The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-10-10

an INDUSTRIOUS agent ali over the CONT
hent, ana there Is one rather poor brand
which : found IN all the cities. but the
purchasers are usually natives and not
travelling Americans AT least. this was
me testimony OF several dealers
~ might be supposed. the sign above
en- Italian shop is ''Tabak." In this tax
ridden country tobacco Is a government
monopoly, and the government gives the
rlshl OF manufacture and sale 10 the high
est bidder.
The result is OF course that the tohac-
co Is atrOciOusly bad
IN order that there shall be any sale at
an the prices must be cheap. II you go
INTO 'tabak" place and ask for a cigar
the man will offer YOU a few inches OF
roughly twisted tobacco rope. the charge
Tor which viii be cents
IT You impress on him that YOU want a
good cigar he Will offer a very stubby and
dark cherOOt-price 8 cents.
II you express dissatisfaction with the
scent article and wear il in on him that
you are prepared TO spend your money
Freely and get something of superior quail
lty ne opens glass case and brings out
the treasure of his shop-a faded and
cigars
The Accent cigars are the worst on earth
untll you try the 2-cent kind. and then
they become fairly good by contrast. They
are dark, strong and rancid.
suppose that cigar six inches long
costs 2 cents. what must he the trifling
commercial value of the stump of such
a cigar-a stump never more than an inch
long, when it is tossed away by the frugal
smoker
Yet no sooner has the wretched rem
nant or bad tobacco fallen TO the sidewalk
than some shambling beggar has pounced
upon II and captured IL away from his
Watchful associates.
II Is very annoying to have a forlorn and
ragged man stand six feet away from YOU
waiting to fall upon the bitter end of your
cigar when you have tossed II away.
suppose that he captured 100 of such
butts IN a day. Would that give him
an income sufficient to support a family2
IL the smoker dropped the stump under
the table at which he was seated. the
connoisseur and collector of butts" crept
up ana carefully worked 1t out with a long
stick which he carried.
AT the most hrnnant and fashfona ble
cares IN Milan these collectors lin the Uni
ted states slang they would be known
as snipe-shootersD, moved among the
patrons, peering anXiously for treasure
Ihey seemed to be on terms of equality
with the beggars and peddlers who con-
stantly harassed the patrons.
one OF them, very gray man, with the
features of a Roman senator. turned upon
a waiter who had harshly ordered him
out or the way and denounced him in most
fluent Milanese dialect. His speech came
to sudden end when he saw a man throw
away an unfinished cigarette. He ran for
the butt"
Late at night the "snipe-shooter's
nickerlng dark lantern may be seen along
the side streets. He moves slowly, direct
ing the light toward the gutter next the
pavement, occasionally stooping TO ex
anime some nice find"
In Paris the collector does not visit the
cafes until nearly midnight, and then he
gathers up all the stumps that have ac-
cumulated during the afternoon and even
ing. There Is no rivalry. as each man has
his own route. The Partisan shooter
wears large, loose coat, with baggy
pockets, and as he gathers up his stumps
he sorts them. The tobacco thus collected
is made over into cheap cigarettes and
smoking tobacco, and Is sold in shops that
cater to the poorer working people.
Not long ago the concern that has the
monopoly of Frances tobacco supply at
tempted to prevent the sale of the second
hand tobacco.
The shooters, who have a compact or
ganization, with a membership of several
hundred held an Indignation meeting and
issued an address to the public They
claimed that they were sober and indus
trious citizens of the republic, and II
was through their efforts that the poor
man in Paris was enabled to sooth him
self with a smoke.
Cigar stores in Paris are few and far
between They are known as government
repositories, and are numbered as such
above the doorways
The cigars are for sale In small, sealed
boxes, containing four, six or eight CT
gars each. Usually the cigars are of bad
quality and not at all fresh.
The native cigars may be bought singly
but they can be smoked by no one except
a brave Frenchman.
Smoking tobacco is sold by weight II
Is black and very bitter. and Is used IN
the manufacture of French cigarettes
which are as bad as anything in Italy.
An American l0-cent cigar of fairly good
quality costs l6 or 20 cents. IL may be set
down as a rule that American tobacco
in France costs twice as much as IL would
in the United States.