The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1886-10-06
The Cigars We Smoke.


very few, can tell a god cigar when they
Sse one. or even when they smoke 1t.
This fact ! not generally knotn. and
numbers Of smoker viii be loath 70 be-
heTe it. but II i nevertheless true Nc
expert dealer Nill bare o bet on cigar
A. to whether IT Is a Havana or domes-
tic one, The Imagination works eNten-
sively in the smoking of a cigar. and =
person used 10 reveiing in a tve-cen,eF
enjoys himself quite a much u the two
for-a-quarter Individual. and If the for
mer were given the htter's cigar be
would turn his nose up in disgust al the
aroma The popularity Of a certain cigar
depends upon it, flavor and upon the
smokers liking for that flavor. To OBJ
tain various iiavors manufacturers have
secret combinations of ftobacc0s. and these
are a. numerous ~ the combinations oi
colors. A sample cllabination Is a Penn
sylvania diier, Wisconsin binder. and
a Havana -eevi OF eumAtr.l wrapper The
i0-cent cigar bY an honest manufacturer
= made up of Connecticut, Rennsyiva-
MA. 20 Wisconsin binder. Havaaa iiiler.
aud -umatn OF Havana seed wrappeF.
Havana --e'l l. the seed Of Havana tobae-
o brought 10 this country and grown
heTe. A great many ci1arS. however, are
~,ld A. Havana filler when the filler i
ulNei with domestic t0baoco. The man
uiacture of these ci.zrs costs much IeSs.
but they suit a. wen and buyers seldom
know the difference. The taste In cigars
l. most deceptive. and a dozen men
would have a. many different opinions
of the ssIne cigar If the friend 70 when
you band a tive-oeut cigar SAYS, a. he al
ways does. By pngo. this isa fine cigar, =
do not think him eonnoisseur, but a
base deceiver The finest imported ei-
glrs when placed in a box labeled hve
cents would be called rank los the sInok-
er Of five centers. Thus cigars cannot Sell
on their merits from the manufacturer :
standpoint. and many ara sold simply on
the amount Of advertising done for them
and these cigars. consumers can rely upon
il, are generally poor, the difference pay
ing for the advertising This Of course
refers "a where the advertising l. kept up
for any length of time. The real good
Judges OF cigar ar. the consumers them
selves. the cigar recommending itself by
the taste. but none of these smokers can
ever tell what rnak-s good cigar Here
in comes the secret favor Of this manu-
facturer. A smoker viii scorn a pure
Havana filler cigar IN preference 10 a
cheap favored one
Men who have been in the cigar trade
all their lives can easily be fooled by the
cigars that are made now a-dayS They
are not A. good as the cigars were in
former years. and it seems that the soil
in Cuba j. giving OUT and a. good tobae-
co cannot now be produced. Key West
has q reputation for making good cigars,
but people forget OCCASIONALLY that 1t Is
in the United states. Tobacco i con
tinually shipped to Key West from
Pennsylvania and made into cigars there.
and then when il Is sent back in IT, new
form consumers labor under the idea
that the cigars are clear Havana and they
relish them a. much. Of late years %
bacco has been grown in thi> country
which compares aborabIy with Havana
tobacco. The manufacturers think a
great iniustice l. done chem by the law
Obliging them 70 put a custom-houSe
stamp on imported cigirs. Just a. good
cigars are made here, bat consumers viii
prefer the one with the foreign stamp
and pay higher price. thus discriminaf-
ing against home manufacture. The
Spanish workman makes the best cigar.
a he has a peculiar way Of rolling II
which gives It a better taste. and great
many American Workmen have learned
the Spanish system. There l. not a.
much profit in the cigar manufacturing
business a. formerly. The tax some time
ago was IS per 1000 cigars. About two
vears ago it vas reduced To =. The re-
tailers demanded a corresponding reduc-
tioR. which Was granted. but they con
tinued selling at the old rates. A. far a.
the retailer l. concerned the business il
profitable. By buving cigars by the box
4 very large margin viii be sayed by
habitual smokers
Wisconsin tobacco = largely used in
the manufacture of cigars. During the
last four or five years it has become a
great tobacco producing state. about 81
Oo0O0o being sent into three counties
annually for tobacco. This year the state
viii probably not grow much tobac-o. ~
the l0W price 0ffers no inducenent % the
farmers But the industry here j. .ruw-
inc year by year AMI Wisconsin Is des-
tined 70 rival the other States. Manu-
faeturers n New York have bought large
quantities of Wisconsin tobaoco. shipped
II 10 that city. and made cigars which
they sell on tire Chicago market cheaper
than the Chicago manufacturers sell the
very same tobacco. al on account Of the
high price paid for labor and the exor-
bitant demands of the labor unions
Ia Cuba the planters take the greatest
pains with their tobacco crops, while
here the farmers are very careless. II
the farmers in the United States would
take q much pains as their Cuban breth-
ren the finest tobacco in the world could
be- grown here The plant requires an
rlrft..fl.s. ,,ruf,t7f4r f,f- care