The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1895-05-26
IMPORTED CIGARS.
Are They Really So Much Better Than
the Home Made Article.

An old-time cigarmaker of st. Louis.
who has watched the trade for years,
said the other day:
There was once a time when nobody
who wanted a good smoke thought of
buying anything but an imported cigar.
That time has nearly passed. or course
there are still some men who think
they could not smoke anything else,
but. after all. they can be easily fooled
If the dealer wishes IL. for many OF the
cigars of home manufacture are really
better than the imported.
The retailer Of foreign cigars who
found business good ten years ago.
when there were no first-class cigars
TO be had without importing them, has
seen his business go from bad To
worse until IL ended finally in entire
failure. New Orleans manufactures
now, as has always been the case.
probably a larger number of cigars
than any other city. unless il be San
Francisco. The state of California has
done particularly serious damage To
the Cigarmakers' union through its
Chinese factories. There are 90 OF these
factories underground i'm San Francis
co alone whose cheap rents and cheap
er than pauper labor enable them to
produce a cigar for one cent that Is
hard to duplicate in other cities for
three cents, and from this they run up
into the better line Of goods.
five-cent cigar is now as good as
fifteen-cent cigar OF some years ago.
Havana. Cuba. has felt severely the
decreased demand of the United states
for foreign goods-that is. as far as
the manufacturers are concerned. but
the leaf tobacco men have not suffered
much. because their loss I'm domestic
sales has been made up by their for
eign receipts. OF course the number Of
cigars smoked in this country is great
q than before hlIf fhpV made
at home of imported goods.
The United States at one time I'M
ported yearly between 200 200. 600 and
300. 100000 Of cigars. During the year
1894 only 10000 900 were brought into
the country. With the increase Of the
manufacture Of cigars i'm this country
the demand for domestic makes has
increased. A number of firms are sell
ing % per cent. more clear and seed
Havana cigars than they did few
years ago. Were IL not for the red
tape Of the revenue stamps and the
like this country would import, | be-
iieve. not more than one cigar out of
every seven now used. Prices of cigars
i'm Havana run as high as 81 900 per
thousand but there is no weed produced
that warrants "a cost of more than $500
per thousand To the manufacturer. Al
lowing % per cent. profit 10 the manu-
facturer. he can sell his best brands
at $500 per thousand. Most of these
cigars, however, are smoked by the no
bility of Europe. They are n little too
fancy price for Americans. BY the
time such goods would reach the Am
erican retail dealer they would have
cost him pretty close on to 500 per
thousand. and before the consumer
gets this cigar the retailers profit
must be added. which puts the article
far beyond the reach of the ordinary
smoker
THE Italians seem to be naturally
the best cigarmakers. They turn out
some of the prettiest cigars that the
American market carries to-day, but
the industry is not confined 10 them
alone. for the Bohemians and other
foreigners that have flocked of late TO
American shores have gone into this
kind of work, as IL pays them pretty
well. and the increasing demand for
home manufacture I'm his line Is contin-
ually opening up plenty of employment
for the cigarmaker. The active Amer
lean workman becomes the most skill
full and is the most reliable. st. Louis
Republic.