Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1873-05-24


The question, "docs it pay to smoke"
is recalled 10y the history Of Gilsey, the
great tobaccOnist. GiIsey laid the found
alton of his vast fortune in the letty sale
Of cheap cigars. | well remember when
was a youthful smoker, Ga habit discon-
tinued some twenty year agol, stepping
into Gilsey's little shop and exchanging
three coppers for aPrincipe. How little
did think that was assisting in the
formation Of 50 immense AN estate. 1t
was, however, just such three-cent custo-
mers that gave Gilsey his start. In
those days a tolerably good cigar could
be sold at this price with onc-third prof
it, All our tobacconists get rich, though
they do not all attain Gilsey's success.
Hence it must be admitted that smoking
pays; that i, if you only smoke through
your customers. 1t has often been said
that this city spends more for tobacco
than for bread, but this is a very made
quate comparison. y good smoker will
easily smoke up dollars worth Of ci-
gars in a day; but'what man can con-
sumo one-tenth of that amount in bread?
As for the tobacconists themselves, they
present an array of wealth such as is
possessed by no other guild.
SOLID FRATERNITY.
1t is a rcmarkabl. fact that our tObac-
conists and cigar dealers are seldom
known to fail. On the other hand, they
generally make great fortunes. OF that
portion of the craft dwelling on the
North River side, the most prominent
in former times was George Schatt, a
German, who left large estate. Not
far from his establishment was q snal!
wooden building occupied by another
German tobacconist named LiliienthaL
This man is dead, but his son carries on
the lucrative trade, and has built on that
very spot an enormous tobacco factory.
Attention has recently been called to the
fact that John Anderson gave to the
cause of science an island near the coast
of New England. This leads me to the
remark that he is supposed to be worth
s7,OOO,OOO. He once kept, as is well
known, a retail shop on Broadway, near
the old hospital, and employed that un-
fortunate girl whose name has become
historical Ill the annals of crime as
:"Mary Celicia Rogers, the beautiful
cigar girl" Anderson himself was as
much embarrassed by the mysterious
fate of the poor creature as any one, and
! did all i'll his power to throw light upon
it. After her death, he abandoned the
spot and opened another store where lac
was very successful. He then retired and
moved to the East, where, as it is said,
he became very unhappy in spite Of his
immense wealth, and there are those that
in;inuate that his state of mind is not
without good cause. However, on that
point know nothing, and will not add
TO public gossip by any further aliuslon
to so dreadful Il tragedy.
TIE LoRMLARDS AND OTHERS.
The LorillardS are known all over this
continent as tobacco dealers, and Their
establishment has been i'll existence more
lhan century. Ii bids fair to last 4
century longer. There is now nuncer
of Lorlllald families, all sprung from
one stock. They are all rich, and some
are possessed of vast wealth. Indeed, Ii
mas been remarked that one never saw
"A poor Lorillard." The estate Of th'
1llte Peter q. Lorillard, recently de
ceased, includes thirty stores on Broad
way. lie was the largest holder o
Broadway real estate in this city. An
other old house is Mrs q. Is. Miller y
Co., which has not done as well as som'
operators in the trade, but still holds
position. TO these may be added th'
names OF such men as Agncw ~ Council!
who dealt in leaf and plug tobacco, an'
became very rich. Charles N: Connoll.
left an estate at Washington Heights o
nearly sl,000,0Oo.
LOOK AT THE CIGAR BILLS.
The cigar trade is now employing
vast amount of capital, and many VIII
began in Il small way are welding mi
, lions in this business. Imported cigar
: are enormously expensive. This arise
not only from their cost IN ltavann;
which has increased of late years, bu
= from the duty levied at this port, whic
! is eighty per cent. SO enormous n ta
as this could not but lead to smuggling
but it has been found that the risks an
! expense attending this practice are grea
! er than the profit. There are now nea
! " one hundred popular brands OF Iii
. wanna cigars, each OF which has its az
: mireres. Perhaps the most noted Is Il
7 'Intimidad," which is priced in the IN
: portcr's hands at the tritiing sum I
= S4OO per thousand; they retail at titt
cents each, and in some stores even slXt
> cents is demanded. How many of the'
: must man smoke every day in order
y y oct rich? The ''Henry Clay is anoth'
u brand of almost equal popularity, an
- brings the same pr ce. Cigars OF the
brands are large, al d e made in vel
neat manner. None but luXuriol
> smokers indulge in them, and as the
Ie are of strong as we'll as an agreab
Il flavor, they will go much further thu
le others. They are imported in box
IL each containing fifty, and larger nul
il Der of these boxes are contained in
he case. Compared with the cigar ira
s, generally, the sale Of these costly bran
IS, IS very limited. Another popular bra1
Ve is the "Flora del Funo," which is wor
e. sll5 per thousand, while "Principe'
ne which once sold for $40 per thousan
ne now bring $3.50. The former general
DC retails from l5 to 20 cents apiece, s Is t
- most frequent cigar at first class MOTEL
ee DIFFICULTY OF IMITATION
nd 1t is found to be almost impossible
ch fully equal Havana cigar IN any
ch caIitv. The best tobacco Is grown