The sun., 1901-06-30
CIGARETTE Is MALIGNED.
THE TINY ROLL or TOBACCO DOESN'T
MERIT ITS ILL REPUTE.
n Is Psrer Than Even the Best CtGap OF Pipe
Tobacco, and the Paper That Enwraps IL
Ii Innocuons. Experts ssy-How the Gig
arctic Came by Its Very bad Name.

factory in the country spoke as one haVlnR
authority. Then he followed the oracular
utterance with statistics that open up broad
vista OF the abuse to which he had referred.
In rhis one New York factory 10000 900 Gig
! arettes a week are turned out on an average
all the year around. The various branches
OF the company In other towns make about
eS. 600 900 cigarettes a week. This enormous
output has been made possible by improve
ments In automatic processes. One Gig
arctic machine will make $50 cigarettes a
minute and requires only two human workers.
one to feed the machine with tobacco. the
other to take the finished cigarette from tho
case into which the machinery finally drops
1t. Even the feeder Is not needed In con-
neotion with the very newest machlnes
which are self-feeders. Cigarette makers
insist that It Il only o question Of time until
all cigarettes, even the very highest grades.
will be machine made. They contend that
the cigarettes made by machine are quite as
good In every way as the hand made article.
and have the advantage OF superior cleanli-
ness. the paper not being passed through
number Of hands.
Still there is, now. prejudice In favor
Of handmade Gig arettes and all OF the more
expensive brands are made by hand. only
the cheaper blendngs Of tobacco being put
through tho machine. Tho objection made
to the machine cigarettes is that they are
too tightly rolled; but. on tho other hand.
cigarette workers vary in skill. Not all Of
them attain the knack Of putting Just enough
tobacco into a cigarette. and 1t is q question
whether a uniform machine-made excellence
Is not better than an uncertain quality. rang
ing from perfect to very faulty. good
hand will roll 1000 cigarettes a day. but
these experts employ workers less skilled
to put on the mouthpieces. The roller gets
81 a thousand for HIS work and probably pays
his assistant IS a week, for the details upon
which he cannot afford to waste his time.
All Of the hand made cigarettes are hand
packed, while the machins-msde cigarettes
are packed, sealed and stamped at lightning
rate. all the processes being accomplished
by one machine. 1t Is easy 10 distinguish
the handmade from tho maohinemade
product: for the handmade cigarettes are
oval instead Of round. 0nd the paper box
has rou nded rather than square corners.
The prios would work the difference even
II nothing else did. Tho ordinary machine
made cigarette sells for Ave cents box often
whle the fine handmade cigarettes bring
rs oents Girls are employed almost alto
gether for cigarette machines. not only be-
cause they ara def, and quick. but because
they stand the monotOnous routine with
more steadiness and patience than men.
Now however. the cigarette girl Is a scarce
article and manufacturers are breaking In
boys for the work. because IL IL almost I'M
possible TO obtain as many girl workers as
are needed So many more attractive fields
OF work are opening 10 women that the
girls are turning their backs upon the cigar
etts factories which were their old stand by.
In the New York factory mentioned before
many OF tho girls have beside them young
boys to whom they arc teaching the buSi-
ness. and the management expects to be
Obliged TO recruit It's force from these boys.
The superintendent says resignedly that
there will bs al least one advantage In this
change, The boys will not shake. tho faS-
the supply Of experienced hands Will be more
constant.
men who have Investigated the subject, viii
back up the superintendents statement
that the cigarettes III fame Il due to
The smoke, rather than 70 ,s,nythi1s con.
English scientist, In recent paper upon to-
bacco. affirmed that both the cigar and the
pipe are n them.e,yss more injurious oii t,an ,Ti
cigarettes Ia the purest obtalnable, and that
tho rice paper. almost universally used on
cigarettes is in no way poisonous or harmful
bad" is TO be taken in the sense Of Impure;
The popular Impression that opium and
other INJURIOUS elements enter into the COM
position OF the cigarette is n mistaken one.
Even II such treatment Of the tobacco were
desirable. for any reason. tho process would
be too expensive; Tho only difference in
used and in II. blending. The cheap Ameri-
can tobacco cigarette is as pure a. the ex-
psn'Es THrEa ERs,sn or ,RSsssH RS,ssn Ssas
least, OF tobacco which the public thinks
inferior to Turkish tobacco. Even the Amer-
can cigarettes have little Turkish tobacco
added to them In the blending, but the proper
tion Is very ANAL on account Of the expense
OF the imported tobacco.
Ihs Turkish, Egyptian and Russian CT iga.
rette5 sold In tins country are made here, Dut
made from Turkish tobacco, which Il eNpen-
sivo even in its own territory, and upon which
duty OF S5 cents pound j. paid here Turkish
tobacco grown in the different provinces
differs in quality and flavor and according
as the varieties aro blended tho flavor OF
the cigarette varies. Blendins ia t'no art,
and each brand OF cigarettes has it, own
formula and ~ own distinctive flavor, al
though often the differences are too slight
y be appreciated by the ordinary smoker.
Tho Virginia cigarettes vary In flavor also.
and for the same reason. the tobaCCos from
different countries having sppreclable dn-
inrences, and tho prsdominsnce OF tobacco
iTom ons locality determining the aroma ana
ilHyor OF the cigarette.
The greatest care is exercised In get
ting tobacco into condition for cigarettes
and the degree OF cleanliness and purity
attained ~ much greater than IN cigars.
or othsr tobacco Tle dark color % tho cigar
makes Carelessuess In it. ComIOStion pOss bic
and dark smoking tobacco - often mixed
with saltpctre and other substances but
Americans demand a light Colored cl-Hr-tt"
tobacco and that neCessitatcs careful pr"pHrd-
tion aud absolute purity. ln Franc" Gark
cigarette Ia preferred, and the tobd,oo1 for
French cigarettes, which are uoy"rum"ut
monopoly. are put through sort % picking
process and kept for at least siX months TO
draw and color before they ara made NJ.
French cigarettes do not scll here but neither
DO American cigarettes aell readily IN France.
on imported cigarettes prohlbitly~
All tho rice paper for cigarettes comes
from France Mlny attempts have been
made u Manufacture II in this country, bat
of tho water in southern France are said
to account for the fine quality of tho rica
paper made there, All American cigarettes
are wrapped in rice. paper but in llayan !
still used and affects the throat and lungs
unllea-antly.
Excessive cigarette smoking Is sure TO
injure the health u the smoker. just 60, eN-
and the evil of the cigarette liN,. not IN IL
composition. but IN it, temptation To- excess.
A man who wouldn't dream oi lighting q
good cigar unlos, sure of having time to
in any idle moment. Tho loss viii be very
small, even II he has To- throw the cigarette
away, after a few pun~ For this reason
the cigarette smoker i likely to smoke moro
constantly than the smoker Of cigar. n
he would fix q rational limit 10 his smoking
and abide by it. he would get little harm from
his smoking. Another thing that makes
cigarette smoking an evil i the manner in
which the average man smokes his cigarette.
lie doesn't lnhae his cigar smoke. III"
thing wouldn't be- practicable; but the very
lightnes- and purity Of cigarette smoke make
inhdllng II possibility.