El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-06-14
TOBACCO PART
ARNY'S RATION
Is Now Considered Actual
Necessity; Supplanting
Other Necessities.

ashlnEtcn, D. C., June 1.-THE
war Aas brought forth convincing
proof Of the high and permanent
place that tobacco holds in modern
life.
While other nepenthes. such as aIco-
rol and opium. are being more and
more restricted in use. tobacco has
just been made a part OF the Ameri-
+ can soldiers ration. as it has long
been a part of the supplies Of other
armies. Germany. facing famine i'm
some food materials. is still supplying
noJ only her soldiers. but her civil
ian population with tobacco; and there
is talk in this country Of appointing a
tobacco administrator to stabilize pro-
duetion and regulate imports and ez-
ports.
Apparently tobacco is one OF our
necessities. and more so now than
ever DeIore- tobacco consumption has
increased greatly since the war began.
rms IS partly due TO our prosperity,
OF winch smoking has always been
most sensitive barometer. and partly
10 the tremendous demand for smokes
on the part Of the soldiers. No eift is
more welcome in the trenches than
that OF smoking tobacco
Cigarets Affect the Heart.
This great increase In the use OF
tobacco has brought uD again the oft
discussed but never settled question
or how much harm smoking does 90
TIE health. Il has been suggested
thar the affIictjon known as soldiers
heart might be due 10 excessive ci- T
saFeL smoking ana an inquiry into
the matter mas been made by the med I
zeal researc'. committee. This inquiry. /
ike nearly all others that have been
made into the effects OF smoking. .
gave somewhat iucouclusive results. Z
The medical men decided that ex-
cesslFe smoking OF cl garets is q con- 4
tributo-r cause Of heart trouble. A
number Of cigaret smokers were ex-
amined- and 70 was found that the
only ones not affected TO some extent +
oy the practice were those who did .
NOT lnnaie IL was therefore deter I
mined TO warn soldiers against in ?
Aaling and excessive smoking.
or the rest. endless evidence may (
ne gathered for each side OF the ar
gumeat- Many eminent men. like DIT b
harvey W Wiley. are firmly con :
Flncec that smoking is injurious:
llAeFs are equally sure that il is not
the fact that insurance cOmuzufes do ]
nos take into account smoking as a I
factor in longevity is cited as proof
llat u does not shorten life
smoking Individual Problem.
roma or pointing out that men Of high
achievement Of every age and kfr5
rom Sir Waiter Raleigh 10 Uncle Toe
cannon, have been heavy smokers
q no mat many OF these have been con-
s picuols examples OF health and
longevity as wei as OF ability.
me Eist OF the matter seems 10 be I
that smoking is an individual D-ob-
leln- eacn one must determine for
himself how much he can indulge
without harm 20 himself u also seems
% De clear that few men can face
ire without some kind OF narcotic
e ollI Tor ter--so merhlnE 10 stimulate
their dreams and make them forget
lneir troubles Nan has never been
free OF this need
In al tribes and nations. I'm all a-es.
some narcotic has been used 10 soothe
tHo % stimulate Tobacco is per- Q
maps -le least harmful that can be I
CHOSEN Such. az least. seems 10 be
the taclt verdict OF civilization.
II IS interesting 20 note thar The
lellencE or civilized man is 90 use
-nlider and milder forms OF tobacco
D. MS seems 10 be not because he
Graves less nicotine. but because his
pampered stomach and nerves viii
nc longer support the heroic smokes
ana cleWS OF earlier generations
sc Wilder Brands.
~ W. W. Garner. the tO1acco eV-
peri or the bureau OF plant industry.
has recently been king zo--e -
into the early hfstor~ ~ To- 1
2aceo N this country. and has found
mat the tendency toward the use Of
.'l-1eF lear can be traced from the
earnest times Thus the Indians
-alaed and smoked tobacco which \
was no less than ten percent nicotine
BIS against the two or three nercsrf 81
most modern tobacco That puisssnr|
7a-. WIN which the red warrior used
70 Nh MS calumet. would floor a mod
7r1 smoker at the first Whit
tnis Indian tobacco is no longer
grown IN this country. but is san
use ln some parts OF Russia. where
US DIlmltiNe peasant has not vet ac-
l1lred the sensibilities Of civilization.
Chewing Going Out Of Fashion.
-t own ancestors brought 20
en- = own the milder brands OF to-
ltee9. watch were then grown only in
-is-a were much harder smokers than
p are They rolled the raw leaf into
,iEars and smoked IL in pipes without
I oi-iIylnE processes through which
put H. Ihey also cheWed cnor-
nous quantities Of tobacco.
The chew is now going out OF fash
on ana promises TO soon 90 out Of ev-
slence- The pipe and the cigar inst
-2olt hold their own. All Of the IN
crease is In the smoking Of cirarers
be used -a'-
The mild. bright tobaccos OF Viz
sinia and the Carolinas are the ones
nat are growing in popularity and
aeF are used almost exclusively Tor
lsaret making The area I'm T-hfeb
ney are grown spreads steadily and
promises ultimately TO reach to me
About 100000 acres OF our arabic
'oil is devoted 20 the raising Of to-
3aceo. and this Is about one-trven-
leln or all our farm lands. on This
urea we raise about O60 00a 65G
POUNDS OF tobacco annually. Of which g..
n normal times we export about 30 7