The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1919-07-19
=
CIGAR SMOKES -.
TO COST MORE :.
Wage Demands Of Cigar
Workers Must Be Paid
by the Smokers
LESS ] THAN s HOURS
.N NOW DEMANDED
SO Much Idleness Among Cigar Makers
That the Supply Will Be Curtailed =
Prices Undoubtedly Will Advance %
to 80 Per Cent.

NEW YORK, July ia message, clear
and well-defined and almost as blue as
a smoke ring from pure Havana, was
waited yesterday from the inner sane
tums OF the big men in. the business to
the tobacco consuming public When it
got fairly ont and into the nostrils of the
same public. it was easily recognized and
interpreted to read:
Soon your smokes are going to cost
you more"
That was the message. easy. simple and
terse. 1t was quickly followed by am as
surance from the tobacco men that the
fault was not theirs Haven't they kept
the price of cigars and cigarettes down
all through the war-down to a mere Is
or 50 per cent increase over the old pric-
es! And wasn't part of the increase due
to the government tax?
But now when near peace is at hand,
and everybody is looking to see the props
knocked from under the old high cost of
living scheme of things, along comes this
dIscouraging announcement, lust as if the
tobacco dealers and the street car com
panies were forming a private league o;
gougers
The whole trouble, it appears to the
manufacturers, is caused by the cigar
workers 1t became known yesterday
that practically 95 per cent of the cigar
workers IN the metropolitan district ei
New Gosl1 are idle and have been idle
or three weeks or month They have
been presenting demands for shorter hours
and increased pay tina; the manufactur
ers say amount to 30 per cen, w;tge in
| crease. This, the dealers say, is cxorh:
| tant and out of all reason, particularly
in view of the fact that within the oast
| year they have had an average increase
If better than 80 l-3 per cent in pay and
reduction of two working hours a day
| The result according to ID. A. Schultz
| president of the Schultz chain of cigar
| stores is that within the next 80 day,
| n so there will be a marked shortage o
many smokers favorie brands and
| corresponding increase in the price of the
| available commodity. The situation j.
lisggrdvated because OF the six months
I 'trlke that has been in progress anon!
| he workers of Havana and Porto Rico
which has resulted in a pretty genera
epletion of these imported stocks.
These difficulties, however, have beer
,vercome largely and majority of tn
uban and Porto Rican factories began
perations again on July l, but it viii b
some time before the effect of this is fel
n the local market. and even so it vii
rot help the situation out to any grea
xtent in the event of a prolonged strik
mong the workers in this country
The nicotine users in New York cit
re dependent for their supply to the ex
ent of about 80 per cent upon the fac
cries in and around New York city is
imating the imported cigars at about |
1er cent of the total consumed, the 9th
II 40 per cent must come from other plao
Is. But iii these places the local deman
even greater than III New York, S
hat there will he even less than usua
# the product with which to supply out
;ide demands
J Cigar manufacturers made no secret q
he fact that they expected to have t
concede something to the workers alon
he lines OF their demands But the
were even more certain that they woul
lose up shop before they would conside
living them anything approximating a
they ask for
\ year ago or less, according to on
: manufacturer, the average ciearmaker wa
earning so a week for 1Ohour day
To-day he can make $50 a week for a
night-hour day The demands call 70
what would amount to an increase
from 40 to so per cent in cost of produ'
ton.
According to Mr. Schultz, more tina
$4,000 of the cigar workers in the Ne
York district are idle, with little possibil
ty Of an understanding being reache
s with the manufacturers until they brin
t their demands down to a basis that wi
n admit of discussion
| Cigar men generally were reluctant