Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1890-01-02
TOBACCO LAW IN FRANCE.
The state Owns tho Business There and
Runs IL Itself

Runs IL ITSELF
Visitors to France have noticed how
careful the custom officers are to see
that no one is smuggling in matches or
tobacco. The importation of matches
is prohibited and there is a very heavy
duty on tobacco. Any one who has
made the acquaintance Of French
match will not readily forget it. Its
peculiarity is that it is very reluctant to
ignite, and is no sooner alight than it
proceeds to extinguish itself. Matches
have hitherto been made solely by one
company, which had paid the Govern
ment large sum every year for the
privilege of supplying Frenchmen with
bad matches. As proposal to continue
this system threatened to overthrow the
Tirard Ministry the other day, the Gov
ernment has decided to take the manu-
factnre of bad matches into its own
hands. The tobacco is made to suit the
matches. 1t is also bad and dear. The
tobacco business has long been O State
monopoly, and is one of the principal
sources of revenue. The latest report
on the subject shows that last years
crop was 20, 175, 900 kilogrammes, which
was valued at 16, 423, 600 francs, or 49,
284, 800. This was poor year, giving
only 995 francs worth per hectare,
while in 1887 the value per hectare was
1,811 francs. This was the home pro-
duction, hg5 NR Government imports q
great deal of american tobacco in leaf,
and manufactures it in France. The
Government sells it after it is made,
and the smallest tobacco store in France
is part of this huge State monopoly.
The State gives the privilege of grow
ing the weed to planters, and looks after
them with motherly care. 1t fixes in
what departments tobacco my be grown.
1t marks off the number of acres to be
planted. It selects the variety of plant
and settles what number may be grown
on each acre. Not only SO, but the
army of officers, who are always prowl-
ing about on behalf of the State, count
the plants in each acre and the number
of leaves on each plant. Should o
planter have less than the inventoried
number of leaves when the harvest
comes the officials will be down on him.
A much graver offence, however, is to
have too many leaves. This is regarded
as an attempt to defraud the State, and
unless satisfactorily explained is fol-
lowed by fines and imprisonment.
When he reaps his crop the planter has
not the privilege of asking price for
it. The price is fixed by the State.
Tobacco is grown in twenty-eight de-
partments. There are 50, 284 planters,
and 16,507 hectares of plantations.
There are twenty-seven stores for the
reception of indigenous tobacco, and
stores at Bordeaux, Dieppe, Dunkerque,
Havre and Marseilles for imported to-
bacco. The State has twenty-one man.
ufactories. The largest is that at Lille,
which turns out six million kilogrammes
of tobacco a year. There are 20,S71
employees in the factories, of whom e
$50 are men and 1881 women. This
does not include officials and agents.
The Government does not treat its en-
ployes very well, and strikes in tobacco
factories are frequent.
| All the tobacco stores in France be-
long to the State. There are over 40, :
600 of them The State does not sell
tobacco at retail except in three stores.
All the others are let to widows of Of
ficers, Government officials, and some-
times to the widows of Senators, Depu-
ties, and Projects. They take the place
of pensions. If the Government grants
a pension to the wife of some man who
has died in the service of the country,
that generally means she gets tobacco
store, or bureau, as it is called. As the
social position of the pensioners will not
allow them to run the bureaus directly,
they let them. The dealer is allowed
10 per cent. profit by the Government,
and is prohibited from selling any to-
bacco except thatsupplied and priced by
the State. Neither must they make ci-
| garettes out of the Government tobacco.
Every cigarette must bear the official
stamp. The State has three bureaus in
Paris where the best quality of cigars
can be obtained. These are either inn
ported or made out Of imported tobacco.
It was Napoleon who established this
monopoly in tobacco. The weed had
been introduced into France by a
Frenchman named Jean Nicot, and its
manufacture was free in 1921. A mo-
nopoIy was established in 1874, but was
abolished long before the Revolution.
Tobacco proved profitable business
when the culture was free. Napoleon
was attracted at ball in the Tuileries
by lady gorgeously arrayed with dia,
monds and jewels. who is thai
princess?" he inquired. When told
that she was only a tobacco manufac,
turer's wife, he at once resolved to take
charge of this means Of facquiring wealth.