Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1889-09-13
REVOLUTION In CIGARS.
Important Facts Made known TO the
Smoking Public.
An Interview with MIR. Tan sill. of II
w. Tan.iIi a Go. He Exp,.,u. The
Origin aud Development of His I'm
mcnse Busincss-seiates the Causes
Of His Phenomenal Success.

Denver (colo.) Republican. Juiy7
90 many causes have been assigned
Tor the success of the celebrated '"rnn-
siils Punch cigar, that Republican
reporter, learning of Mr. Tansill's SO.
lourn at the Albany, called on him to
ascertain for the benefit Of smokers n
true explanation of these causes. Mr..
Iansill expressed readiness to COM
municate on this subject, and the re-
porter piled his questions.
Have you any objection, Mr. Tan
Sill, to giving the readers of the Repub-
lican an inside view of the success you
have attained in your business?"
well, no. L can't say that [ have"
was the reply. ''Since have no patent
on my methods of conducting business
and no secrets to withhold from the
public, l am perfectly willing to crafty
you to the extent of my ability. To
commence with: After the great Chicago
lire of II, L became convinced that
there WAS large and increasing de-
mand, tidal wave, rs it were, for u
ilrst class five cent cigar. How to pro-
duce such cigar and to market it profit
ably was the problem to solve.
was young man at the time and
full OF ambition. After carefully study
ing the condition of the trade, settled
upon plan to accomplish my object.
But before L give it to You, let mo ex-
plain the situation rs it existed ut that
time. The average retail dealer in
those days never Thought it possible to
sell hve-cent cigar Mt less than 100
per cent profit, while the average whole
sale dealer or manufacturer made n
profit varying from $40 to $50 per 900
on that class of goods. Such five-cent
cigars, OF course, were made of very in
fclior domestic stock.
Now / conceived the idea That by re-
ducinS both profits and slightly increas-
ing the price, and Mt the same time max
ing II cigar that should contain the
choicest Havana filler. and then placing
u III tile hands OF prominent retail deal
ers all over the United States, with nm
exclusive control or agency for the same
Tor their towns or ncighborhoods, they,
through the superior quality of the
cigar, which Mt once commanded n
largely increased trade, could afford to
sell 1T at reduced percentage of profit
In other words | first raised the price of
the goods to tho retailer, and mt the
same time | reduced my own profits
nDleu me to furnish an Havana filled
cigar that could be retailed for five
cents.
'Ihen I personally Travelled oyer the
United States and established my agen-
cleS, relying chiefly on mail orders,
thereby dispensing with double drum
ming and the jobber's profit, thus cf-
1ectlnS great saving. l charged moth
Ing for my services and sold my goods
mt less than one-half the profit made by
my competitors. In taking this step
trusted solely to the intelligence of the
smoker and dealer for my recompen>e.
Had not done so the name of 'Tansill
Punch cigar, like the names of my
thousand lmitators, would have been
obsolete long ago"
Has your fifth in the intelligence OF
the smoker and dealer been sustnined?'
Yes, far beyond my most sanglline
expectations. And MS the business has
grown from year to year, L have appro-
priated percentage of my profits for nd
vertising. | might add in this connec-
ton that have Just placed contracts
for advertising "ransill's Punch in
nearly 1000 daily and weekly newspa,
pers, with combined annual circulation
| of over 500, 900, 600 copies From
| this it can be seen that my faith in the
merits of my goods and i'll my methods
OF selling them is stronger than ever
| before"
| HAS your plan of doing business met
with the approval of the merchant"
| MY success emphatically answers
your question in the Affirmative Could
| You but read our correspondence, you
would then realize how our agency and
goods are appreciated by both dealer
and smoker. AS to the value of our
agency, will give you an illustration.
Nine years ago w. Nj. Dale, Chicago
druggist, was trying to establish q
trade on tive-cent cigar. TO accom-
plish this he was paying $38 per / 600
for his leading five cent brand and re
failing but 200 of them per week
| gave Mr. Dale the agency for "Tansill's
Punch for his neighborhood, and his
trade steadily increased from year tc
year until 1t reached the enormou,
number of $1,000 "Tansill's Punch pei
month, while his aggregate Sales all n
retail, mind you, of that single brand
have largely exceeded 1900, 600 cigars
l could cite you similar illustrations il
almost every part of the United States
Then l understand, Mr.. Tansill, thai
your plan is to sell tirst-class cigar n
a small profit and rely upon the lnrg,
volume of your trade for the results?"
That Is it, exactly"