Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-07-24
"Fashions" in Tobacco as
Seen on the City'S Streets

~ ESPITE an occasional crusade
] against tobacco, Washington is
- city OF smokers. In the morning
just before the clock reaches the
throngs OF the office-bourd in the down
town distr CT send up a cloud TO heaven
like the incense of old. ard large pro-
portion of the men along the street dur
ing the rest of the day wear weeds in
some form in their faces.
An inquisitive man lately took on him.
self the task of finding out what proper
ton OF men that passed along WASH
ingtons streets smoked and in what
form they took their toxic nicotine. The
result carefully tabulated and corrected
for the smokers latitude and Longitude,
was as follows:
In the half hour between II and IL 30
in the forenoon there passed the corner
of 18th street and Pennsylvania avenue
northwest about one thousand men. or
these more than four hundred were
smoking in some form. Rather over half
of this number were smoking cigars: of
the rest. all except about twenty-five
smoked the baleful c garette. The
twenty-five each sucked a pipe, ard Of
these the vast majority were short Guilty.
pipes of the bulldog type. Only one man
had the nerve to smoke a long German
pipe the Avenue at midday.
From the same viewpoint at 4 O'Clock
in the afternoon the proportion of smok-
ers remained tie same. but the cigar had
dropped from first place and the cigarette
had moved to the front in an evident ia TO
of about three cigarettes TO one cigar.
Pipes remained stationary. but firm.
the market reports say. When the reg
uar hectic base ball crowd gathered half
an hour later 10 watch the returns in
front of The Star office the cigar had
faded into hopeless minority. More
than two-thirds of the crowd puffed al
cigarettes while half the remainder af-
fected the short briar pipes. Only a
sporadic cigar appeared.
n n In hn N ~
an accurate observation taken at the same
corner showed the proportion OF smokers
out OF more than fifteen hundred men
passing TO be over one-half. At this time
the cigar had returned to favor and the
cigarette had fallen back behind the low
ly briar.
About II o'clock however. after the
theater and sightseeing crowds had van
ished. a sudden change took place. Pipes
and cigars appeared to have retired for
the night. while almost every mah who
passed wore cigarette.
From copious observations made by this
authority the following fashions in to-
barco have been dcduced:
For morning wear the cigar is affected
by the best dressed men. Youths and
very Young business men may wear the
cigarette at this time; for any one but
mar over fifty or a college freshman 10
smoke pipe before noon would shock the
taste as much as wearing an evening coat
TO luncheon
In the afternoon the cigarette increases
in favor, reaching its maximum about the
sixth inning of the base ball game. Ci-
gars may not be smoked then, only the
slender, svelte stogie being permissible
An imported cigar in front of base ball
score board is vulgar.
At sunset the cigarette should be laid
away in carbolic acid and not taken up
again until after II in the evening. In
the meantime pipes and cigars are permits
sible After IL o'clock no gentleman who
pretends to be abreast of the fashionable
world is seen smoking anything but the
cigarette. II adds to the verve and eclat
if il comes in Turkish box with lurid
view of the pyramids flaming upon II.
Only cigarettes should be inhaled on the
street. A gentleman never attracts undue
attention to himself by blowing rings in
public places.