Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-08-04
BY PATRICIA SUGRUE

It's a lucky thing for them
that diplomatic wives don't
have to pay taxes in the
countries in which they are
stationed. The French gov
eminent has just imposed a
SIS per cent boost in its sales
tax on luxury items (mak-
ing the total tax about 25
per cent?. What would the
poor wife do when stationed
in Paris If she discovered
that she needed a new mo-
torized canoe lone of the
items included under the
taxi? '
The foreign service wife
would also feel the pinch
when she bought cosmetics.
jewelry, cameras. radios and
television sets, fancy art OBJ
jects (the non-fancy type are
duty-free). yachts, carpets,
refrigeratorS or imported
Whistles. And where would
an embassy be without cock
tail parties?
Incidentally. the brains be-
hind the new levy. belong to
the French Minister Of Fin
nancial and Economic At
fairs, M. Felix Gaillard. who
is the youngest man to hold
the post since 1918. The boy
ish looking minister is 81. is
married, has one son and is
expecting another member in
the family very soon.
\
TITS RUMORED among
authoritative sources" that
Karl Rankin. our Ambassa-
dor to Nationalist China.
will be transferred next
month. Since Ambassador
Rankin and his wife, Paul
inc. have been in Formosa
since 1850 he has been Am
bassador since 1882. it's
easy to see how the rumor
got started. says the State
Department.
The Ambassador was also
the target for charges of
"aiding and abetting" Pres
ident7 Chang Kai-Shek's de-
sire to attack the China
mainland made last year by
Democratic Senators A. S.
mike Monroney of Okla
homa and Albert Gore of
Tennessee.
PRE- ENT Essen
HOVER received a call
from a distinguished old
friend last week. His Royal
Hlghness Sardar Shah NAH
moud, former Prime Minis
ter Of Afghanistan, who was
in New York for medical
treatment took a day off be-
fore returning home to visit
with the President. The for
mer Prime Minister. now
Field Marshal in the Afghan
Army. is the uncle Of AZ
ghanistan's King Mohafnmed
zahir Shah. who has also
just returned to his home
land from Moscow.
&Ns
THE MOSLEM NEW YEAR,
II seems, is not a very safe
bet. 1t all depends on when
the moon appears. Astrono-
mers can calculate and call
culate, but If it's a cloudy
night. their work is all for
nought. The moon must be
sighted or it isn't official.
The uncertainty and con-
troversy this arrangement
can lead TO resulted in an I'M
expected vacation last week
for government workers in
Cairo. They got two days
of instead Of only one. Dis
agreement between the sci
entists and religious leaders
also contributed to the con-
fusion this year.
Abdel Samaha, director Of
the Helwan Observatory, said
that from a purely scientific
viewpoint, checked with the
stars, Sunday was New Years
Day"
Not So" said Hasa Maa-
noun. mufti OF Egypt. Under
the Sharia law, all the in
dications make Monday New
Years Day"
Evidently both these men
we're sure the moon would
appear" said the Embassy
Of Pakistan here. At any rate,
Washington embassies OF
Moslem countries missed out
on the extra holiday.
JOHN HAY WHITNEY,
American Ambassador to the
Court Of st. James, will pre-
sent the 1857 Golden Laurel
Awards at the Edinburgh
NIL.