Smoke and Smokers Diminishing
One good result of the war is found in the following. If taxation would only concentrate upon such commodities as tobacco, we might go on till a cigar, a quid of tobacco, or a pinch of snuff would be absolutely out of the reach of the great mass of their victims. Under the heading of "Smoke and Smokers Diminishing," an exchange says: "The heavy tax imposed on tobacco has seriously interfered with the trade in that article. In New York, the number of cigars manufactured daily before the tax was imposed was over a million. And two thousand journeymen were employed in making these, and their salaries ranged from $15 to $25 per week. Now a large number of journeymen are out of employment, and they will probably have to follow other pursuits. The most remarkable result of the tax is that it has led nearly one-half the smokers to abandon the use of cigars. It is estimated that there are five hundred thousand of the former consumers of the 'weed' abstaining from it."