Kansas City daily journal., 1896-12-26
RAISE PRICE OF HAVANA CIGARS
Advance of 20 Per Cent to Go Into
Effect january 1-Due to the
War in Cuba.

From the Chicago Tribune
The price of Havana cigars will be ad-
vanced nearly % per cent the first week in
January. All the big factories in Chicago
and New York have agreed to put prices
up, and some have already done so. An
advance of so a thousand was announced
by some dealers this week. and others have
notified the trade that the limit of present
prices will be January l.
This means that the man who is now nav
ing % cents for three clear Havana cigars
Will have to pay 20 cents apiece for the
same sam article, and that the ''two-for-a-quar-
ter brands will be 10 cents straight, while
the common ''three-fers'' will be sold at
TWO for % cents.
The great scarcity of Havana tobacco is
the cause of the advance. Manufacturers
say there is no profit in the business at
present prices, and many assert that they
nave been losing money steadily for
months. One we'll known Chicago factory
mas smut down, and the proprietors say
they Will not attempt to make more than
Is absolutely necessary to supply regular
customers. They say they can make more
money by selling the manufactured to-
bacco than by making it up into cigars at
present prices or even at the proposed ad-
vance.
Prices of the best Havana wrappers have
adVanced from $3.50 pound to $3.50 and
%, and brokers say they will be bringing S6
at % cents are now eagerly picked up at
81 to a.25. The big factories of the East
nave ma their agents in Chicago trying to buy
an Ihe good Havana wrappers they can get
hold OF at the new prices, and these men
say there Is great scarcity of first-clasS
wrappers in the United States
Ot course all the trouble is caused by the
war IN Cuba There are only 125OOO bales
os tobacco on the island now, and. as this
amount is less than one-fourth of an aver
ago crop, it will be seen there is some
fourGation for the hard luck" stories told
by manufacturers. They profess to believe
that IN case there should be. trouble with
the united states the Spaniards would
promptly burn all the tobacco on the island
to prevent it falling into the hands OF the
Americans, and this would be practically
lhs END OF Havana cigars for a long time
Some factories are trying to make their
with Ohio and Virginia tobacco, that costs
less than one-tenth as much.
A clear Havana cigar is made of pure
Havana tobacco all through. The filler
me quality may vary. Havana is small i'm
leaf and has a tendency to grow thick and
heaVy: The smoothest and thinnest leaves
are selected Tor wrappers and the next best
ioT 1,, binders. and the rest go in as filters.
There Is not likely to be any relief in tha
market before 1898. The Havana crop is
pianted in October and early November
ana as the season for planting has now
passed, with less seed in the ground than
was ever known before, a full crop co1IId
not be raised before 1898 even If the war
should end next year. 1
NO satisfactory substitute for Havana TO-
nacco has been found. There is a leaf
crown IN Mexico that comes nearest to IL
America raises some good tobacco hui Az
amount Is SO small II cuts no figure i'm the
general market. Ohio grows a leaf that
looks more like Havana than any Other
.t out as IL is worth only 80 cents a pound
that is the best reason why ii could not he
used IN place of the genuina orticIa ~