FROM A PARIS WINDOW

Auckland Star, Volume LI, Issue 242, 9 October 1920, Page 17

FROM A PARIS WINDOW

I (Special to "Star.") PARIS, August 16. FRANCE? REGARD FOR POLAXD. Poland has been the principal preoccupation oi Paris this week. Apart from I the fact that the Frenchman is a much ■bettor informed person in repard to forjcign politics than the Englishman, and I follows such events more closely, Poland is as traditionally France's friend as I'ortn-al is ours. The thought of the recently reborn country being crushed is deeply wounding to France. l n addition there Li the dread of a nearer approach of the Bolsheviks and the possioilitv of their alliance, with the Germans. It i> unfair, as is alleged in some quarters in England, to say that the French want to fight in Poland for fighting's sake. If French troops are ultimately sent there it will be because it is considered that there is no alternative— that it is absolutely necessary to save Poland's independence and to dam the Bolshevik wave that threatens to roll ever onward to the West. Host people now realise the unwisdom of the Polish advance, which led to defeat and disaster. French people have difficulty, however, in appreciating the "serve "em right , ' attitude which appears , to have been adopted in some circles in England. The mistake was made (admitted), but the Polos have already paid a very big price for that mistake. Any further suffering on their part the French would like to spare them if they could bring it about. LATEST ATTACK OX ENGLAND. Once English readers must have ; been aroazed to read of the attacks in the French Press on the British Cabinet and .Mr. 'Lloyd (ieorge. Beginning -with ' "Le Jlatin," which, had it remained alone, . might have been wisely ignored, it [ swelled into an offensive that was next \ in bitterness to that of Frankfort week. ' The allegation i≤ that we have made I France pay more for German coal than she need have done because we did not ' ; want her to get it more cheaply than ; she could buy from England. On the face of it. the arguments, as presented [ to the French public, including some not too studious senators and deputies, are unanswerable. But, of course, there are ' other factors in the case which alter its ' appearance. That is why there is need for some authoritative person in Enrfand J to explain the facto. t If you are told that you have to pay [ 200 francs a ton for coal instead of 75, j it is only natural that you should feel angry against those who. you under- , stand, have forced you in their interests j to pay the extra 125. But, if it were I explained to you that you would have t to pay the 'money anyhow in order to , feed the German who is getting that , coal, or else you would not receive the , coal at all, it would not really matter j. to you whether tiie 125 francs was added I to the coal price or taken from yon in taxes. Yet that explanation has j always been lacking on the part of English statesmen. And it is not fully rea- ' Used in 'France that Great Britain is j. contributing a handsome number of j millions to feed the German miaer wiffc" ij out getting any coal at all. 0 UOST BY !DEFA<UIiT. There is a chance for Mr. Idopd George to make another of hie frienAwinnimg speeches, and French folk cens not fairly be blamed for believing ttjet Mr. Lloyd George represents unly the , interests of British commerce and fcbefc J' the sentiments of the (British nation are entirely different. Practically epoalciag, ) they are never told anything dee. Why ' should not they believe it is true, if 'it goes for ever uncontradicted? (Che English papers mostly quoted over here ' are those which say it is they who isflp- ! resent the nation, and that the Premier . and the parliamentary majority certainly do not. It would be a pity for Mr. ' Lloyd George to let the position go by ~ default. France's warm friendehip, * apart from the practical value of the 1 Entente, is worth having. It trill be ' difficult to keep if the axegrinders are always allo-wed to hold the field, playing ' shuttlecock with the good relations oi ' the two countries, the real representatives of British opinion not even taking ' the tTOirt>le to have an innings. - DOCTOR'S CRIME THEORY. i Dr. Berillon, the distinguished EVench 1 neurologist, attributes the present wave i of murders, robberies and so forth to ' crossbreeding. Explaining his theory in I the (Prese, he makes it plain that by crossbreeding he does not irean mixture of the red, black or yellow races with the white race. He says there are more than 450 distinct races in the world to--1 day, and he classifies as crossbred any ° person horn of a mixture of any two 1 -of these races of the same colotvr. Ob- ~ servations dating back a number of years have led Dr. Berilion to the conclusion that the mixture of antagonistic races, or of races which simply have s little in common (such as the Germanic 2 and the Celtic) give ri-e to an inferior 1 product. This inferiority, he claims, is v ma,rked by an impossibility tr. adapt it--3 self to different social conditions and * causes a loss of the son*e of duty, filial, 5 professional and national. , TOURISTS IND TAXICAB6. i . They were two tourists who came from s the Colonies. They had a certain amount c of money, very little knowledge of s French, and a. scrap of paper, given to - them on their departure by a friend vrha ''knew Par*." After taking their rooms I they started out far dinner, following i the directions. of the preoimis bit of - paper. The taxieab deposited them at o 'iPieall's." ami they dined exceedingly 0 well. After dinner, following the list, t they deeded fur i> "Bal Tabarin," took n a taxi, and in tw,i seconds were deposited n ' two hoii-. - --r so siway. :;ettin;r tired »i a the ha!i they consulted the list "Bat Mort' , for ••upper, a taxi, were dcp poshfil iw<i h'.iiisee »r so away. Having (.''had -upper, they cnns'iVtcd the famous p! list ■■L'Ablwyi'.' , Tiit-y took a taxi, and „ .were deposited a> r.-s Cic place, tw.> ~ r-.-cond-. away. There there was no table Tjfrec -I liavi- ilß'l enough of t!.esc taxis. , and tip.-."' said h- "ho held tine famous , list. »v walk to the- next place f on tie ;.••;. "Ma-wm'-." "■Done." replied .■ 'li-* fri'M'-l, nti'l r-'i Liiey -tart «>ft for a ', Jmiii , uii'l ■■'■ ■ jiiariiT trip across Paris on. 1 foot: < ROODILK TV THE DOTBLK. 1 Pari-':.ir..- .le;ioi?it such a variety of * riilj'-i-'i in their garbage boxes that it ' ■ must be rather difficult to surprise the * dustmen. The other morning, however, °|one of tliose functionaries, who had just ■ emptied the contents of. a box into his i cart, uttered an ejaculation of horror -, and jumped out, exclaiming that he had ' seen a crocodile. As a matter of fact ' there was a small dead crocodile -which 1 had been placed lv the bottom of the box ijand covered with rubbish. It belonged c ; to a menagerie, and came to an untiruvlv 6 j end because the water in wlilcii it lived S J cooled off. despite the ternn j perature of Paris. Not, knowing what to n do with the corpse, the ineuagerie man c put it into his garbage, box, and reliqj 1 OB the duoiineii to do the rest.