davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-11-14
How the Cigarette Figures in History

the way the siege was conducted that he
sent to the artilerymen some very fine ka-
valla tobacco This they mixed with the
Syrian plant and greatly enjoyed as they
smoked the mixture from narghile or
water pipe supplied with a number Of
mouthpieces which suffced for entire
squad when off duty.
one evening as a crew was about to go on
duty a shot from Turkish fort smashed the
beloved narghile to smthereens. The ar
tillervmen could not leave the battery and
they knew not where to get another mar
Chile. A resourceful corporal rolling powder
spills was struck with an inspiration He
mnde a number of spills in which he substi-
tuted grains Of tobacco for gunpowder and
then in "A banterine fashion presented these
little cylinders to soldiers off duty. He then
put ono OF the spills to his mouth, saying
that as long as he could not smoke any
more he WAS going to blow off his head
Whan the match was applied there came
forth instead of a slight explosion a wreath
Of incense and thus was born the cigarette
Old Ibraham was amused when he heard
how much spill paper was being used, and
said as he pointed to n strategic place in the
walls of Acre, Make "A breach there and you
shall have all the paper and tobacco that
YOU need" The deed was done in two days
This new style of smoking tobacco in
paper rolls gained in favor Mehemet Ali
asserted his sway over Egypt and from Cairo
II spread TO the European capitals through
the diplomatic services Of the various ma
lions
In Russia the cigarette grew in popular
favor and in the early forties cigarettes were
sold in that nation which were partly Turk
ish and partly made Of a light tobacco grown
in the United States
The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-11-14

best theatres 40 to 30 cents while one can
hear the best concerts from the best seats
for 20 cents. An American in Berlin could
go with his wife to the opera, buy her flow
ers, use taxi two times, and have dinner
with wine az a first class restaurant all
for S.
Still, most of this is fantasy. In the first
place not hundred American families could
obtain permission to live privately, and the
hotel boarder is taxed into a simpler life.
And the German does not have dollars What
corresponds to a $4,000 man in America is
raid about $4,000 marks in Berlin or a net
income of less than 10000 marks. With this
he can live comfortably enough but he can
not squander, or go three times week to
the theatre and to theatre dinners. He must
watch his clothes. keep too many lights from
burning and think in fractions. very much
like the $4,000 man in New York. And tn,
workman. with 10000 marks year. simply
does without.
The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-11-14

Of american tourists over hotel and res
laurant prices provide the inharmonic back
ground for this anything but artistic verify.
In the single matter of rent the Londoner
probably still has an advantage over the
New Yorker A comfortable furnished apart
ment in a respectable and convenient, if not
fashionable, neighborhood can be had in
London tor between and guineas q week
Taking five as the average, this would mean
$50 week, as against $25 or $50 for similar
accommodations in New York.
With rent, however, the gain over New
FORK practically vanishes The most strik-
ing difference would be in his income tax.
He will pay the British Government with
exemptions only for his wife. better than 10
per cent. In America he would pay 4 per
cent Federal income tax and i'm New York
an additional / per cent. State tax.
on the question Of rent New York rates
ON such accommodations have been con-
sidered In this comparison woulS invariably
ing in London, and this item, partlcu arly
for Americans who cannot stand cold rooms
may easily amount to from 50 to So week
Domestic coal is SIS a ton at the present
rate of exchange: gas, which used to be
ridiculously cheap has risen with coal, until
the rate is almost exactly what It ls in New
York-$1 a thousand. Electricity is 10 cents
per unit with no rebate. Telephones cost
800 year
To get into the housewives field. oges all
summer have been $110 a dozen as against
The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-11-14

cult. Meats continue to reach unheard or
prices; apartments everywhere are as eX-
pensve as those in New York city, but this
is somewhat compensated for by the fact
that good servants can be obtained for about
SIS a month. Mems and women's clothing,
IS a general rule, is somewhat cheaper than
the United States, although with an ad-
verse exchange the cost of shoes remains
Sery high
1t must not be overlooked that these cal
3uations are based on the supposition that
the exchange will not fall below IL francs
to the dollar If. as some optimists believe,
the rate will return to normal or even to
francs to the dollar. there is no doubt that
prices will decrease, bit it is equally certain
that the decrease will not keep pace with
the consequently decreased budget of $4,000
income There can be only one solution to
this probability: The American family must
be prepared to forego the comforts and
pleasures which would accompany an income
of $4,000 if wisely distributed on the Amer-
can side of the Atlantic.
The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-11-14
Expenses in FIR ance
Reach New York
Level and Are Gain
ing = In Germany
Tax Collector Takes
Nearly f---Noth-
ing Good to Buy
With the Remainder

had, and at prices rarely higher. than these
quoted.
Clothes also are a little cheaper than In
America. The margin is now just about
what it was before the war suit OF
clothes for $50 in Berlin would cost $500 In
New York. And the ratio holds good prac-
tically throughout the clothing line, both for
men and women. Durable fabric is hard to
find, for German cloth is full Of ahoddy
And the service of even the best houses has
degenerated
A pair of shoes that would cost In New
York $40 costs about $3.50 to So here, but
as fine a quality shoe as the American is
not manufactured in Germany. A German
dealer will offer the imported American shoe
to his most particular customer at American
prices plus duty. of course.
The real cheapness Of Germany is in the
sphere of pleasures. The orchestra seats at
the opera cost so to so cents, and in the
The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-11-14

LTHOUGH many efforts have been
y made to show that the use OF tobacco
was known to the ancient Greeks ana
Egyptians, they have never teen successful
We can accept therefore that general belief
that tobacco was first used by the aborgines
and that Columbus was the first white man
to chronicle its use. The Indians used the
introduced throughout Europe and Asia It
was for centuries used either in pipes of
fantastic design or i'm the rolls known as
cigars The Venetians are credited with
getting the Turks 20 use tobacco. for the
weed was cultivated in Italy Bales Of the
ed OF the nicotine plant found their way
into Turkey and soon the Turkish tobacco
industry was established
This brings us to Mehemet Ali. under
paid worker in the tobacco fields Of Kavalla.
afterward leader of the Turkish armies.
who left the hoe for the sword and the
sceptre and-the cigarette with tho bold
rashl- bazouks Mehemet eventually became
"a pasha. His son Ibrahim was sent 10 the
siege Of Acre the great Syrian stronghold
The chief of artillery, a Frenchman at this
siege early in the nineteenth century. had
invented a powder spill q kind OF paper
lamp lighter filed with the explosive grains
which was thrust Unto the touch holes of
cannon. in place Of the old fashioned and
wasteful powder train which was laid on
he piece aud led into the hole These spills
were made OF light and tough India or rice
paper 1brahim Pasha was so pleased by
The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-11-14
Phosphate War Prize of Pacific Islet

held it's humble position for many years,
kicked here, tossed there, sometimes taken
up and examined curiously. but always re-
turned to it's lowly occupation. One day a
man who was interested in guano and knew
a little about phosphate rock put the little
block in his pocket and walked off with IT to
his tiny bedroom in lodging house. There
he subjected the rock to a series of tests,
and in few days was so amazed and salts
fled with the results that he FASTENED to the
office to trace the history of the door stopper.
The little bit of buff colored rock had been
brought by trader from Ocean Island who
thought sit was a funny specimen of stone
and might make marbles for little boys to
play with" But the man who now so care
fully and even fondly carried the door stop
per about with him, or rather all that was
left of il after the tests, knew of something
that was going to startle the commercial and
agricultural worlds off he went to Ocean
Island by the very first trading schooner
In few months he returned and announced
that the piece of rock that used to keep
open the Office door was the key to a treas
ure island containing millions of tons of high
grade phosphate OF lime.
Australian capitalists were offered the
chance of forming a company to work the
phosphate fields of Ocean Island, but they
turned the proposition down Certain finan-
ciers in London were then approached. They
phate rock as fertilizer and accepted the
proposal, and to-day this company owns the
rich phosphate fields of both Ocean Island
and Nauru Island.
Despite the distance. the cost and the hun
dred and one difficulties of setting up an
industry on an island in the loneliest and
most unfrequented portion of the Pacific
they with true British persstency made the
giant effort.
Striking features OF the magnitude of the
industry on both islands are the immense
spider-like cantilever jetties by which the
phosphate is loaded onto the tramp steamers
TO be carried to the great agricultural coun-
tries of the world,
For the most part the phosphate mines, or
fields, are open pits, dug down a few feet
below the surface Of the earth. Here the
phosphate rock is looscned by pick and shovel,
placed on the trucks and conveyed over the
light railways to the works where It is made
ready for the market. Crushed. pulverized
and treated with strong acids, IL is called
super phosphate, grayish powder. with such
amazing powers that a pinch given TO any
plant in ordinary soil doubles it's fertility
making two ears of wheat grow where one
grew before.
AS certain phosphates combined make
very dense smoke this fact was utilized in an
interesting way during the war; Clouds OF
The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-11-14

PHOSPHORUS smoke were constantly en-
ployed to conceal vessels in danger of sub
marine attack, and many valuable cargoes
and crafts were saved in this manner
1t seems strange that nature should have
set down in so remote a part of the world
this valuable product, yet the explanation Is
simple. The silence and solitude of the great
ocean waste OF the Central Pacific were
necessary to the workings of nature in form
irg phosphate of lime. In ages past, countless
myriads of sea birds undisturbed by the
presence of man or animal. made these coral
islands their home, subsisting solely upon
the fish that inhabited its waters They Gre
ated vast deposits of guano. which, mngling
with the coral rock rich in lime. pro-
duced. as the result of periodical and alter
mating droughts copious rains and occa-
sional submergings by sea water, phosphate
of lime-a buff-colored rock that contains the
all essential virtues of prime soil fertilizer
as well as yielding high grade phosphorus
But much as birds had TO do with the rich
treasure of phosphate found on Ocean Island
there is scarcely bird TO be seen there to-
day, only few frigate birds. pets OF the ma
tives. and the domestic fowl
on Ocean Island some 1000 natives. re-
cruited from the Gilbert and Elice Islands
find work i'm the fields. supervised by fifty
white officials, mostly British and Aus
tralians. Another 1900 are needed on Nauru
Island. The single men live in spacious bar
racks and are boarded free. and the married
men in comfortable bungalows all boasting
OF their electric light and bathrooms and
other modern conveniences.
On Ocean Island there are 500 OF the orig
inal natives fine. picturesque race. They
are the richest natives In the whole OF the
Pacific Apart from the large sums they
receive from the phosphate company Cor their
land the company has TO contribute to the
government sum of sxpence for every ton
of phosphate exported. which IL used solely
for the benefit of the natives
The British administration is experiment
ing with kind of elf-government for the
natives ons Ocean Island body of intelli-
gent men has been selected and trained az
magistrates, clerks and police. court has
been established, presided over by native
magistrate, who lectures delinquents fines
and imprisons them, settles matrimonial af-
fairs and sees that all the sanitary regula-
tons are faithfully carried out in the villages
This form Of government is expected to be
introduced on Nauru Island, whose king
shortly after the coming Of the Australians
got up a petition to King George signed 10y
every native on the island. begging that his
little kingdom be placed under the British
crown. He also collected over three thou
sand pounds during the war for the Red
Cross.
The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-11-14
BY HAROLD J. sHEPsToNE, F. r. c. S


TIME decision of the European Peace
Conference to place the late German
possession of Nauru under the Joint
administration of Great Britain. Australia
and New Zealand calls attention to the ro-
mantle story of the phosphate industry of this
lonely little island right on the equator in
the centre of the wide Pacific and Incl
dentally also to Ocean Island, where the
business of mining this wonderful fertilizer
had its birth.
Ocean Island is the smaller of the TIVE. 1t
is some 100 miles distant from Nauru a
mere speck Of land thousand acres in ex-
tent, having a circumference of about five
miles. You can walk right around it in
about an hour. Nauru is rather larger.
having an area of 5000 acres and a crcum-
ference of about twelve miles. Both are
largely composed of very high grade phos-
phate of lime, magic plant food and a
prime fertilizer
Ocean Island has always been British
possession, but Nauru was German until the
Australians wrested it from her during the
war. quite early in the campaign II was
rushed by the Australians because the Ger
mans had erected here a powerful wireless
station whose tall mast could be seen from
the utck OF steamer Two hours DefOre
the island itself came i'm sight When they
landed they found the Germans had hidden
the working parts of the wireless plant and
search was at once instituted. In this the
Australians We're assisted by an old dog,
who led the men to a cave and there started
scratching. Seeming something unusual,
the men uncovered the mouth of the cavern
and there found the instruments, and a few
Hours later they were in communication
with the British warships in the Pacific
How the rich phosphate fields OF these
islands came to be discovered and their sub
sequent development is one of the romances
of industry. Less than forty years ago they
were looked upon as small, isolated coral
rocks of no particular value True, .whalers
used to call at them to take on supplies OF
water or pumpkins, but that was all. No
one imagined that these despised islands
were destined to become one of the greatest
commercial assets of the Pacific.
Some twenty years ago the Pacific Islands
Trading and Guano Company, New Yea
land concern, which can take the credit of
opening trade with many islands now devel-
oping into great commercial Importance. had
a tiny, unpretentous office in back street
i'm sydney, N. S. w. A door stopper, a buff
colored, irregular shaped piece Of rock. kept
the front door open. This little bit of rock
The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-11-14
German Cloth Full of Shoddy.

Food is on the whole cheaper than in New
York. A pound of beef costs 80 cents, of
pork 40 cents. Sugar costs 25 to go cents,
a can of condensed milk % cents -four 10
to IL cents butter IS cents, eggs, to
cents. Apples, pears and even oranges are
slightly cheaper than in America c'hc food
is sometimes hard to find. The housewife
must have her connections" which may
mean a shopkeeper who breaks the law or
a farmer who comes regularly from the
country. With money, everything can be
The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-11-14

year man ana WIG wouiu need ABOUT
10000 marks merely for board and lodgings.
And that is more than the tax collector left
over.
If one is lucky he may find furnished
apartment He cannot live in it legally
save in exceptional cases and with The spe-
cia permission of the Foreign Office. But If
ne is willing to resort to lawbreaking, apart
ments can be had. He cannot register with
the police, and he is confronted by the dan
ger of being elected at moments notice.
A furnished fiat costs about 400 marks a
The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-11-14

. correspondence L
HERALD.
BERLIN, Oct. 80.
W THAT is a $4,000 income worth in
M Germany to-day? In the light of
Germanys poverty, the answer is
perhaps surprising: With $4,000 a year a
family of four could live in luxury, support
two servants, go twice or three times week
to the best opera, theatre and concerts eat
plentifully and dress we'll To be sure there
would be drawbacks The white bread is not
white, the milk is canned. the streets are
not clean. and any morning there may be
another revolution with shooting in the
streets, and then no subway, street car, bus
telephone. light or gas.
Five thousand dollars is about 800 900
marks. But that does not mean that SIS, 900
income nets 100000 marks. 1t might If the
tax collector could be lodged. 1t happens
that his share of a 1000 mark income is
in round numbers 100000 marks. So a $4,000
salary in Germany starts in by being only
about $500. Even so, the amount covers
the two servants, theatres and all the rest.
But it is not easy for an American to live
like this in German city. Most Americans
must live in hotels, and there the budget is
suite of two rooms and bath costs 300 marks
a day, and meals cost on the average of so
marks day to each person. so that in
The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-11-14

month room. and a five room fiat mot
counting kitchen. maids room and BATH
would cost 1000 marks a month, or only $33.
Servants cost from $175 to $3.50 month
so far as wages go, and their insurance,
which the employer must bear. is about 10
per cent of the wages. The chief expense
of servant is her food.
The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-11-14
Prices and Taxes
Soaring in Paris

Special Correspondence Of THE NEW YORK
HERALD
PARIS, November 2.
TRANCE used to be one of the cheapest
r. countries in the world to live in, but
= this is no longer true Americans
coming to France must expect to pay. in a
general way, almost what they pay in
America, Notwithstanding the fact that for
many months to come the exchange will be
in their favor.
The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-11-14

higher than it is in New YORK Short DIS
tances on bus or tube are cheap. but the
higher fares for longer distances make it
average. close to five cents a ride. While
taxicabs are cheaper their use is necessarily
more frequent in the complicated web of
London traffic.
Insurance includes not only personal, in
surance. but small fee for servants, and
is probably a little bit higher than in New
York though not much. Medical service is
practically on the same scale as in New
York. The ordinary practitioner gets a
guinea n fee.
The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-11-14

and running through luncheon. tea, dinner
and supper. 1t is in the increased cost of
food and laundry for the whole establish
ment that the American here suffers. Ser
wants laundry must be done. too.
In the matter of clothes, too England is
no longer the paradise 1t used to be for
Americans. The days of wonderful tweed
suits for men at 500, or even at s12, are
gone Any tailor making clothes which
man at $4,000 n year might be expected TO
wear starts his prices at Is guineas-$60.
Linen and cotton are very much higher than
in New York particularly cotton. Very few
people nowadays are buying real linen, as 1t
is almost unobtainable Mems collars, for
instance are forty cents apiece. Shirts cost
a guinea$5.
All these prices are given at the current
rate Of exchange. In quoting them the adj
vantage for the dollar is considered in each
case. None of the prices stated are those
for things of luxurious character and most
of them represent duality and scale of
expenditure generally below that of the
$4,000 a year scale i'm New York.
The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-11-14
Rate of Exchange Fig
ures Little to Advan-
tage of the American
in England, Where
Living Costs Have
Tripled While Ours
Have Doubled Only
Rents Favor Briton

THE NEW YORK HERALD requested
its correspondents in London Paris
and Berlin to tell what FIVE thousand dol
lars year. translated into pounds, francs
or marks. meant in those capitals. Their
three articles follow.
Special Correspondence of THE NEW YORK
HERALD.
LONDON, Nov. s.
A YOUNG couple on $4,000, year have
Il by no means struck Eldorado when
they translate the five thousand
into sterling and begin to live on it in Lon
don. Despite the attractive promise held
out by the disparity in exchange-the $4,000
during the last year would have been worth
about f1250 instead of a normal fl 600
the very elements which worked the ex-
change in favor of the dollar worked even
harder to make the pound less when it
comes to be spent.
In the abstract it may be best summed up
in the following terms:
The cost of living In England since 1918,
the last year Of normal exchange, has al
most tripled.
In the United States it has barely doubled
Thus, while living is nearly 100 per cent
dearer than it was in times of normal ex-
change the exchange works in favor of the
American here only to the extent of about
% per cent.
Such comparisons may be made be-
tween current prices here and in the United
States bear out the general deductions evil
dent from the foregoing data. The groans
The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-11-14

81 in New York for eggs in midwnter. The
best top round beef costs 60 cents as against
As to 80 cents in New York. Butter is uni
formly 80 cents pound. Sugar is rs cents.
Laundry of all sorts must be sent to steam
laundries as there are no facilities for wash
ing clothes in any London house. Laundry
under this system for two persons with the
greatest care will run to between IS and 81
a week.
Servants All Specialists.
Though servants wages seem ridiculously
low at first glance--few good servants get
more than S4 week-all servants are spe-
cialists in their field and few house.
holds, even of two persons, can get along
without two servants The cook will not
clean the knives, the parlormaid will not
make the beds. and nobody except the small
boy or the girl especially engaged will clean
the brasses and do the boots. Furthermore
a brief domestic experience explains the ia
miliarity of the charwoman in English lit
erature. No one else will clean the windows
the front door steps and the floor.
While it is true that the wages of two or
three servants are frequently less than the
wages of one in New York every British
servant is full of health. They have great
appetites They eat not three but five meals
a day, beginning with a course breakfast
The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-11-14
Out of Frying Pan Into Fire.

The foregoing instances relate to purely
domestic menage. If the young couple en-
deavor to escape the high cost of house
keeping they are out of the frying pan of
domesticlty into the fire of Bohemia. 1t is
quite impossible even in the simplest restau-
rant TO get rho plainest dinner for less than
SO. Transportation is also in the main
The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-11-14
5,00Oa YearWillG Go inL london, Parisand Berlin

@ y mon @ five % @