A Trader's Opinion,

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 293, 4 September 1908, Page 8

A Trader's Opinion,

The writer was discussing the various aspects of the cigarette trade with a gentleman who probably knows nioro about t-lib inside of tho tobacco distributing business than any other man i.*: Ncv> Zealand, and_ it would appear that the gcod old pipe, with its ooihfortablo "fill" of solid looking "plug,'' has good reason to tremble upon its hitherto undisputed throno, for cigaretto ismoking has almost become, according to him, a national habit, or, to'put it as expressed it,:■ a national ■ vice. -The recent tide of. prosperity probably had a good deal to do with this, he remarked; a period of depression would : very probably give' a set-back to the seductive little cylinders. "Go on to any large contract in'this city," ho said, "and you will • see nearly every man on the job with - a cigaretto in his mouth." It was a'sign, an outward and visible expression of the luxury of the worker's condition. . Cigarette smoking is expensive, _ and •it is, therefore, quite reasonable to infer that .if the working man, who formerly , elung to an. atrocious-looking clay, filled ; with strong black tobacco, could now afford to smoke cigarettes, then, to adapt; one of Mr. Dooley's inimitable expressions "Labour: at th' prisint minnit is layin' onitsback,shmokin' a big fat segar, and bavin'' th' toime av its ; loife.f' This gentleman ' deplored:' the spread of. the cigarette habit, whicn was most injurious. ; "Well," said : the writer, "how .can you preach the gospel :of abstinence when .members of the medical 'profession openly , indulge?" ."My .dear sir," he replied, "that does not prove that /the habit is a: good one. One swallow'does not make a summer.'!

Other gentlemen, concerned;in' the: tobacco trade' were then'interviewed.;as"to the large increase in the sale of cigarettes;

A Diversity of Opinion.

There appears io be, locally, rather adiversity of. opinion on this point. According to 'ohe'of the leading retailers'in this cigarette is obtaining an astonshing hold upon smokers, and so far as he himself was concerned, cigaretto" tobacco was purchased in much-larger quantities than- that for piper smoking. Another leading dealer in the fragrant weed, however, thought that the pipe still continued to hold its own, and always would. "There is a (larger quantity of cigarette tobacco sold than formerly," he said, "but there is also moro pipe tobacco sold: The'population has grown, you see. Between the ages of, say, 17 and 25, the cigarette has decidedly the advantage, -as nearly every smoker begins ,on this lighter formgentle vice. As he grows "older, his palate becomes - jaded, so to speak, and lie finds more satisfaction in a good pipe.. The balance thus: naturally adjusts itself."

The Cigarette arid the Man. - "By his cigarette ye shall know, him," is a -piece of philosophy' which contains suffi: cient". truth to justify its' introduction into . this article. : Shtrlock Holmes believed, in the testimony of watches, and. bootlaces; which goes to show that trivialities become lied into formidable .witnesses when examined introspectivcly. If a 1 man throws his cigarette away when about two-thirds of it have been: consumed, it may . bo, deduced that he can afford to smoke these luxuries and study his health as well. But if he smokes it right to the bitter end, and then ; when he' can . 110 longer "grasp the rapidly-diminishing "butt" in his fingers, sticks it on the point of a pin and extracts a few more' puffs, jt may.bo deduced-from his action that he is ;mean enough, to be quite capable of, stealing a worni from, a blind hen. It was of just . such a man that ,a street urchjn once, with withering irony, beseeched: "I say,', mister! whistle when yell drop the butt—won't yeh?" To'return to the subject; it would-appear that, cigarette ' smokers aro' becoming more energetic, and rolling , their own "smokes." As one tobacconist observed, with a, smile, the . increased cost of living had ~ probably something to do .with it.- The sales-of cigarette tobacco, in the packet, were, increasing • steadily, as this was more dcoriomical than : ,'iuying the .rolled-up cigarettes'. Smoking ike ready-made article regularly was pretty ixpensive, running easily .into about :ss. veekly. ?lugged versus finned Tobacco. Nowadays, a man may purchase his supply. )f weed in three forms—in the.tin, by tho dug, •qr "cut-up" plug. According to a itatoment made by a leading tobacco dealer a Wellington, the inhabitants, of this city • ire so easy-going and indifferent, that anything will satisfy them. .In the tobacco : Mrade, as in all other trades, there are rogues pho find that tho gulling of the, dear old public is a delightfully easy and most profitable investment, and for this reason lie counsels smokers to.be careful, except when dealing with reputable tobacconists, to pur-, chase their tobacco. either in the manufacturers' tins or in the plug, -with the seal on. "If you ask for cut-up plug of a certain brand," said lie, "you may get it, and you may not; it depends a good deal on the man ivho is selling it to you. I have been .'had' . myself,, and I know as much about tobacco as most people." Climate and Tobacco. • ."This climate," remarked another trader, "is very trying for tobacco; I [don't .care ' what brand it is, or how good it is, it wont stand tho New Zealand climato very long unless most carefully stored. The two worst places arc Westport and. Auckland. Auckland is very bad for tobacco. It is not advisable therefore to carry large stocks, but to buy in frequent small lots. ,Toba t cco must be sold quickly, and used at once'. If anything, tho plugs stand better than,tht» twoounce tins, but tho difference is trifling. '