Court Case: Only Wheeling Can Produce Wheeling Stogies

-from the Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, Friday, July 7, 1899
 

WHEELING PROFITS

By the Decision in the United States Court at Boston

BY WHICH WHEELING STOGIES

Made Outside of Wheeling Cannot be so Advertised or Sold—Tho Effect Will be a Big Boom for Stogies Manufactured Here—The Plaintiffs Were Four Wheeling Stogie Manufacturers—Seamon Plant Unionized.

The decision of Judge Colt, in the United States circuit court at Boston, to the effect that stogies made outside of Wheeling cannot be sold or advertised as "Wheeling stogies," was generally discussed in and out of the tobacco trade here yesterday, and the consensus of opinion is that the decision will have one effect above all others—it will create a boom for the genuine Wheeling stogie—that is stogies made here in Wheeling.

Heretofore, manufacturers of cheap and inferior stogies in other cities have taken advantage of the enviable reputation made by the Wheeling stogie by advertising their goods and selling them as Wheeling stogies. Judge >Colt's decision will stop this practice, and as the people want the Wheeling stogie, it will naturally create added custom for goods made in this city.

The suit against the Boston man was entered by four Wheeling manufacturers, Hugo L. Loos, Marsh & Son, Muhn & Brandfass and the Sanatel Tobacco Company. These four figured as the plaintiffs, but the expenses of the were borne by all the stogie manufacturers in the city.

Said a well known manufacturer last night:

"Our trade had been injured greatly by the use of the word, 'Wheeling' on inferior goods made and marketed away from this city, and by cheap goods made elsewhere with poor material and workmanship, and brought here and placed on the market as 'Wheeling' stogies. The decision will put an end to this. It will also make it impossible for even a stogie manufacturer in Fulton to Use the word 'Wheeling' on his product. Stogies bearing the word 'Wheeling' must now be made in the city of Wheeling.

"We entered Into this contest confident of success, made so by the recent decision on Milwaukee beer, which was similar to the stogie case, beer made outside of Milwaukee being bottled and labeled as Milwaukee beer. This was declared illegal about two months ago by a United States Judge."

In addition to the manufacturers, Garfield Assembly, of the National Stogie Makers' League, was active in pushing the Boston case, and the men are entitled to equal credit with the manufacturers.

SEAMON PLANT UNIONIZED

And the Strike There Brought to an end Yesterday Morning.

For some time there has been a strike on at the Seamon stogie plant In Moundsville, formerly of this city, through the employes having formed a union of the National Stogie Makers' League and demanding the scale of wages in force at the union shop.

Yesterday, President W. H. Riley, Secretary Frank D. Thomas and other officials of the stogie makers' organization, went to Moundsville and succeeded in bringing about a settlement. The basis is that the men are to be paid $3 a thousand for seed stogies. Until the strike they had been getting $2.75. The scale in force in the factories in Wheeling is $3.25 for seed stogies and $3 for Kentucky goods, but with the exception of Marsh's every factory produces seed goods almost exclusively.

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