The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-11-15
NED BRACE TELLS ABOUT THE DETAILS
 ENCOUNTERED ON A EUROPEAN TRIP

i the French railroads do not compare to those of England.
 Upon landing in Paris one finds En- glish spoken at the station and indeed almost everywhere. Paris Is really more American than is London. If one wants to use telephone in Paris. he says ''hello," to open the conversation, just as he does here. But in England one must say to open the conversation, Are you there" The reply comes, Are you there" and then assured of the connec- tion, you proceed to talk. In every way Paris appeals to Americans much more than does London. There are always dur ing the spring and summer months from 10000 to 10000 Americans in Paris. They fill the hotels and pensions and keep the dress makers and milliners busy up to the first of October. Several million dollars of American money is left in Paris each year for dresses and millinery, and incl dentally 1t might be remarked that the United States government during the past twelve months has collected at New York alone, more than $l, 1000, 900 duty on cloth
 
 York by passengers on the transatlantic liners. Under the new tariff law, one Is only allowed to bring in $l0O worth of wearing apparel free of duty. Everything else that one might have purchased abroad is dutiable, and the customs col lectors are now very strict in the enforce ment of the law.
 Of course Paris is always attractive to Americans and everyone else. It is prob ably the most beautiful city in the world It Is certainly the cleanest. It's build- ings are almost exclusively of white stone; its streets are broad, and there are circles and squares and parks every where. Many of the streets are lined with shade trees, and the drives about the city are said to be the most beauti- full in the world. Indeed, the city gov. ernment of Paris seems to pay more at- tention to cleanliness and artistic beauty than any other city government in the world No building is allowed to be con- structed more than six stories in height and the plans for the outside must be approved by the city architectural board
 To give an idea of the attention paid to the artistic, 1t was only about a year ago that the city government of Paris paid fashionable club $3O GOO for the privilege of cutting off the top story of it's building, the city bearing all the ex- penses of the same, expending all told something over $6o,o0O. The reason as- signed for this was because the club was located near the Chamber of Deputies, and was somewhat higher than the Chamber of Deputies building. It was, therefore, claimed that this building, to an extent, detracted from the view of the Chamber of Deputies, looking from the Place de la Concorde, across the Seine
 All of Paris apparently approved this expenditure of money to cut off the club building in order that 1t should not ap- pear higher and more massive than the Chamber of Deputies, regardless of the fact that the club building is some 200 yards from the governmental building. If such thing were done in an American city the aldermen who happened to vote for 1t would hardly be reelected. But in Paris things are different. Every Paris ianh as an eye to beauty and artistic effect, and he likes to see money spent to carry out that purpose.