St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1896-02-11
TOBACCO TRADE is COOP.
Miles FELTON, Tells Why the Cuban
1nsurrection HASN'T Hurt IT.

lnsurrectiOn HASN'T Hurt 1t.
Miles FELTON,, of Key West, Florida,
informed reporter for the GIob e
at the Ryan yesterday that while the
cuban instruction had undoubtedly
caused great distress and much poverty
In that island it had so far interfered
but little with the Cuban tobacco trade
The fact is" said Mr.. FELTON,. "the
1nsurrectionists don't dare to interfere
with the tobacco crop. Too many of
tnelr own people on the island are
absolutely dependent on that crop. Be
SIDES there's a great body Of active
sympathizers in Florida who send over
pleasant little cargoes of good will in
most tangible form. These people are
all more or less engaged in the tobacco
business. If the crop were to be en-
urely or even seriously injured there
might be a painful lack of pleasant
little cargoeS And So in spite of
rumors scattered far and wide by the
cigar drummers, the fact is that there
Is no lack of Havana tobacco at pres
ent and no lack of cigars made in that
city. The factories there are running
pretty much as usual except that there
is occasionally some difficulty in get
ting men to handle the tobacco The
consumption laws have been enforced
by the Spaniards with the severity that
they so often display in their system
of government. A good many cigar
makers have been obliged to fight for
the baby king, whether they felt ex-
tremely loyal or a trif1e otherwise
And the otherwiseness is a feeling
great deal more common among the
Cubans than anybody seems to imagine
at Madrid. But the Cubans are dis
gusted with being made mere beasts
of burden to support a government
that can get hardly any revenue from
impoverished Spain. Cuba Is so rich
and productive that the Spaniards have
taxed the natives in every possible di-
rection. Why, when you go ashore at
Havana you can't land directly from
the steamer. You must be taken off in
government boats and you must pay
for the privilege. When you come
away you pay a little more for the
chance to go. When you register at a
hotel the clerk sticks a big five-cent
stamp along side Of your name and
charges it up In the bill. Tobacco, of
course, is heavily taxed, vet, if YOU
know how to go about it you can get
lots Of splendid cigars there for four
or five cents apiece. You understand,
the cigar makers are each allowed ten
cigars free per day for their own use.
Now, a lot of those fellows are salts
fled with smoking the filings or with
taking badly made and rejected
cigar In that way they keep most of
their ten perfect cigars. But, natu-
rally, they couldn't sell 'em openly to
the regular dealers so they dispose of
them ON the side to fruit peddlers.
old women in the streets and the like.
And If you can work it so as to get in
touch with these peddlers, you can get
any number of first-class cigars, real
twenty -five-centers,' for less than a
nickel apiece. But at the hotels and in
many Of the stores they will charge a
stranger as much at Havana as he
pays in this country. The Cubans are
good-natured, but stranger has been
a stranger long before that traveller
went down to Jericho and fell among
! thieves -"