Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-09-02
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

sarily approach 1t in somewhat the
same spirit.
Generally he does. If you have ever
watched a man fill his pipe with a
faYorite mixture, you will realize that
there is much ceremony to 1t.
1t is curious to recall that although
pipe smoking originated in America,
1t was Europe that gave the United
States it's pipes until about the be-
ginning of the Civil War.
Much the same thing happened with
pipes as occurred with the flower
known today as the Clarkia. This
flower, discovered by Lewis and
Clark on their great expedition, was
named after the latter.
Being native American, flower grow
ers of the United States never seemed
to think much of it. English hybrid
izers, however, evolved larger and bet
ter flowers, and now all the catalogues
list the plant. The Clarkia, however,
had to cross the ocean to get any
prestige.
The pipe, a pure American inven-
ton, had to go to England and Ger
many and Austria before it had any
particular standing in the United
States.
Before 1860, man by the name of
Edward Hen was the only importer,
being known as 1.-The pipe man of the
United States" At that time his
business amounted to less than $50 1000
year.
Some little manufacturing had been
done, however, as far as we can dis
cover, by a gentleman with the good
name of Thomas Smith, as early as
1S47, but Americans with money pre-
ferred to buy the imported pipes.
The Civil War, however, cut off i'm
portations, and the United States was
thrown on it's own. as far as fancy
pipes were concerned. Clay and corn
cob pipes were smoked in the country.
of course, but never made much of a
hit in the cities.
X X X
Pipes, as far as the consumer is
concerned, are divided into two class
es, those that break and those that
do not. In the former classes are the
briars and corncobs, and in the latter
the meerschaums, clays, pOrcelains,
etc.
The Indians had stone pipes. and
some made of copper. Wonder how
pper-bottomed pipe would taste? In
dams near the Falls of St. Anthony,
Mimi. had a sacred bed of red soap
stone, which they used in pipe making,
and which they jealousy guarded for
many years from white invaders.
The only really new idea introduced
in pipes since Columbus discovered
America is the Eastern hookah, or
Turkish water pipe, and as this is
more trouble to operate than a stor-
age battery. it has never been very
popular in America, despite many at
tempts to put it on the market in
large way.
For one thing. you can't carry
water pipe around in your coat
pocket, as one can do with the
chummy pipes of less complicated de
sign. Here we will let the ladies in
on a secret Granted that you have
picked a pipe-smoking man, as the
ads advise, you may be interested in
knowing why he carries it with him
all the time.
The real reason is that it puts him
at ease when meeting other men. Two
men with not much in common, yet
trying to be friends, are terribly bored
if they have nothing in their hands.
Pipes in hand. they find the en-
harrassment gone. The same thing
holds true of all forms of Smokes"
but particularly of the pipe. The pipe
is Just little more so, every way, II
you ask us.