Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1909-02-08
CHANGES In FRENCH TARIFF
Proposed Revision May Affect United
States Adversely.
DUTIES TO EXCLUDE AMERICANS
Consul General Mason Reports TO
State Department at Washington
Some Enormous Proposed In
creases In Imports.
,From q staff Correspondent }

| WASHINGTON, req. i.-NopSCldl'J
sui General Frank II. Mason, who is To-
Gated in France sends a report to the state
department upon the proposed revision of
the French tariffs. He says that the re-
vision is frankly, to increase the maximum
rates of duty as prescribed by the general
tariff schedule on large number of arti-
cles which are thought to be insufficiently
protected by the present import duties
| Consul General Mason cites a number of
items on which increases are proposed. The
present rate of the French tariff upon pat
ent calfskins, for instance, is 1870 francs per
| 100 Kilograms, and the proposed rate is 255
! francs. The present rate on divers boots,
carried into France, is 2z francs, the pro-
posed rate is francs.
| In the metal schedules. in which the
United States is very deeply interested,
some marked changes are proposed to the
detriment of the manufacturers of this
| country For instance, manganese metal
over 90 per cent is at present subjected TO n
! duty of Az francs per 100 Kilograms; under
the proposed rate the tariff will be rs francs
per 100 Kilograms.
Motor car axles of the ordinary steel In
the rough at present pay 10 francs; the
| proposition is to make 1t 371R. The same
| axles worked" now pay Is francs, but
should the new schedule be adopted by the
French government the rate will be AZ
/ francs. If made of special steel the pres
ent rate in the rough is 10 francs, and the
proposed rate is 67lk france, while the spe-
cial steel axles worked" will be increased
to rs francs The present duty on type
writer's is rs francs for 100 Kilograms, or 2a0
| pounds avoirdupois. The proposed rate
make the tariff 70 francs on each machine,
or something like 400 per cent increase.
These heavy increases in the French tar
| iff on articles of American manufacture
| will undoubtedly be used as powerful argu-
ments against any reduction In the Ameri-
can tariff duties, especially upon articles
! imported from France
DiGnitaries and Corns.
The presldent-elect of the United States
is troubled with corns. This is not unique
experience fer a president of the United
| States. The other day a member of con-
| gress from western New York had occa-
sion to visit one of these foot surgeons
and he incidentally remarked that on the
! last occasion when he had to invoke the
professional aid of one of these gentlemen
/ he had had his toes treated by Buffalo
| specialist in this line, who told him that
! Secretary Taft was one of his patients.
| The Washington wielder of the cornknife
promptly answered that he too had been
honored by visits from Secretary Taft to
| his studio or abbatoir, whichever may be
the proper designation, and then he went
on to say that every president since the
days Of Lincoln had had his feet treated In
this establishment. which was first opened
in 1866. To prove his assertion he produced
register in which for more than thirty
years the patients or victims of the chiropo-
dist's skill had registered their names. This
| in nd 10
place his autograph on the book was
gentleman appropriately named Foote. The
second was Presbyterian minister and the
third was Robert G. IngersolI. Glancing
through that volume of autographs there
were found the names Of U. $. Grant, r.
b. Hayes. James A. Garfield. Chester A.
! Arthur Grover Cleveland, Benjamin Harri-
son and William Mckinley. The autograph
| of President Roosevelt was not there, be-
! cause the record was closed before he
placed himself in the hands of the operator
during his term of office as assistant secre-
! tary of the Eavy. Besides these men are
thousands of others who recorded their
visit or visits to the office that included
justices of the supreme court, generals of
the army, admirals of the navy, members
of cabinets ambassadors and ministers and
senators and congressman by the score.
HOnOrs for Ambassadors.
| Represtative James Breck Perkins of New
York, who will, in all probability, be-
come chairman OF the comttee on foreign
affairs in the next house, and who is at
present amember of that committee, is very
much interested in the solution of the
problem of furnishing suitable buildings
for residences OF American representatives
at foreign courts.
'The house committee has again pro-
vided in the diplomatic bill for the erec-
tion of the first residential buildings for
our ambassadors" said MT Perkins. land
think there is no provision of that bill
which should receive more cordial sup
port than this. 1t is essential that an
American ambassador in Peking. London
st. Petersburg, Paris, Berlin and Vienna
should maintain the dignity OF the country
which he represents This is impossible
for poor man as matters now stand be-
cause the salary and allowances are not
| aufficfenf 1o warrant him in sapurinR s1lit-