The Forrest City times., 1903-10-16
GOVERNMENTS IN TRADE.
Tobacco a state Monopoly In Many Countries-Greece Keeps Salt
 Trade to Itself

Tn Portugal the government itself is . shopkeeper. It does not, it is true, deal in every article in ordinary daily use. But 1t holds monopoly in a good many of them, including such widely dissimilar commodities as loaf sugar and pins. bicycles and tobacco.
 Sometimes a government monopoly inflicts not only an inconvenience. but actual suffering. involving even danger 10 health on those subject to it, says Stray Stories.
 A typical case in point is the salt monopoly of Greece. In Greece salt costs anywhere from four to ten cents a pound, according to the quality and the locality where 1t is vended.
 The peasants often cannot afford even the former sum. so they go with flying in its turn the poverty that was its original though indirect cause.
 Sometimes they dig shallow pans in the sand by the seashore and allow the tide to fill them.
 Afterward the blazing sun dries up the water. and thin coating of coarse and inferior salt is left This they carefully scrape together But it is illegal. of course. and hundreds of prosecutions, followed by imprison- ments. constitute the regular and in- evitable sequel.
 The Greek government also pos sesses monopoly in the trade in pe- troleum, matches, playing cards and cigarette papers. but comparatively little opposition is excited by any of these
 Petroleum is a monopoly of the Spanish government. and salt used to be. But the latter impost was so bit terly resented that the peasantry in whole districts rose in arms against it.
 Then seeing civil war imminent, the government gave in, and in place of creating state "corner" in salt. de- creed themselves sole makers and sell CTS of gunpowder.
 This latter monopoly still exists. The gunpowder sold in virtue of it in the towns is first-rate in quality. although exorbitant in price. But in the re mote provinces. and especially in those provinces known or suspected to be tainted with "Carlism," the reserve stocks are, it is commonly averred largely charcoal.
 The presidents of Colombia have long arrogated to themselves the right 10 supply ice. among other things. to the inhabitants of that turbulant little republic.
 So, when a town or a district rebels. or province refuses to pay it's taxes, the government. instead of sending troops to the disaffected region sim ply cuts off its supply of ice. This quickly brings the inhabitants to req son.
 Tobacco is a government monopoly in Italy, Austria. France and Japan In the latter country the rules regard ing its sale and manufacture are par ticularly stringent. All tobacco leaf grown in the country has to be deliver ed to the government at a fixed rate, and it is then re-sold to the manufac- turers at another rate, and that, of course, an enhanced one. which is also fixed by the government
 The state further arrogates to itself the right to limit the area devoted to tobacco cultivation, and even to order the destruction of growing crops should it see fit to do so.
 Cotton yarn and matches constitute monopolies of the Chinese government but it gets very little out of either of them, probably because of the corrup- ton existing among the officials who administer and manage them.
 In France, on the other hand the match monopoly is most lucrative bringing in every year very substan- ual addition to the nations revenue It ought to, for the matches it places upon the market are probably the worst and dearest in the whole world
 Costa Rica's president is said make million pounds a year out of his state rum trust The rum sold is such as would eat rat holes through the boiler plates of an Atlantic liner. but the natives seem to thrive on it and grow fat
 Even worse is that foisted by the Portugese government on the negroes inhabiting their African possessions. It has been described by one of their own consuls as "a raw spirit ITO to lS0 degrees over proof" and as absolute ly poisonous to Europeans" Never theless the blacks do not appear to be much the worse for it.
 Vodka, the national beverage of Rus sia, and all other drinks except wine. beer. porter and mead have been de- creed the monopoly of the state.
 In each province the government has established spirit stores of it's own. and distributes it's own brandy and whis- ky, put up in its own bottles or jars ready for consumption. and sealed with its own seal
 Another Transatlantic Cable
 In the last seven years Germany has laid 1875 miles of cable. including the line hafu Ep,Ia, a,d