The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1919-05-19
BY WILLIAM q. sAhaoRN


Just q moment. please; We are in
quest of information. Kindly tell us
which of the countries of the worid,
In your knowledge or Judgment, i'm
ports and smokes the greatest num-
Der OF American made cigarettes?
You hadn't given the matter any
thought, you say? Your idea is that
Great Britain is likely to be our best
customer in that line; or maybe
France.
Not such bad guess at that, for
Doth OF these nations are very impor.
tant customers for everything In the
line OF tobacco that America manu-.
features.
But the biggest buyers Of American
cigarettes. aside from our own people,
i've on the far side of the Pacific
ocean. and their shores are washed by
the China Sea, for they are Chinese
and are proud OF 1t. And well may
they be proud, from their own national
standpoint. for that nation is hoary
with age, with the frosts Of unnum.
oered winters, during which our pres.
emit civilization was emerging into
the light.
And the Chinaman Of today is the
Chinaman Of the days Of CONTIGUOUS,
In thought and habit. But he is slow.
~ changing, particularly in the cities
and IN his manner Of trading with for.
eign nations. And he has learned to
smoke and love cigarettes, not that
this may be set down to his credit
The wonder is that China consumes
SO many paper pipes at prevailing
prices, for one may hire coolie In the
inferior NJ ha -
less than the cost Of a package Of our
advertised brands.
China Buys Billions
Our shipments of cigarettes to
China in the eight months OF our fiscal
year, June 30th, 1918. to March 31st,
1919, totaled 4,677, 100000. This rep
resented an increase of two and one.
half billions, as compared with the
eight months ending with June goth,
1917. Should that rate of increase con-
tinue we shall have to double our eli.
garette-making capacity in order to
have cigarettes enough to go round.
During the eight months above noted
the French bought 1,185, 100000 cigar.
cites OF American manufacture, while
Great Britain was content to do with
but 693 millions of our various brands.
A comparison will show how much
more important is the Chinese demand
than that from Continental Europe,
now that the war is over. China is
also a liberal buyer of our tobacco
but not to the degree that our friends
across the Atlantic invest in it.
Let US give one more surprising fact
before changing the subject. In tho
eight months in discussion, Panama, n
land where they can surely roll their
own" bought Al millions for the hand
full of people who inhabit that narrow
"trip Of country. How ever did they
find time to sleep, for men, women
and children all smoke down in that
tropical zone. And then there is far
away Siam, the land of Barnum' s
famed Siamese Twins, shown all over
this country. Siam imported ISL mil
lions of our cigarettes during the same
eight months, while wonder of won
ders, the Straits Settlements, the is
lands along the African coast in the
South Seas, including Borneo, whence
came the Wild Man of our boyhood
shows, managed to dig up enough
money to buy 944 millions of the so
lace so many are learning to crave.
Surely, Its a mad world, my mas.
ters."
Mumps, Measles and Grippe
In introducing a recipe for the cure
of the ills from which the tobacco
trade is now suffering a New York
friend of ours says:
When you have had a hard winter.
and you have been off your feed for
two or three months, and your wife