Show ft IMPORTED figures the number of cavna consumed lu this country As near as wo can get at it said a cigar dealer tho other day to a representative senta tive of the chicago evening journal we calculate that there are thirteen million smokers in the united states we been able to get it down fine enough yet to estimate how many of cheso smoke cigars what proportion the pipe or the number of those who inhale tho delusive cigarette but wo can get pretty celoso tb the number who go in for imported cigars and that number surprised me when I 1 figu out not one person in a thousand would bo able to guess anywhere near it after knowing the total number ot smokers in the country now out of those thirteen million smokers how many indulge in havanas about four million replied the reporter the nearest to the number of any guess ive had and I 1 have a offer of a box of the best perfectos Perfect os to the man who guesses within half a million of the actual figures pm sorry but near as you came you have not won the box youre out of the way though only about four million in your guess nowal Pl tell me whether you are too high or too low ill rive YOU the perfectos Perfect os too low of course exactly what they all think im sorry young man but you dont get the box youre just smokers too high in your estimate hardly be cievo it would you nobody would but its so and theres no getting around it why if there wore consumers of havana cigars in this country how often do you suppose each one would got a havana to smoke just about three a month that is if all the cigars imported from cuba into the united states were equally divided amon smokers each smoker boulo have twenty five cigars and a piece of one at the outside we take from cuba cigars a year this is all the demand calls for consequently w 0 smoke in found numbers of them every day r think it is fair to give five cigars as each smokers daily average so we see by easy figuring that just persons arc all that aro required to got away with all the imported cigars that the united states consumes annually astonishing toni shing it out of an array of people in this country iho smoke only indulge in tho luxury biot imported cigars but that nay not less thin an average of one dollar apiece every day for the privilege which makes the snug little sum of a year which goes up in the fragrant smoke of the havana in this great and glorious land |