Evening star., 1902-03-15

HstoAaSo StectTiC street cars IEOiu tuo
Monaco railway station, past La Condamine
ana up the hill to the Monte Carlo Casino,
In all a walk Of fifteen or twenty minutes.
Were 1t not for the big hill at either end
every one would walk it. For the service Of
carrying folk up these hills. therefore. 1t
began by charging cents second class and
cents first class. When 1t was desired to
make more money from the tourist flood
simple Administrative order arranged every
thing. The company dncluding the prince)
asked permission OF the prince Qncludtng
the company to raise It's rates. The prince.
in council, signed the permission. The next
notices to the effect that from the begin
ming Of the 1st Of the next month the prices
would be, third class cents, first class @
cents.
Consumer Pays It Back.
To descend from great matters to small
ones, a German druggist OF my acquaint
ance put In three years soliciting permission
to establish a drug store in the Condamine.
He had already arranged with the three
druggists Of Monte Carlo and the two OF
Monaco town not to oppose his application,
1t being acknowledged that a drug store
was needed In the Condamine and must be
opened some day. For two of these three
years. nevertheless, the German druggist
hesitated to pay the enormous lump sum the
governor generals handy man coolly de-
manded of him for the sealed and signed
acquiesced, the governor generals handy
man took one year more to think IL he
ought not to double the original demand.
AS 1t turned out they split the difference.
and my German friend Is now getting his
money back by charging so cents for 8
cents worth of quinine pills. No business
enterprise may be set up within the princi-
pality without the Authorization" of the
prince, and every authorization must be
paid for.
In the same way no foreign person may
live in the principality more than fifteen
days without taking out regular permit
to sojourn, costing ten cents and good for
six months. when 1t must be taken out
again. What effect this would have on real
estate values 1t is hard to say, were 1t not
for the fact that nearly all purchasers from
the outside world are wealthy and fashion
able people. who are always welcome 1t is
incontestable, however. that with his right
to expel arbitrarily the prince (and the
gambling corporation through him) must
possess a powerful hold over every foreign
property owner.
1t Is by means Of this right to expel that
the gambling corporation maintains such
beautiful order amid a congested floating
population drawn from every European cap
1tal The Monte Carlo Casino naturally
possesses great attraction for men (and
wOmen) living by their wits. They must be
kept marching over the line. The dead
broke contingent. too. when It has dropped
its money. must be gotten rid OF. The quar-
relsome, disputing over the ownership Of
gold pieces and bank notes at the tables
must be hushed up and spirited away. The
mode of operation is most interesting.
Take the case of a simple Quarreler who
raises q row at one of the roulette tables.
who appears to the croupiers to be in the
wrong and generally troublesome In the
midst of his quarrel he Is led aside to a cor
ner In one OF the great splendid halls. The
man he is quarrelng with will be led gently
to another corner. In all there are six of
these corners in six convenient positions
ha a h1yn sol fn hp lp1 fn
the corner. Once there, two or three plain
clothes detectives stand In front Of him
cooling and calming him. Then suddenly
small, half-concealed door opens behind
him: he is pushed into 1t nOiselessly; the
door shuts on him. and the gambling hall Is
quiet and happy again. AS for the aston
ished Quarreler, he finds himself sliding in
the dark He slides rapidly until he bumps
against another door that opening, lets him
into little room down on the basement
floor. There he is taken, summarily exam
ined and either marched direct to his hotel
to pack his trunk or else Of the affair be
grave) to jail. In either case, when they
are done with him, he finds himself across
the frontier with q warning not to come
again still ringing In his ears.
Never Look Backward.
This flushing up Of things is typical Of
the whole administration Of the Casino
and the princ!palty. Suicides. when they
occur, are put out Of sight with wonderful
celerity. They are buried in a special cor
ner Of the cemetery; and their people are
acknowledgement. Is a croupier caught
robbing the bank? The thing is hushed up,
even though he be punished. Is a visitor
wayla1d at night and robbed Of his valua-
bles at the pist OILS point? The Casino au-
thorities. II they believe his story on in
vestigation, will reimburse him-and hush
1t up. To hush tncipient quarrels at the
tables the croupiers are constantly ordered
to pay bets twice. Designing men with
systems to sell and habitual money bor-
rowers are "hushed" by the simple process
Of investigation, followed by expulsion The
motto of the principality is: When in
doubt. put him out!''
What the native population think of all
these high-handed doings one is ever
able to ascertain. They are a close-mouthed
lot the Monegasques; they know when
they are veil off and have no desire to get
themselves disiked by those in power AL
bert I Is great and good prince. NJ Ca
mile Blanc is their benefactor: Which of
the two is greater, in their minds no one
may know. They have no constitution no
vote, no voice in their own government:
but. on the other hand, they know that the
contract between the two great powers
that rule them provides for the paying OF
MonacO's expenses by the gambling corpo-
rations-so that they are free from all taxa
tion.
tive population of Monaco is dependent on
it's rulers for it's living. The Casino itself
provides employment for over 1000 people,
including the administration. the chefs de
partie. the inspectors. croupiers. musicians,
liveried servants. guards. firemen. garden
ers aundry women and so on Sixty 9TH
ers Of the population find employment in
the standing army Of the prince. Twice as
many more are policemen. About the same
number make their living on the electric
tram system. each car having motorman
conductor and inspector" second con-
ductor to watch the first. The street.
cleaning brigade employs a large number of
native-born men. The princes gardens
give living to another batch. A hundred
men are working on the construction Of the
great Marine Museum. on the heights of
Monaco overlooking the sea. There are
about a hundred employed as frontier
guards and detectives. though l have heard
the number of the latter alone put at go.
Indeed, there are detectives everywhere.
listening at hotel table d'hote conversa-
tions. loafing at cafe tables. in billiard
rooms, in the beautiful public gardens, in
the gambling rooms, everywhere, reporting
on new arrivals. telling what they see,
hear, think and imagine lest the "hush''
department of the municipality should lack
No Poor and Work for All.
Thus the native born Monagasque popu-
lation is provided for. There are no Door
There are no unemployed. 1t is a happy