The Hawaiian gazette., 1915-07-27
THE KONA PHOENIX
THREATENS TORISE
Tobacco Has Sold In Commercial
Quantities At Very Favor.
~ able Prices n.

An analysis Of the sale of one con-
Segment Of Hawaiian tobacco, amount
ing to about fifteen thousand pounds
is interesting as having some bearing
on the future of the industry. Fifty
per cent of this lot sold for 20 cents
per pound. Only FIVE per cent brought
less than 25 cents. Twenty per cent
sold between % and 40 cents. The re-
naming 25 per cent sold at prices
ranging from IS to - cents.
When Il. is remembered that excel.
| lent grades Of domestic y wrapper
tobacco can be purchased from Leaf
| dealers as far west as San Francisco
at prices under y cents; and that
imported Cuban "fllPr' containing
enough wrapper TO work itself up can
be had in New York, duty paid. at A.
to 80 certs. the question. arises, why
should mainland manufacturers buy
| Hawaiian tobacco and be willing to
nav anv such prices for itf Why
should they buy it at alli Cuban to-
baeeos are well and favorably known
wherever cigars are smoked. ~,
About oubsn Tobacco ...". ego #-s
There are practically no importa.
tons OF Cuban wrapper tobacco as
snch. Everv hale SO. ( 20 this eo"ntr"
for sale is filler The United States
! government allows n bale of tobacco
10 he Gale 'flIer" so lone IS it only
contains inst enough wrapper leaf to
/ MIKE that hale into cigars. II the
Cuban hackers OvprdO it and inelnde
porn than 1hper cont of good wrapper
leaf IN the bale. the government calls
the whole bale wraHner' and for"es
the imrortrr to nav the wranpe- duty
arcrrtinos7tn Al &c Hpr pound. Hence
the warner" duties collected on Gu
han tobaero amount to only very
small surn each wear.
For the same reaSon the average
duty.paid value Of Cuban leaf ranges
under fftW cpnts nPr pound at first
hands In New York. because the filler
duty is only 2s cents.
A Pertinent Question
Again the question arises, why
should cigar manufacturers pay more
than average Cuban prices for Kona
tohaceos ~.
Havana tobacco is staple among ci.
gar manufacturer. Everyone knows
it. Why pay such prices for the I'M,
known and nntried product from far
of Fawaiil The only answer that can
he given is that the cigar manufactur
ers who bought this consignment and
d raid more than average Cuban prices
for a quarter of the lot, considered l.
worth much more than they were will
ing to pay, otherwise they would not
have touched it at any figure.
This also answers all criticisms tha'
the Hawa5infAgrown leaf was not nro
, perlv graded Tor fermented. or handled
or that il would not hurn, or that thu
colors were not right. Those argu
ments may have been used by buyers
in mailing the dicker. but they finally
paid Havana prices for a good share o.
it. prices three and four times higher
'han are paid every day for "domes
tie leaf. / -
The Cuban In1ustrv
Hovarn emp'oys 10000 cigar maker
and las what is said to be the largrs
common labor payroll of any city o.
, its size in the world. The cigar max
ers are niece workers and are paic
, dolly. Hcnc" Havana is also, next Il
0 Washington. d c., one of the creates
= readv-mcnPv cities in the world. Thu
~ cioar f"ctorics in Manila are wha
e rake TINT ritv one Of the best read.
e money tOwre in the Orient.
:, These ore some of tho things the to
- haccn industry win make for Honolulu
S IN another ten or twenty years, and i
70 sorrthirg worth looking forward ia
n II first rron Of q Hawaiian DrOdUc
;. can le sol IN omen rnmOetition wit
2 On cst"hlishod world famed proauc
$ like Cuban tobacco. in the sr"e mo-
bot ord draw eonany good prices, tn
o iud"strv has something in it. There
( some futrrR for it.
I The Kona Phoenix
+ 1t is rcnOrted that after tn" war, @
r after all danger OF the United State
n being drawn into the EnroDean war
g safely passed. a substantial amount n
Is working cauital will again be put iEt
r. come of the tobacco enterprises
q Ko~a
The industry has been quiescPnt f.
e 'wO wears not borause those who b.
u gan it had lost faith, but to email,
l., hem to thoroughly survey the marke
=, ing outlet The facts are as stated
u regard to the sale of some of the +
baccos that went from here to II
mainland. Other. corsignments whiC
/. had been badly handled did not gal
?. favorable reception and were disrOst
= Of at worry low values, commensura'
Il with their work. Enoueh has bee
: placed at satisfactory price" tn give
r. 'ire on tho future course of procedur
The market is in the United Stat
a and not abroad. Hence the war do
% not affect the prospective outlet Il
= uswaiian tobacco except indirectly
in 1t influences general trade and mark
conditions for all classes of mercha
q disc fs..N
p uInDV 0AI nIIID lI0Il0C