St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-05-31
DO LADIES SMOKE?
Many Who Use the Weed In the Form
of Cigarets.
A Society Lady Who is Interviewed
On the Subject.

''The present. age may very properly be
termed progressive" said a well-known to-
bacconist to reporter the other day, ''but
Judging from what experience have gained
III my business the world is moving alto
gether too rapidly for it's age. -
The reporter was somewhat surprised at
the radical assertion, and inquired in what
direction the abnormity existed.
SIN the habit of smoking" replied the
vender of the weed. '.When I was a boy
it was an uncommon thing to see any one
except men use tobacco, although OCCASION
ally an old woman could be found who chung
to her pipe as she did her spinning wheel or
knitting. Latterly, however, great change
has taken place, and not only do we find
small boys, some of them barely out of their
swaddling clothes, putting away at pipe
or the inevitable pestilence-a cigarette
but the habit has so grown upon the peo-
pie that young ladies, and especially those
in the
UPPER ELEMENT OF SOCIETY.
can be found who enjoy a Whit with the
same relish as veteran smoker. OF course
this is not to be observed on the streets, but
it is fact, nevertheless, and think 1 am
speaking within bounds when l say that
know over 100 ladies who smoke cigarettes
to greater or less extent, How they ac-
quired the habit is a mystery yet unsOlved,
and as am in the tobacco business and
profit by the sale of the goods, it would not
be paying investment to give myself much
trouble in the matter"
"HOw do you know they smoke? 1t isn't
likely they would tell of it," said the re-
porter.
Isn't it? Well, there's where you and /
disagree. Lots of them have told me time
and time again, and can tell the best brand
OF clgaretS as well as a man can tell good
cigar. They come in my store and ask for
package OF this kind or that, and if the
CIGARETS
happen to be too dry OF have any other OBJ
jectiOnable feature, hear of it the next
time the ladies call. There are others who
when making purchase, will say:
My brother OF father couldn't come
down town and asked me to buy some Gig
arets for him.
''This is very often the case, but when
the brother or father sends the young lady
on the same errand three or four times a
week have my suspicious that the young
lady herself is the person who has the
greatest interest in the purchase. They
also buy dainty and expensive parapherna-
liza, with the evident intention of taking as
much pleasure out of the habit as it is pos
sible to get, and believe they enjoy it as
much as we males do.
1.-THE ladies of Mexico and Cuba are in
veterate smokers, and even go so far as to
use cigars, but nothing is thought of it in
those countries. However, do not think
that
AMERICAN LADIES
need to take up the habit simply because it
is the custom in some other country than
our own. 1t may be pleasurable and all
that sort of thing, but when any Of my fe-
male relations come around and ask me to
have social smoke with them I am ready
to move out.
Thinking that perhaps the dealer might
be mistaken, the reporter called OH PROM
inent society lady and asked for further in
formation on the subject.
''Of course they do" laughingly replied
the lady; s'and why should they not? You
horrid men claim that smoke is essential to
your happiness, and you certainly cannot
object to dividing the pleasure with us.
But, seriously, there are number of young
ladies ofmy acquaintance who use cigarets
in moderation. / believe they do it more
for the novelty of the thing than anything
else, but as | am not speaking from per-
sonal experience, am not prepared to
speak positively on this point. However,
no one can dispute the fact, that the habit
is growing among the young ladies and that
it leads to serious results there can be no
question. One peculiar thing / have no.
ticed, and that is, no lady cares to smoke
in the dark. They say that they must be
able to see the smoke or else there is no
pleasure in it, and this leads me to believe
that it is more of a craze than anything else.
A man can smoke in the dark as we'll as in
the light, but the laCies say that in order to
fully appreciate it, they must be able to
see the smoke"