The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-10-11
NJ. ZOLA,s CONVERSION

NJ. ZOLA'S CONVERSION
M Aola mas had an experience and
lesson He was a protectionist. That
Is, we assume he was, because he is a
frenchman. Protection Is a sentiment
o1ten worn as a cloak for greed. and
all Frenchmen are sentimental and
some are greedy. M lola is now a
free trader That is, again, we as
sumo that he is, because he talks like
one in LIE Figaro To understand the
experience, the lesson and the change
one must knowhthat Paris derives a
portion of her revenues from tax laid
on articles of food brought into the
city, called there an octroi. It matters
not Whether one, brings in vegetables,
say that he has grown on a garden
oulslue the' cttyI for his own use. or
"hether he brings them in for sale. the
officer stands at the gate of the rail-
way station Or the road and levies and
collects the tax.
Ni A-oia mas country place outside
TIE CITY, with a garden attached. to
Whlch ne retires when the pace has
oeeh TOO vigorous in Paris and his
worn energies need regeneration. He
rests under his fig tree loafs in bis
grape aroors, delights his sense of
smell with anticipation of the garlic
r1penlng In the garden and feels the
glow OF the honest farmer as he watch
es the cabbages swelling to cornulent
rlpeness. Then, refreshed, his imagi-
ma 'iol revived, he gathers up his
baskets of vegetables and goes back to
the city to resume his task of democrat
lzl1g the noveEreading public with his
ero'lc tales. Recently from his sum-
iIierlhg ne came back, bringing with
MIN oox containing three lars Of
pickles grown on his own land. and
baskets OF cabbage and salad mate
rlals' together with his trunks filed
Will Ills ana the madam's apparel. He
goes 10 secure a cab, and madam hon
! estly tells the customs officer what the
poX and the baskets and the trunks
contain but that officer has his doubts
anu the oox must be broken open. for
IL was securely nailed, and the baskets
must be uncorded and the trunks
opened for his inspection
But let him tell the story in his own
ferV1d and inimitable wav:
When I return am Obliged n NV o,,,ouo
nent, to look on while this goes On IT,
poeruS are broken everything must he taken
OUT the official ,hefts the three lars. one
notices 4 tha tae vinegar runs out. Then he
n no the basket Of vegetables and insists
on inspecting sit;. the cords are cut and he
uiis MS hands full of suspicion, amid salad
sat capoages to the very bottom. Then he in
ISIS thaC one or the trunks shall be opened
anu II Is the turn Of the linen, of the thou,
saIu opJects packed in with great difficulty
dirt or the counters
, VIII admit that got angry What?
nave lived at Medan for. eighteen years.
am am perfectly well known at the St. Lazare sta
ce1ve on returning to Paris with NV own
vegetabies and my own pickles. Everything
W vs. examined, everything is dirtied, as i
were suspected or the blacklist fraud and that
after | had declared my pickles on which
paid S6 centimes. for which 1 have the
receipt. Tor It was matter of six cents 1t
was to get six cents that our linen was turned
topsy turEy and all our little private domestic
articles were passed around by all sorts Of
black paws. =.
why do I relate THIS COMMONPLACE story
! y,
because my heart leaps with indignation and
wrath; because consider it shameful that a
great city like Paris should still cling to this
unpleasant vexation of the inspection OF bag
gage; because there is in it a coarseness a
sort or violation that may make a woman
suffer; because it ought to be time for us to
find some other mode of taxation, or at least
not to keep on collecting in railroad stations
ridiculous duties which exasperate every
body. go
And you have endured this for so many
years, Parlsians, my brothers. Do you know
that you have made revolutions for less than
this, and my surprise is great that you have
not yet filled Paris with barricades to escape
the imbec1le annoyances of the sotroi.'
1t needed an obstinate customs Of
ficer and the breakage Of a jar of CHER
kfns to open the eyes of this French
man to the absurdity of a system of
taxation he had borne for years with
out doubt or question. But the octroi
is nothing more than our tariff sys-
tenn which millions of Americans en-
dure without sense Of its absurdity and
injustice. We are glad that jar of
pickles was broken, and only wish
some American lola had undergone
the same indignities at the port of New
York. A revolution here might follow.