PARIS IN WARTIME

Auckland Star, Volume XLVII, Issue 174, 22 July 1916, Page 13

PARIS IN WARTIME

THE PROBLEM OF ORPHAN CHILDREN. (Special to "Sttr."). PAEIS, May Iβ. Eight hundred thousand French children have been made fatherless by the war, according to a statement made by Senator Jenevrier, in a debate in tho Senate. This number exceeds by ten per cent the average total birthe in France. Half the childhood of France, he estimates, will be brought up without a paternal guide. The Government and the Senate are considering bow these half-orphans shall he cared for. A bill, prepared by the Government, and somewhat modified by the Public instruction Committee of the Senate, declares in principle that the State shall assume the expense of bringing up and educating every child whose father has either been killed or disabled by the war. The "wards of the Nation," they are to be called, and special guardians are to be provided for them under the provisions of the bill under discussion. The special guardians are to be appointed by committees in each department, under the general supervision of a central committee. A mother who. accepts the patronage of the State for her child or children must accept the guardianship of a person outside her family. This provision has encountered the opposition of the Conservative and Catholic members of tlite Senate, who see in it a rupture, of the "sacre union , * of parties, and a measure destined to a political end through the laical ertac&tion of children .of Catholic parents.

Under the law of separation of Church and State the Government could not give a child religious instruction. Moreover, it is pointed out, thle child's bringing up under the patronage of the Senate would be largely supervised and controlled by the Prefects, who are the recognised political agents of the Government. The Conservatives demand foi mothers the aid of the State, and, at the same time, the right and the facilities for giving their children such religious instruction as they see fit. Under tht present laws, half-orphans would have no relief whatever, if the mother refused the conditions offered by the State since pensions are allowed to full orphans only. It has been proposed tc remedy this deficiency by a special law now under consideration in the Chambei of Deputies. If a compromise is not reached by the Senate during the war it is deemed certain that the contentioi will revive the struggle between the Catholics and the other elements o! Parliament after hostilities have ceased THE APPEAL OF THE CITY OI LIGHT. Who has 5,000,000 electric light bulbi to sell? Speak up! There is a markei for that, many, or more, in Paris ju3i now. The prices are high. It is a question of getting the bulbs made As the French factories cannot Keep v] with the demand, they must come eithe from England or the United States. Be fore the war a large number of thi electric lamps that helped to make Pari the City of Light were either made i: Germany or in France by German firm: Both these sources have been shut. Th consequence is that the retail price o electric bulbs in Paris has gone up fror 1 franc 50 centimes to five francs, an dealers will not sell you the few lamp they have in stock unless you are an ol< customer, and only a few at a tira< The French factories are busy makin ammunition. The electric lamp cai wait There must be a new supply fo use in lighting the streets. If the wa should end to-morrow, the city of Pari would be unable to "light up" and celt brate the victory on account of havin no lights to use. The shortage is no confined to Paris by any means. It eJ tends all over France. "Some Krfit< please," say* all France to England. Ca she have them? RAILWAYS AND THE WAE. The battles of the Yser and Ypr« were, in the first instance, won by th French railroads; and though the Gei man lines possessed certain initial at vantages over them, they have hel their own throughout the -war," says a officer closely concerned in the mobiliss tion, concentration and disposal c the French troops. "The Germans hay had the advantage of distance, since th line took the form of a triangle; insid that triangle, their points of concer tration are nearer to the Yser or an otder part of the front than the Alliei concentration points on the other sid< *!? re J . it ? neMi »ary to turn the angl instead of going across the inside of it. It appears that Joffre foresaw th German flanking movement toward Calais during the last days of tn battle of the Marne, and began sendin troops to parry it as early as Septembe Bth. Between that date and the begin ning of October 800 trains carried 1 army corps and three divisions of cat airy northwards. IA review of the mfl ! tary operations, beginning with th mobilisation, shows that the railroads c France nave everythin; that was expected of them, contrary t the experience of 1870. The relativ calm along thle front itself at certai periods brings no rest to the railroadi From February to August, 1915, 3,43 troop trains were run, while the averag of supply trains was 131 a day; at th same time there were 222 ambulant trains in service. Besides assuring th transport of troops, the railroads hay emee the war added 2,000 miles of re<n ZLF?** * nd 40 miles of narrow-gaua track to their strategic lines and large! transformed 153 military stations. A NOTABLE RAPPROCHEMENT Diplomatic relations -between the Pot erfablehed. Not that there was an *J?f r ° f w»rjetweeu tie Prince, whoj chief eetabtobment is tbe roulette whe. Casino at Monte Carlo, and the Pop wnoee earthly domains are limited 1 the Vatican in Borne. The poasessioi of one are entirely surrounded by Frenc territory, while those of the other ai en-enmeenbed by the authority of tl n»Ban Eng. It is true that the ii comes of tbe two potentates are unit ont of proportion to the size of the landfl, though gathered from such diffe ent sources, yet neither would be like] to try to do any physic barm to the other. Personal the Prince of Monaco is charming gentleman, which is true ■ most successful gaming-house keeper and hie time is devoted to studying tl bottom of thle sea, or oceanograph The new Pope may not be any less pioi than his predecessor, but he is sure! much more diplomatic. He has let b; gones be bygones, and once more ti Vatican and Monte Carlo are on friend]