STATE ENTERPRISE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1033, 24 January 1911, Page 6

STATE ENTERPRISE.

I ':.:; AN "OBJECT LESSON. ' \ .'J' "FRENCH MATCH MONOPOLY. • !. The monopolies of France havo j'-v not at;' tho present, moment. . what tho |'' French- call. "a good press" (wrote the, J:'" Paris correspondent .of., the "Morning i Post" on December, 13), and. they are furjv dishing every comic journalist with parat.; graphs' 'and eyery caricaturist with sub- ;,• • jects illustrating tho 'slavery of the pub-. !■'• lie ibsneath the' official. The question of j the; automatic cigar-lighter's ..still holds !•'.-' the'field; and will'continue to do so until ( 'the'experts have .finally decided 'whether [the... spark is duo or not to a "chemical p, composition," .the State alone having tho ;-;., right to sell."chemical compositions"'.for fr the production' of fire. "Meantime a stop r.-has been put to.the.sale of cigar-lighters

.'■V; by- the:srreet h'awker and newspapers are ['.full of quite "uncorroborated stories of !. mysterious persons 'in plain clothes who 1.-' ;6aunter through the Tuileries. with un- : lighted cigarettes and-ask" the unsuspect- ';- iog passer-by _.'for a ; :light, only, to lead : . ; him .to. the police station if. ho is.foolish !'•; 'enough;to produce a'briquet. ' The legend 1' .of Prometheus tind. the. fire, monopoly of i, : , the'ancient gods .is. Incoming a common-' ?;': place.;At least.tho "blague" of the press £■'. ,has had one ..amusing result —the stealth I Y and caution with which, the possessor of a [.'; briquet'lights l his cigarette.'in the entra' ('• .'Bete at. thetheatrc withi a. side glance; at ;' tho Gardes Republicaines on duty.is def.lightfully'comic, as. comic,.indeed, as. the. f : air of relief, 'and - courageous., accomplish-. ;. ; meht with, which'lie returns the pro- '■■■■; scribed; article to his pockrt.v . [.;.; : , ' . Taxjof 100 Per Cent. ''■ j .'.'"_'. Later. in'.' the day,' the' correspondent. !. ;added a postscript, to' has/dispatch.' He Fv-iaid:^:,'"..-..'.'..'v.'i.' -; ■:■ "...".-','i■-.■'••;:;,. ~ ', .' p.- .This afternoon M. Klotz, the Minister ■ ;of Commerce, .tabled a Bill to regulate | ■'-:,'-. the manufacture, sale, and use* of the

?-. 'automatic cigar-lighters to which I have ;.'■;: referred at the commencement'of this dis- !,' ■ patch. In; reply to an interruption, M. \\: Klbtz stated that' these lighters were.at !■ V. present formally.prohibited, : . so,'it ; seems [!' that the cau'iion : with l which;the;Pa'risian'. j,'V conceals, this apparatus .from.ihe police |v':. when ho is-lightinSi'a.cigar'is justified,' i :"though :.to■;the. casual -observer,it'secmsi f'•. -that .half: Paris is. provided .'with'.,. : and> [- /uses;, this; contraband article.; From ;:the' ■■y:preamble, to. : the 'Bill,, .however,; it.apJ ['/pears that .the..Department •which, regu-. I-.;lates indirect'.taxationi.would;not.think 1 ..' of .depriving the. .French citizen. of.- a new i\.. invention which,his.become; so popular '■:. abroad, .far;fn)m;,it;. : thoUgh: at\the same I .time, it must, ■.protects its- monopoly of \'■ matches, .which produces-a net revenue of ■; ~£1,120,000 for: the-.State,, to say, nothing ;';.' of .£160,000. a, year.spent-in wages on the [:-, employees of. jthe State. matoh; factories.: : | : :. ; .31.' Klotz.'iconsiders that strict regulaji;■■: tions. and ;the,: imposition- of .taxes 'will >;': 'jneet' the situation. j.He.i proposes' that -a of two francs-fifty'centinles shall,bo. f; ..levied, on • each; pocKet<. lighter ; pf'xommoh iM.Trietal;:if.made; five: francs; if, \ .■: of'.'gold or platinum,'.twenty'francs; .while, iv. for, ."larger .lighters.- the; ';tax:.. will • be |;.. : 'doubled. A1.,-,Klotz!',therefore;'.considers, £.-■ that a. tax of 100 v per,;ceiit.;dr thereabouts ; ;.iri|l. bo sufficient -;Jtb;-proUetv the Stato; .: /match. monopoly;- ./.-.Hi's "• calculations' .are [. ;; .presumably.'exact,-r.biit: allowing that- not ''.. more, than, one .match; out, .of four,-in .a, {-. ■?. b?*.- °f "Alllimettes/suedbises" is useless,' y. the' two. and;.a -half.-francs--received by.ii / the state: for each lighter-represents only •;;.- 1125.matches.'' ';;:-.: ''."■■,-.-• v-.. ■•;;?,

: ;The; FUtit and; Steel "Popular, ' " s-'. ..Two .days later- the question of autol; inatic>. lighters-.again .occupied the attenL-, -'jtidri' of• the..Cham'beiv and the "iforning J V-;EosV-.-.' correspondent., wrote that, the de- .\ ; ;oatc was .noteworthy for tbo noise it [caused,, and .for thoi fact-that several ;,'-. Deputies ostentatiously produced the ap- ■;;■ maratus, which the Minister of Commerce ¥'.:-:fh'ad declared to.be{Prohibited, during the ;,..: It appcaraghat the possession :v::!Of lighters which have not paid the duty i: •demanded'by, the ;State will■; entail for r^their owner a-fineoMOfr. nlus five times ; .- [the, duty which should have been paid. '■ , ! The suggestion made by certain IJepu- ■ -:' cw ■?'. - - P rese r' its monopoly, the 5;.. •Mate, had 'only tp -manufacture better ;; .'matches was, naturally enough, disreardj .edby the representatives'of. the Govern--. l-./Jient; who,; reminded the Extreme Left !„. that these .lighters:were too. dear for;the : poor man, and,, even .more'important, 'V that the .match.monopoly meant the liv-'-■A ;-ing of many.State workmen, all of them I: ~,; voters. ... v--.... ■:,,-' -.•."■ , , '■. .

I:'.■'. ~^eraVDepuiiosrpro'diiced :lighters from !,.■■.■., their pockets.'and: lit them to show their S,^,f?P <! T " 0 " t y i to;:,the' State matches, while ;•..; ;-M. Klotz remarked' that his Bill seemed (;/.-;to. have .ignited, party, nassjon,: only.to i- be met-with.the obvious retort: "That is K-?"or«i than your matches can •do." i '.' i'"-'il v ome ;' a pronosal for h■: the fending- back-of the motion to the . JL-omimtteo '.was rejected bv 332, votes: to I ..228, while the'. Government accented an' :-.-■: 'amendment-.exempting the poof man's I y; Jighter r that;is..to-say, flint and steel-in i; -iL ts . ; -^" ofl ?-'" formsifron ' the tax... It will ?, ~!bp,interesting.to,see whether thjsamend- ;■: ment;, will, not givoa-.gfeat. vogue, to-this s v.. simple .method: of .producing: fire, whi*h ;■., is' already: Extremely, pdnular in ' many •,-: .provincial districts of IVa'nco., ■, .■. .;•■ ■ i" '■ '. The.Tobacco' Monopoly . . ■ d T £ a ma teh-industry. is not ; the' onlv ;... State,enterprise, which, has been givin? :.,.,.itholrench .Government anxiety of late i'-.lie,same correspondent -writes:— ;■:- ; Competition the State ■: invariably reiv: gards- as disgracefully unfair. Despite f ;:-;.tne: tobacco; monopoly,: the -State, c0ri- ,;...; descends to. sell, (at an enormous profit) :- certain foreign . cigarettes . and, tobaccos. :■-.. , .Largei as tho, profit is on. these wares, it ,/•& naturally-not so large as that, on the '"' 'fJt ;«,: ade , to , I) aMos.,.:The State does not ; advertise, but .the cigarette raanufactur- ; •.■*rs whose ware aro'.sold in : tho • State -shops provided some little time ago all ... . with enormous advertisement's ,pumng their:wares. .The bureaux do ; itabac. were .covered, with gaily-coloured S JTr f he m Stat6 . Th <> Uepart- .;, went of. Indirect Taxation, shocked • at .. ' nthis.unfair competition, issued a circuit : leJhi? e ... then hit on the. idea of providing each ;. with coloured lamps form L ad- ■ ,vertisement signs,- and now .nearly eve7v '■' •oSeTwi'th baS a V m * •«SJ* hl3 . oned with the -name of a special cigareite - ]ns ,' £ though it were a"private shop and the tobacco trade were not a , ■ s&fc :lt is «>»■«« that tho State intends to comedown into the ;-, *rena and meet tho manufacturers on01 )V round ' ' an<l "»at" a i.Znilicen ■■ .illustrated .catalogue of all he state ;.. 'Cigars,-cigarettes ,and tobaccos is' beinS \ . Railway Troubles. •!■ .So far as concerns the-Western. (State) Railway at least, the State need fear no competition, unless it bo tho competition . of the motor-car. It is true that a lit- ;--.■-■■ tie while back two. journalists raced the ■ Puns train from Asniercs to the Garo St. i-.:. lazare and beat it by half an hour in !,.'■ an. ordinary Paris horse'cab. There is !-.-■;-.' also a-hint .of competition in an adver- ■ tisement of motor tyres near'.the-Bois-.-Colombes. Station.* : The: poster' (on: a hoarding before.which every train srops) announces that it takes half an hour from i. Colombes to Paris on the "Ouest-Etat" and only seven, minutes on tho" " tyres. Since tho railway strike tho vagaries of the "Ouest-Etat" have''increased a' thousandfold, to the delight of those Parisians'who do not travel by it. Its em- :;',- ployees practise with complete satisfaction to themselves a new form of "sabotage." They exchango the' label of one truck for the label of another,'and send it away to some place .hundreds of miles from its destination. They play tho . Fame game with passengers' registered Juggage, and there is a story.told of an . unfortunate foreigner who on arriving at a provincial station was presented by a porter with a live calf instead of his portmanteau. ' The' calf was carefully labelled with the number.on his luggage ticket and the portmanteau hail vanished. i, No doubt the story is a wild exaggeration, but it is scarcely more surprising ■ than- the undoubted fact that price of •':' ' coffeo has risen' in Paris, though there : - are thousands of sacks waiting at Havre, because the "Ouest-Etat" is- unable to :' ■ • eauYc.v. them to the capital ,