The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-10-13
WEEDS EAT FORTUNES.
MEN WHO WORSHIP AT THE SHRINE
OF THE GODDESS NICOTINE.

Dollar Cigars for wales, who Only
smokes Them Half Through
Chaunccy Depew's House Paid for
by the Cignrs He Didn't smoke.
How His Friend John Gave Him "a
Hard CaII-Down.
From the New Orleans Picayune.
English society journals dwell with low
ing frequency upon the cigars which the
Prince of Wales smokes 1t is a matter
of a great pride for the loyal Briton TO
know that the prince smokes cigars
which cost 4 shillngs apiece and to keep
the fact ever-present in the nations eye
a paragraph to that effect is religiously
printed every few weeks.
1t has been reckoned that the prince
spends about $1,000 a year on cigars.
OF course he does not smoke all this
money himself. Occasionally he distrb-
utes a few Of his famous smokers among
his friends, and it is esteemed a great
honor to have been rendered cigar by
his royal hghness. He limits himself to
ten cigars day, but as he only smokes
one half of the weed, he does not in real
ity, consume more tobacco than the man
who allows himself Ave-
half of cigar is the only proper end to
smoke. He claims that the ire ruins the
flavor of the latter half. and as he has
the funds to indulge in this idea, it brings
ioy to the heart Of the man who has the
contract of supplying the weed. The ci-
gars are of Cuban make, ana are packed
in highly finished boxes. They are made
up in three different sizes, ana are sup
piled in lots Of 1900.
1t is a sad fact to relate, but there is
more than one dude in New York VINO mas
a cigar given him by the prince, or OBJ
tanned at second-h hand, hanging In spe-
cially made frame in mis- apartments. 10
smoke that cigar would pc deemed
dreadful sacrilege by the owner. II may
be that II will be handed down as fam
lily heirloom, unless common sense inter-
venes.
But the prince is not the only man who
smokes good cigars. There are many men
in this country who spend a world OF
money in the same way and perhaps get
more pleasure out of II than does the
Elbridge T. Gerry, philanthropist
yachtsman and millionaire. has number
of fads, and tobacco IS one of them. II IS
his boast that the tobacco in his cigars Is
grown and cured under directions mapped
out by himself. single plantation IN
Cuba supplies all the tobacco used in his
cigars, and he has a contract with the
owners for a certain quantity every
month. Being a lavish entertainer Mr.
Gerry consumes a vast number of cigars
Ten thousand dollars a year barely meets
the bill although they do not cost nearly
as much as those smoked by Wales.
Mr. Gerry has two kinds and the I'M
inflated guest invariably gets the worst Of
ii if he makes his own selection. The ci-
gars are kept In an immense silver box
divided into two sections. In one section
are plain looking cigars, with nothing par
ticular about them to attract the con-
noisseur. The other half of the box is
respondent with a mass of fine big, fat
cigars, sheathed in tinfoil. In nine cases
out of ten the novice is attracted by the
glamor of the gaudy cigar and smokes it,.
The cigar is a good one, but compared
with its plain-lookng mate 1t Is rank
counterfeit. The man who has once
smoked the plain cigar is never again
lured into taking the silvered affair when
the box comes his way
Howard Gould is the only member Of
the famous family who smokes. jay Gould
was not a smoker and George Gould, the
eldest SON. never allowed the habit to get
firm grip on him. Edwin Gould, the
second son, is an occasional devotee AT
the shrine of Mistress Nicotine, but How
ard is her only real follower
The young man has spent the last three
or four months racing his. yacht, the
twenty-rater, Niagara, in English waters,
and captured many prizes. He has also
captured some English fads, one of them
being smokers companion for the
pocket, make of gold and with his initials
set in diamonds. 1t is fashioned precisely
after one that Wales uses and il is need
less to say cost pretty penny. 1T IS di-
vided into many ingenious compartments,
so that the owner can smoke either pipe
cigars or cigarettes. as his fancy dictates
The one side is devoted to the required
space for four cigars. while the other IS
given up to a miniature silver and briar
pipe, half a dozen cigarettes, a place for
matches and space for small quantity
of tobacco. Mr.. Gould is a small, slight
young man, less than five feet six inches
in hight and not weighing more than l20
pounds, yet he smokes big black cigars
which would stagger a giant. They cost
$50 q hundred but the ordinary man has
no use for them.
Chauncey Depew is a non-smOker, but
he has his tobacco fad like less-gifted
mortals. Twenty years ago, when Mr.
Depew was not burdened with wealth, ne
was a smoker and he smoked good cigars
too. He spent something like $50 a month
in this luxury, and then he decided to
quit. He claims now that the cigars ne
didn't buy paid for the fine house he now
lives in on West Fifty-fourth street
As this house is worth at least Sl75. co.
this assertion by Mr.. DepeW seems an
exaggeration, but II must be remembered
that the great talker is also a skilled
fnancier. Say that in ten years Mr..
Depew had saved 5000 or $1,000 by not
smoking Give him another ten years to
manipulate these few thousand dollars
and with the countless opportunities for