The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1899-07-08

this industry. OF course the govern
uent derives considerable revenue
from the tax it imposes upon tobacco
imports
All American travellers In north Eu-
rope know that they have 10 pay a
good round price for inferior tobacco
product& The best use 20 make ofEu-
ropean grown tobacco Is 10 keep II
for the pipe. but many dealers persist
in turning st into inferior grades Of
cigars The so-called Havana cigars"
mostly manufactured in Antwerp and
sold widely throughout Belgium, r
chiefly made Of leaf grown in West
Flanders and ate inferior To most Of
our domestic cigars sold at half the
price. In Germany therc are many
factories turning German grown To-
baeco into cigars. cigarettes, sauf and
smoking and chewing tobacco. Some
Americans say II requires a special ed
ueAtion 10 learn to Ike the German
products
No one has yet discovered What tie
properties Of climate or soil are that
give peculiar excellence to the tobaeeo
grown in certain regions. Tobacco
grows well in all parts OF Cuba and the
soil Of the tobacco plantation is most
" composed Of calcarous rocks, but
why IL II that the leaf grown along the
southern slope Of the Cordillera de las
Organos In PinAr del Rio, at the west
end OF the island, Is the finest in the
worldf Nobody knows but the fact Is
that the best tobacco Of this famous
VueltA Abajo region Is almost worth
its weight in gold and is reserved for
those who can afford to make the use
Of tobacco a dear bought luxury. Be
cause OF the excellence Of Its leaf, Cuba
10 the mOst famous tobaeeo-growing re-
gion and many imagine that 1t Is the
chief oenter Of tobacco production.
The Cuban product, however, in the
best times, is very small in comparison
with that OF several other countries.
The United States is one Of the great
est tobacco-growing countries in the
world. Over 10000 ions Of dried leaves
are prepared every year in this coun-
try, 10000 tons IN India, about 10000
tons In Russia and $1,000 tons in Aus
tria-Huugary. Mr.. Gollan, the Brit
ish eonsul-general at Havana, says that
the normal tobacco crop Of Cuba av-
erages only about $1,000 toni a year.
/ IVAN Eranna In fha ru1lnw - ~ ~.
rome and in Algeria. far surpasses
Cuba in mount Of tobacco production,
and so do Sumatra, In the Eastern
archipelago, and the Philippines. In
1894, before the internal troubles large
ly reduced the exports Of the Philip
pines, these islands sent abroad 49,
977 tons Of tobacco and 1+O, $4,000 CT
gars.
All countries make tobacco an i'm
Portant source Of revenue, and in some
lands. most conspicuously in France,
Italy, Austria-Hungar and Spain, the
tobacco trade Is a government monop-
oily and no n is permitted to engage
In II unless he pays well for the priv
llege. In spain, for instance, n com
pany pays the government a very large
sum for the monopoly Of m%anufaotur.
ing and selling tobacco in that coun-
try. Every cigar store In the country
Is owned by this company. II has II
manufactures in different parts OF
Spain, in which 1t employs nearly 3d.
900 girls. 1t maintains nearly 10000 ci-
gar stores, and 1t is estimated that 5O.-
0 families are supported by the mon
ey dlsbursed ON its payrolls. The sales
OF the company amount Ia about $685.
100000 a year. Barcelona spends
S~3,O0O,O00 a year for tobacco, and Mad
rid comes next with about So, 500, 900 a
year. Though Cuba was a Spanish
colony, Havana cigars have always
been as expensive in Spain as in the
United States, but all other kinds are
somewhat cheaper than In this country.
N. Y. Sun.