The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-09-28

1t is to be ratified on the Ath or next September. By it our raw materials are to be admitted on the payment of mini- mum duties, and the United States makes a reduction on French imports of silk. cotton and linen goods, and also on ar- ticles de Paris, food manufactufes, glass, metal and paper wares. This will bring in our brsldstuffs under a much lower rate of duty than they are now paying, and we will be able to compete with other countries In the past France has had reciprocal treaties with England and Bel gium, so that their goods have come Tn under the minimum tariff, while we have had to pay the maximum tariff. Indeed. ore than 100000 in duties were paid on our exports to France in the year 1900.
 The American Art Colony.
 have referred to the American art col- ony. It is entirely apart from the rich society crowd, living chiefly in the Latin quarter and having little world of its own. The colony is large consisting of beth artists and students. Every salon has it's American pictures, and the Amer ican artists stand we'll and not infre- quently take honors. This is so both of women and men.
 Paris has now society of American painters. established to advance the in terests of it's American artists. and among it's members are such men as Bridgman, Story, MacEwan, Weeks, Ed win Abbery. John s. Sargent and others. There is also an American Art Associa- tion, composed of both artists and stu dents. The president of this is Rodman Wanamaker, the son of John Wanama- ker, and among its sustaining members are Gen. Horace Porter, the Unitad States Ambassador, and MT. John K. Gowdy, our Consul General. Many of our artists are married and live in Paris with their families. Some are rich, but many are very poor. This is especially so of students, many of whom come here un- der the mistaken idea that they possess genius, only to struggle along for years on the edge of starvation and then to give up in despair.
 An American Girl at the Grand
 Opera.
 There are many Americans here study ing music, and not a few who have decided talent. Among those who are now attracting considerable attention is d young girl from Texas, who has just made a contract to sing in the Opera Comique, and another is Miss Bessie Ab- bolt, who has a two years contract for star parts in the Grand Opera House. Miss Abbott has a fine soprano voice. and the French have, as 1t were, adopted her as one of their great artists. The Grand Opera House, as you know, ranks at the top of the opera houses of the world. It is an honor for an artist to sing in it upon any terms, and for an American girl to have a long contract at the start for leading parts means fame and fortune.
 The Paris Opera House is wonderfully beautiful. It cost a million dollars more than our national library building at Washington and it covers as much ground as the National Capitol. It is to a cer- tain extent Government institution and has soldiers in uniform and policemen on guard at the entrance. Full dress Is expected in most of the seats. and the patrons of it are among the richest and most fashionable of the French capital. Yankee Professional Men in Paris.
 But let me tell you something about some of our professional men who are making money in Paris. They are num- bered by SC ores and most of them charge larger fees than are common at home. There are many American doctors who belong to the Anglo-American Medical Society and number of others outside. Paris has twenty-five American dentists who are members of the American Dental Club, in addition to others who are not. It has American lawyers. American elec- trical engineers and hundreds of Amer ican business men. including importers and exporters, principals and agents. There are perhaps a dozen newspaper correspondents, several American archi- tects and moi few American bartend- CTS.
 Within the last few weeks an Ameri- can commercial directory has been pub lished, giving an alphabetical list Of American Tirrns and all matter of inter- est to Americans in Paris. It Is a book of about 31J pages. which shows some thing of ghe extent of the colony. In running over it's pages I notice the fol- lowing companies with American names: There is an Amerl can bicycle company, an American cotton company. an Amer iCan sadie company, an American coal and shipping q yency and an American trading union which deals in clocks. Then there Is an American autograph company, an American estate agency, whlch may furnish titles and estates to our codfish millionaires, as well as an Amcncan tar paper company and an American dancing academy.
 As to the American typewi1ters, they are all represented, as are our bicycles a steamship office here, and I have al- ready spoken of our express companies and life insurance establishments.
 There are several American bookstores in Paris, the chief of which is Brenta-