The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-09-05
HAVANA ToBAcoo COMING.
Gen. Wcsler'S Embargo on Exports
Removed.
New York Commercial Advertiser.


ago on all kinds of Cuban tobacco. the
business of importing the fragrant leaf
and filler is to be resumed. The imports.
which have been smuggled out of the is
land seaports during the last few months
and which have not amounted to more
than a few thousand pounds. are likely
to be trebled in two or three weeks. These
imports are expected to cause a whole
sale reduction in the price of Havana
cigars, despite the increased duties which
| dealers will be compelled to pay under the
| provisions of the new Dingley tariff law.
The removal of the embargo, however,
| does not mean that Havana tobacco, as
nearly all the Cuban product is termed, is
to be reduced to that point where it can
be reached by the average smoker. Be
| fore the beginning of the revolution Gu
| ban tobacco was cheap, comparatively.
and the duties under the Wilson law be-
ing low, Havana cigars could be bought
as low as three for a quarter. Conditions
have been changed by the war and the
| tariff, and for the former price of three
cigars the smoker cannot buy a cigar of
| good quality.
In the leaf tobacco districts
it was said that the first exports
would begin to arrive the latter part of
| this week or the forepart of next week.
| They are to come from the districts which
| are heavily guarded, not far from the city
| of Havana, where, friends of the Cubans
! laughingly say, there are three Spanish
| soldiers to every tobacco plant. The VAL
! ley of Vuelto Abajo, from whence comes
| the finest quality of Cuban tobacco, is in
! the hands of the Cubans, so far as the
| possibilities of raiding it are concerned.
| Occasionally a brigade or regiment of
| Spanish infantry penetrates this district
| and destroys every vestige of the crops
| planted and tended by the Cubans or their
| sympathizers, and leaves undisturbed
those of the loyal subjects. A few guards
| are left, and usually the main body of the
Spanish troops is not out of sight before
there is raid by the Cubans aud the
| loyal planters see the guards driven away
and their crops destroyed in turn.
| Last season the Cubans allowed The
Spanish to bring the tobacco crop TO ma
| turity, intending TO seize it when the
planters had prepared it for shipment But
| it happened that the sagacity of Capt.
| Gen. Weyler and his subordinates was
equal to that of the Cubans. When the
crop was about ready to be garnered he
filled the district with al army of soldiers
| too large to be attacked. In consequence
the guard of artillery and bayonets, and
cured it behind earthwoTks.
Just what profit was made on the crop
dealers could not say Neither
could the tell what became of 1t.
! According to the figures given by one i'm
porter the crop could not have amounted
| to more than 10000 pounds. The same i'm
| porter is the authority for the statement
| that there were no less than 10000 troops
in the locality for more than a month, or
one soldier and a half for every pound of
| tobacco produced. If this was really the
case the tobacco would appear to be worth
nearly its weight in gold, the pay of
| Spanish soldier being about S. month.
| The cost of guarding the tobacco would
have been $3.50 pound.
| The chagrined Cubans, after this bit of
| shrewdness on the part of Gen. Weyler,
have permitted no more crops to reach
maturity on the plantations of loyal sub
jects, as the continued raids show. The
| Cubans continued growing tobacco them
selves, though in mountain valleys and
near swamps, which they sent out of the
| country by various devices and sold or
traded off to Spaniards for firearms and
ammunition. The latter exported this to-
| bacco in the ordinary channels, declaring
| to the customs aut Iorities al Havana that
they grew it themselves.
| Most of the toba eco was sent to this
country and reached the hands of Cuban
cigar makers WHO gave u luS cause Oh
their country one-third of the wages they
earned. In fact, there has been no other
| class of Cubans who have contributed per
| capita so much money with which to car
| ry on the rebellion as have the cigar max
ers They earn good pay while employed,
and frequently contribute from IS to IS
each a week. In Key West especially a
| large fund has been raised by the Cubans
| in this fashion.
Minister De LONE heard of the large
| amount of money contributed to the cause
the leaders said, and informed Gen.
| Weyler and the government at
| home. 1t was suggested, that though the
government would lose considerable mon
ey in the export taxes the blow would fall
| heavier upon the Cubans if there should
be no tobacco exported. The Cubans would
have little or no work, and could not in
consequence support themselves, much less
contribute heavily to the insurgent gov
| eminent. The result of Mr.. De Lome's sug-
gestion was that Gen. Weyler issue an
edict forbidding the expectation of tobac-
co, though cigars could be shipped in any
quantity. Gen. Weyler hoped by means of
the edct to have all of the tobacco made
into cigars by loyal men in Havana. His
plans did not work, however, for while
| the supply of tobacco did not diminish
there was lamentable lack of skilled
workmen to make up the cigars, and the
tobacco began to accumulate in the Gus
! TOM mousse anu III WAREHOUSES; III 11dNdHd
| Loyal planters and those who were buying
the tobacco from the insurgents with
Spanish rifles and cartridges became loud
in their complaints, which finally reached
the government officials In SPAIN and
brought forth the order instTucting Gen.
Weyler to rescind the edict forbidding the
export of tobacco.
This order caused satisfaction among
importers in lower Water Pearl, Wall and
the other streets of the leaf tobacco dis
tricts this forenoon. 1t was also the cause
of rejoicing among Cuban sympathizers
and cigar makers. The withdrawal of the
edct does not mean that there is to be a
great revival in the Cuban tobacco trade.
Most of the tobacco growing districts of
Cuba have been laid waste by the contend
ing armies. 1t is only in those districts
near Havana that the loyal painters can
grow crops. This is done under the cannon
of forts. The Cubans can only grow to-
bacco in regions that the Spanish soldiers
do not often penetrate. The result is that
an annual crop of 10000 bales viii be a
large one Prior to the war about 5000
bales were imported into this country.
OXUa nIaaead that the aha rerO ba &