The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-04-03
IA HAPPY IDEA
 FOR ADVERTISING
Proposes to Sell Space on
 Match Boxes
TO RAISE THE REVENUE
The Twelve Hundred Subjects of Prince Albert of Monaco Crave RepubIi-
 can Government--Already
 Freest People in World

Paris. April 2.-(Special) )-M Cochery, our distinguished minister of finance. has had a happy inspiration for increasing our revenue He proposes to sell adver- Using space upon match boxes-these being government property. Hitherto pretty girls graced these boxes, but they will grace them no more. Vichy water is also a state monopoly and doubtless the astute fnancier will turn the mineral wa ter bottles to good account As tobacco Is also a state monopoly wonder he has not hit upon a plan of selling space upon cigar boxes. Let us hope the state will thus so enrich itself as to make the threatened income tax no longer a men, ace.
 Two months hence the election to the academic chair Of the late Cardinal Mathieu will take place. Our forty nor tals' are finding some difficulty in choos- ing d successor to the accomplished car dinal. There are of course many candi- dates. amongst whom are two bishops Mgr. Cabrieres and Mgr. Duchesne.
 There are two literary candidates also. One of these Is the viscount de Saint Genies, whose nom de plume is Richard 0. Monroy. He is well known. to the readers of the Gil Bias. The other liter ary aspirant to Immortality" Is the poet Jean Moreas. But as both these writers are known for the immortality of their works, our ever delightful Amer
 oan friend, Mrs Charles Carroll, is out campaigning against them. It Is to the credit of our academicians that they are giving Mrs. Carroll a, respectful and se rious hearing. They consider this due not only to her social position and charm ing personality, but to the fact that she
 is the granddaughter of the historian Bancroft.
 Prince Alberts 1900 subjects are turn ing republicans. They are actually hold ing meetings near the glded palace of the gambling king. Now as matter of fact Prince Albert, though he be heredi- tary prince and ruling sovereign of Mon aco is quite as republican in his views as his subjects, so that 1t would not be surprising if the republic would choose him as It's president should Monaco be- come a republic. These good people of Monte Carlo and Monaco have no griev- ances. They are not even taxed. It is true they are prohibited from the gam
 ing establishment, but they say they would like to have a parliament and ministry like other countries. They are not satisfied with the present state of affairs, though not one penny comes out of their pockets for taxes or duties of any kind. The princes civil list is $1OO0,00O year, but this comes from Russian grand dukes, American steel kings, scions of the British house of lords and wealthy Frenchmen. Both church and state are sustained from the proceeds of the Casino and the would-be republican subjects go scot free. All they make is there own And still they are not satisfied. Truly
 l. ..14
 Although the number of American wo- men presented at the English court have been restricted to the very few, King Edward has nevertheless always shown a strong predilection for American ladies. Recently while passing through Paris on his way to Biarritz he emphasized this partialty by accepting the hospitality of Mrs w H. Washington, widow of the former French ambassador at St. James. Mrs. Washington, who was formerly Miss Mary King of Chicago, is not only well known to the social world of Paris, but is a literary woman of quite some distinc- tion Her diplomatic "reminiscences, though discreet, are most entertaining, and her descriptions of chateau life in France most graphic. At luncheon given his majesty Mrs. Washington had the good taste to surround herself almost ex- clusively by beautiful and attractive American women. Among these ladies figured the Marquise de Granay, form erly Miss Ridgeway of Philadelphia and sister of Henry Ridgeway, master of the fox hounds at Pau. It Is also interesting to note that among the guests was the Maroiiise de Breteuil, formerly Miss Gar ner, sster-in-law of the Sir William Cor dor Cumming, whom King Edward has forever ostracised
 Mrs. Washington was assisted at this entertainment by her daughter-ln-laW, Mrs. Francis Washington The lively wit of these clever American ladies so cheered and refreshed the English monarch his physician was heard to remark that his position as medical adviser has become A sinecure. And now at Biarritz, when Mrs William Moore takes his majesty in hand, his cure will be complete. Mrs. Moore is celebrated for the wit and charm of her anecdotes. She has the ad- vantage over most of her rivals in this respect as she can tell them in two languages.
 The increasing number of dukes bids fair to flood the matrimonial market of the future The latest edition to these ranks are the two children of King Leo bold of Belgium and his morganatic wife the Baroness de Vaughan. The Grand Duke of Coburg bestowed these ducal titles in loving memory or the oeao king-his cousin. This was death-bed request of Leopold.
 French and English royalists cannot complain of the ennobling of these kingly children. Their mother, the Baroness de Vaughan, is qTite as pretty and attractive as was Nell Gwynne, from whom the. Duke of Saint Albans is de- seconded It is said Leopold's successor, King Albert, Is suffering somewhat by comparison with his uncle, the great monarch" This youthful ruler is not A. all of the same mentality. Besides he is said to be very German in his tastes. He loves Germany-the Kaiser, Wagner. Unlike Leopold, he Is virtuous and do- mestic, though heaven knows this is to his credit. He is devoted to his wife, who is likewise devoted to his subjects. But he is not and never will be an empire builder. as was his august uncle. He has none of the iatter's diplomacy. which ever bafrled England in her desire to lay hold of the Congo.
 King Albert's first official visit will be made next month when he will be the guest of the president of the French re- public
 The Duke de Rohan and the Duke de Chartes are trying to collect the pro- ceeds of a convent property recently sold unter order of the "Congregation's law" They are the heirs of the Princess Louise Adelaide de Bourbon-Conde, who founded