Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1895-08-15
THE GATES OF PARIS.
Almost Everything That Passes Through
Them Must Undergo Tax,

Them Must Undergo Tax.
+ At present the gates and Notifications
of Paris seem to be useful principally
for the levying of vcXatious taxes upon
the French people themselves. OF this
we were forcibly reminded one day MS
we approached the Porte Mallott in
company with n gentleman who was on
his way 10 fill a lecture engagement at
one of the great schools of this city
Our friend carried bag containing
few books he was intending TO use, and
the question to be settled before we
could pass was whether anything in
the bag was taxable. To satisfy the
gate-kcepcr the bag must be opened
1t was all done quickly enough and
with evident politcness, but it struck
the American mind quite unfavorably,
and of course provoked it to numerous
inquiries. Paris, it appears, lays
tribute in this way upon al
most her entire food supply and upon
numerous other things, and the money
collected is divided between the gov
crnmcnt and the municipal authorities.
BY this means it comes 10 pass that
many articles are dohbly taxed for in
addition to what is assessed Upon them
at the gates of the city there is tariff
imposed at the frontier
After this we did not wonder that
visitor had to pay so enormously for
apartments and board, though we did
wonder at the 1ong-suffeting patience
of the residents Meat Of every kind is
taxed: On d pound Of butter the city
tariff is three cents and on pound of
grapes it is aboiit the sdnie. II you
should go outside and shoot hare you
would have to pay for bringing into
Paris even private little acquisition
of that sort. Upon spirits and wine the
duty is considerable, and the authori-
ties are exceedingly vigilant in collect
ing it. This Is point at which vigil
ance is quite necessary, judging from
what one hears as to the methods of
smuggling in vogue. We are told that
during the cholera scare liquors were
surtcptitiously brought in by means of
cofiirs, and I'VE have heard Of one en-
tcrprisiDg liquor dealer who cheated
the government for long time by
means of dummy footman. That is,
he had wooden continuance ON the
seat of his carriage, shaped and dressed
like footman, and this innocent
looking luxury was filed, not with ami
nal spirits. but with the kind which at
the gates of Paris are held to be contra
band.
These ruses were decidedly clever,
and IL is said that had it not been for
accoihplices who turned informcrs they
might have continued in successful OPP
Grafton indefinitely. Perhaps, how
ever, the countryniaii's rusc was the
most elrcctual for the time, though it
must have put him to Inconvenience
afterwards. lie had only a bottle OF
common wine with him, but the gate
keeper knew his duty and did it. The
tax was four cents, levied upon an orig
| NAL valuation of something like twelve
cents. Common wine, it must be re-
mcmbered, is very cheap in France and
this particular bottle would have been
cheap enough, one might have thought,
even after the duty had been paid. But
the French peasant is noted for his
thrift. The burning question was how
to get his quart of wine into Paris
without any further investment upon
it, and the final solution was reached
by his carrying it through the gates
concealed, as in The case of the dummy
footman, within his own anatomy In
dianapolis Journal.