, Massachusetts are among the
states that have fought the coupon,.
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