Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1918-11-04
THE LITTLE CIGARETTE;
RICHMOND FACTORIES
Half q Dozen establishments in This
City Turn Out Fifty Million
Every Working Day.
IMMENSE GROWTH OF BUSINESS
For Richmond Tobacco Manufacturer
Who Made Bad Guess-Demand
That Is Worldwide and Keeps
Growing Every Day.

Some twenty-five or thirty years ago
Cd man, man of this city. who had been Il
turer and all around business man. took
under consideration the question of
clnHarking in the business OF manufac-
turing cigarettes. Il business that was
inrn young. He thought the matter
over for several weeks and finally
reached the conclusion that there was
tobacco business. His idea was that
the cigarette was good only for young
sters to learn 10 smoke with. and that
after the youngster had acquired the
smoke habit by ninbling cigarettes for
few days he would hit the pipe" and
sport the cigar and mo longer be
turer.
This successful tobacco manufactur-
CT, who. by the way. is still citizen
business. for once guessed wrong. He
las lived to see ciEurette-making
about the biggest part of the tobacco
puts out more OF tho little smokers
than Richmond.
There are in this city six or seven
factories that make cigarettes. some OF
them being confined exclusively to that
business and others making the coffin
rails" in connection with other branches
figures cannot be obtained either from
the factories or the internal revenue
Office but the best estimate is that
these factories turn out not less than
100000 900 cigarettes per dav. The Rich
n.ond product goes to all parts of the
world: great deal Of il to Japan and
China.
The records show that $1,000, 900. 600
cf cigarettes were made in the United
States last year: that is the last fiscal
Tear from June, 1917. to June. 1915:
aid so rapid mas been the increase in
the consumption of tho little smokers
the estimates for the current fiscal
years output varies from 10000, 900. 900
to JO.oo0.0oo,0 nQ. The records up TO
GATE. so far as obta:uablc. seem 10 in
dictate that the lnal figure will be near
or the latter than the former. The In
crease last year over the output OF
the previous year was 5000, o00.oo0. and
the probability is that the increase this
be equally as great, II not few bill
lions greater, and SO the $4,000, 100000
estimate for this fiscal year is. per-
laps not wide OF the mark.
A genius who is given to big feur-
ing. taking the 10000. 100000 estimate
IS basis, has furnished tho following
interesting information:
The average cigarette is two and
three quarters inches in length. and II
1ooooooo.o0o OF them are made during
tho coming fiscal year: this will mean
approximately l.736,lll miles OF clg-
arettes, were they placed end TO end.
OF course, some OF the after dinner"
SIZE and the figures are not exact. Con-
sideration also must be given for tho.
men who roll their own. The entire
output OF one of the biggest tobacco
companies in this country was COM
mandeered for the use OF soldiers over.
seas and a considerable percentage OF
the products OF other companies also
was taken. Consequently the estimate
of the total number of cigarettes TO be
smoked. whether tailor mndc" or roll
cd by the smoker, eau be only conjec-
tured. The moon is reported. by those
who claim 10 know, to be 23S.s00 miles
from the earth Hence II can BIO seen
that II the ready made cigarettes were
placed end TO end they: would extend
about seven times farther than the
moon.