SODA TRADE AFFECTED.
Cigar Men, Too, Say No One is Smok-
ing These Days.
Unless this weather clears up, soda fountain men will go into spasms.
"And the cigar man, too," said a druggist yesterday, in despair. "We are not making enough off the fountains, any of us, to pay for the help and the syrups. We are losing money on the investment. Nobody drinks soda in ordinary weather, at least not so that the druggist notices it. Cigar men tell me nobody is smoking."
A cigar dealer, who was asked regarding this, had an explanation. "It is too wet to get out to get cigars," he said. "Nobody is on the street, so nobody drops in for a cigar. We always feel trade drop off when it is too wet or too cold for men to get around. Hot weather lets them drop in for a smoke -- but not too hot. They quit smoking then. This rainy season is about the worst experience we have had. It is new, and the cigar dealers do not like it. Just put that down."
