New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1872-04-26

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Seine thins Abeut the Manufacture Of CT.
| gars.
It.. Is q singular fact, that although We
may live in city quarter of century,
we still may be entirely ignorant of very
many important things which are going on
in it all the time, and at last we are brought
to the knowledge by some accident. We
have known people who, although old resi-
dents, had never visited the mint, when
that institution was under Roadway here,
and witnessed the coinage of money; and
we will venture to say that not more than
quarter Of our population have yet been
up to see the ice mandatory, although it
is one of the most wonderful sights in the
world, and has been open to visitors for
over four years.
This fact impressed itself upon us yester-
day, when we by chance went to the cigar
mandatory of Mr.. George Alces, on Ram
part street, and under his guidance inspect
ed the whole establishment. Heretofore we
had knowledge, in vague sort of way,
that Mr.. Alces made cigars in somewhat
large quantities, and the fact that he adver-
tsed them largely was patent; but that his
establishment was of the Importance that
it really is, we were as ignorant as we are
of the inhabitants of the moon. We had
pictured to ourself moderate-sized room
wherein some halt-dozen men sat before
tables rolling up cigars out of the piles of to-
bacco before them, while one or two others
boxed and labeled them for market. But
that this was a real mandatory, in which
hundreds Of skilled mechanics found con-
slant employment, and in which capital
of nearly half million of dollars was en-
ployei, we never dreamed for moment.
Yet we found all this out during our visit
yesterday, and now propose to tell the read
ers of the REPUBLICAN all about it, if they
will have the patience to read.
THE LOCATION.
The buildings used for this mandatory
were formerly an aristocratic family resi-
dence on Rampant street, between St. An
and Dumaine. They are built on the old
Moorish plan-low, two-stOried front. di-
rectly on the street, and with large court
behind. which is surrounded On all sides by
wings of the main house. These wings face
the court, and all open into it, and are con-
nected together by covered galleries. There
are many rooms in all these buildings, and
each room is at present devoted to some
particular branch of the mandatory.
Those in the first story, which faces the
street, are the salesrOOms, and are filed
with boxes of cigars, all ready for the mar
ket. Behind these are the countingrooms
and warerooms for the leaf tobacco, which
is stored in vast quantities in bales and
boxes. Then comes the
MANDATORY,
And we will follow that bale of imported
Havana tobacco as it passes through the
several manipulatiOns and processes to
which it is to be subjected, until we return
with it to the salesrOOm. The first halt it
makes is with the men who are employed
to assert it into two parts-one to be used
for wrappers" and the other 'fillers." If
these words are not Ineligible enough, we
will say that wrappers means the smooth
and perfect leaves which cover the outside
of cigars, and "fllers" the tobacco which
they enclose. The tobacco intended for
filters is then taken in hand by ''strippers."
These men take from the leaves, first damp
ening them, all the stems, open it out
and put it in long fiat piles, about half a
foot in height and three feet in length,
pressing it slightly between two boards
In this pc sition it remains week, when it
is removed to another room and packed
carefully in barrels to be cured by fermen-
tation. This process requires sixty days
While that is going on we will look after
the tobacco intended to be used for wrap
pers which came out of the same bale. This
is carried up stairs and also subjected to the
stripping process, after which it is tied up
in packages of fifty leaves each and passed
iuto the next room into the hands of the as
sorters, of whom there are two to every
six shippers. These workmeA are very
skillful in detecting shades of color, and ex-
perienced judges of tobacco and their duty
is to separate the different colors and quail
ties of the leaves, also tying them into
packages of fifty when this is done, and
then passing them into the next room to the
CIGAR MAKERS.
This room is the largest we have yet
visited, and con tains upward of hundred
busy men, all of whom, to judge from ap-
pearances, are as fond of the weed as any
of their customers. Everything is still, and
their nimble ingears appear to writhe and
twist like thousand serpents. They sit
before low table, upon which is piled the
filters and wrappers, which, after having
gone through all the stages we have de-
scribed, is by them to be joined together
and take final shape. A bunch of leaves is
formed quickly into the rough semblance of
cigar, and the fine outer wrapper is rolled
upon it with rapidity which is astonish-
ing, for it is done so smoothly, and yet SO
firmly, although the material is so tender
and fragile. Each of these workmen has
number, and the result of his days
labor is tied int bundles of
fifty, and ticketed with this number. The
cigar maker receives wages according to
his skill in forming his cigars, and the
rapidity of his work. He must be very
careful, or he will spoil many dollars worth
of valuable material in day, and he must
work honestly or his employers will suffer
the penalty of having bad cigars go into
the market. He is man of character,
therefore, and has an honest pride in main
tanning it. He often works in one manufac-
torx, oil his 1ifo opd rrous RI 1ooI- unop tho