The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1884-06-27
Cigar-Smoking.

During the process of purchasing
some tobies and lighting one at cigar
store, nearly opposite Municipal hall,
yesterday afternoon, the proprietor be-
came communicative and impaired to
n Dispatch reporter some facts concern
ing the quality of the weed most
smoked in Pittsburg and what class of
men usually smoke the best cigars.
There are more tobies smoked in
Pittsburg." said he, .'than in any city
of its size in the United States. Smokers
here smoke poorer cigars, too, than
those of any other city,"
"Who are the best customers, or
rather who buy the best cigars?"
MY best trade is transient; drum
mers and the like. Very few people
to Pittsburg born smoke anything bet
ter than 2-for-5 cigar, although l
have some customers who purchase 5
and 10-cepters, and few, very few,
who 60 even higher than that"
Business men, such as well-to-do
manufacturers and the like, are your
best customers, next to the travelling
public are they not?"
mo, sir. Most of these smoke to-
bies and 2-for-5s exclusively. Neither
is it the mechanic, who earns from $18
to $50 week. 1t is the dude clerks.
on salaries mostly from IS to SIS a
week. Many of these smoke 10-cent
cigars. How can they afford it? Well,
guess they don't smoke more than
one or two day"
Here the conversation was interrupted
by the entrance of young man, stylish
ly dressed, who purchased Havana
ordinary-looking, middle-aged gentle
man; who bought n nickle's worth OF
tobies.
THAT young man clerks for 50 a
week, and the older gentleman is worth
few hundred thousand, said the
dealer after thcy had departed.
Another curious thing about mos,
men is that they smoke better cigars
on Sunday than on week days." he
continued. "Now, often sell one
hundred 10-cent cigars on Sunday, and
probably not rs many more of the same
kind during the balance of the week.
When young man drops his working
clothes he also drops tobies and buys a
or 10 cent cigar. Then, again, l can
also tell when certain young men are
going to see their girls, for on that
evening they always purchase much
better cigar than usual"
When asked how he knew Pittsburg
smokers were not up to those of other
cities in regard to taste, the dealer
said:
because l travelled for wholesale
cigar firm for years. 1t is almost I'M
possible to get a toby in the east, and
in the west nothing less than 5-cent
cigars are sold"
A well-known revenue agent, now
connected with the department. in this
city, but late of Chicago, where million:
of cigarettes are manufactured, wa:
spoken to on the subject of cigarettes
al used to be a confirmed cigarette
smoker, but now you could not induce
me to touch one of them," he said.
"Why, how's thatp"
swell, it's because / went into ,
large cigarette manufacturing estab.
lishment in Chicago on business one
day, and what / saw there sickeneC
me on the imitation smokers. How are
they made, and of whatp OF all tina
is vile and injurious and mean. Cigar
butts, picked up from the street; bark:
of certain kinds and tobacco stems and
refuse are heaped together in one filthy
pile and then saturated with opium
which gives the cigarette that soothing
effect desirable to all smokers. 1 tel
you, sir, if all cigarette smokers could
! see, as l have seen, how one of the
greatest firms in Chicago manufacture
cigarettes, the trade in the same would
soon fall off or cease entirely. PITTS
burg Dispatch.