The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-01-19

Havana, Jan. 1s-The fame of the City of Havana is the fame Of us cirars. Wherever there is cigar
 smoker. the standard of his delight s lthe aroma of the Havana weed. Wher-, ever there is a cigar maker. the great est praise of his wares is the boasi that 1t approaches the excellence oI
 Havana. Poets have sung the praises of the Havana cigar. sages have been lifted upon the clouds of its ethereali- ty. grave scientists have analysed US properties, kings have acknowleoseo its spell. pontiffs have received its incense. The Havana cigar Is unique among luxuries. Tt ia almost a misnomer to refer to the manufacture" of Havana cigars.
 They are made by human hands, oI course. but so intricate and delicate ID the operation that the mechanicai feature Is lost to sight in the artistic There Is nothing whatever in the pro kcess of making Havana cigars Whicn suggests to the American mind tns idea conveyed by the word ractoIy.
 One walks down a residence street m Havana. admiring the beautiful iron grille work which bars the windows and speculating upon the life stories of the people to whom these prison hike palaces are home. In the midst or these houses there Is one finer than the others, siarger and more ~peau.iau'' ~
 .sWho lives herey' Is the quesuon. q,.
 'No one. That Is cigar rac.ors. Tn another section of the city one finds an imposing group of pubic buildings. and. amcng them one more Iimposing than all the others It is lciRar factory. In a business street there are many handsome houses, de- voted to all sorts of trades and. ois- playing their colors by means or greas | signs and advertising placaros. nere lone finds a handsomer building the others, and no announcement ol lis character other than modest brass Iplate on the door. That Is another | Entering one of these factories is like nothing else in sightseeing: There is the patio with It's garden or lpalms and flowers, It's sprakling foun- ltain and its easy chairs. There IS the Imarble-tiled court and the marpie
 stairway. The sun is excluded anu lt the air is cool But 1t all Is neavy with the indefinable aroma which is exhaIed by vuelta abajo tobacco. anu lby nothing else in the world.
 Entering the great warerooms, thls oIor becomes so heavy that one Is at- most overpowered. The tobacco Is re- ceived into these warerooms from the plantations in the province Of Pinar del Rio. where the best tobacco on earth is grown. It has been careIuy cured and made into hands" each with a certain number of leaves. and then packed in bales, wrapped In the heavy, fibrous leaves of the royal palm' | The larger and more perfect leaves are reserved for wrappers. to go on
 the outside of the cigar and to give It finish These leaves are packed ten in a hand and are cared for as If they were worth their weight in gold which sometimes Is literally true of the very finest leaves The smaller, coarser and broken leaves are the "tillers," and they are packed with quite as much care but with less re- lgard for the individual leaf.
 The bales are unpacked and the lprecious wrappers are taken from their palm leaf nest A brawny work-
 man takes hand" in each Of ms hands and immerses the tobacco In ltub of water. 4He then stands on tcetnent SfIoors and exercises almost
 every muscle In his body to shake the water of the tobaceosl leaves. That lprocess leaves just sthe right amount of moisture on the outside of the leaf, permits the leaf to absorb. certain iamount, and makes 1t pliable the
 hands then go to the selectors, wno
 
 separateiy, with great care and skili' The wrappers are sorted here accord ing to size texture and quality. This leaf selection is a great art, and adept
 selectors command high wages. Not linfrequently one may see millionaire manufacturer himself at work at the
 selecting tubs.
 In the meantime. various grades of filters have been blended under the xuh learn
 ed just what combination of different kinds of filters will produce particu- lar flavor. That flavor must be brought out for by it's virtue certain brand has become famous. and the livery reputation of that brand Is worth
 more in dollars and Acents than the
 whole physical property of the fac ltory. building and all.
 \ After being inspected and passed
 upon by a half dozen experts. the
 tobacco is ready for the hand of the
 artist who is to mould 1t into a cigar.
 The cigar makers sit at little tables.
 made with a hood not unlike that of a roll-top desk without the rolling top. At one hand is a pile of filters.
 dumped loosely on the table. In front Is a little stack of the priceless wrap pers. There is a ruler with measure
 cut in It's side. by which the size of the cigar is regulated. A little cup of
 paste and a peculiar knife. which looks like an artists palette cut in half and sharpened on one edge. completes the outfit.
 With the skill born not alone of long practice. but of family pride and
 true workman's devotion to craft. the cigar maker selects the filler. twisting
 the small leaves in the Inside, tear ing and splitting them until they
 form just the right sort of core. wrap-
 ping larger and larger leaves about
 them. and all with a carelessness- that is sublime. Then the careless look leaves his face. He takes up the wrap
 per and becomes intent and serious.
 Carefully anu slowly the perfect leaf
 is wrapped tightly about the filler.
 knife cuts away the waste. carefully the tip end is pasted and moulded into shape. Carefully the cigar is rolled under the flat knife until 1t Is round and smooth: Finally 1t is finished. a perfect cigar, and the maker resumes
 his careless mien. v
 The cigar making room is a great sight. A half thousand men are bend
 ing over their tables. making cigars. They are well-fed and well-paid work
 men, but they are a motley crowd.
 They are of mixed races. and their faces present every shade of color from
 the pale blonde of the Basque noun
 tains to the ebony of the Congo. Tn
 the center of the room. on a high plat
 form. sits the reader" The reader is
 the one great institution. of Havana cigar factories Havana has sixteen daily newspapers. fourteen published in Snan nish and two In English. The ,ro 1o, .-oas through each of the four