WOMEN'S NEED IN PARIS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1633, 27 December 1912, Page 2

WOMEN'S NEED IN PARIS.

(From tho American "Review of Reviews.") The Paris working-girl has becomo Iho object, or ooiilrul llguro of a "movement" ill tho I'Veuoli capital— a movement that is regarded mi highly important that Abbe .1. do MniHl.ni, writing of it in t'ho "(.ViiTespuiidont", call* it "tlio Work" (with a capital iW). A short account of it; tihould prove inloicsling to readers of the "Keview," not only for the dotails of Ibo movement themselves, but also for tin* evidoneo it all'ords of conditions differing widely from those in tho sumo social held in our own large cities. Tho Abbe, nllcr picturing tho daily matutinal invasion of tlio oily of Paris by the army of workers—the "real French work-world," as he terms it—goes on to say:

"Of tho thousands and thousands of porsuiuj who come daily to Paris in pursuit of thoir respective- occupations, tho majority is composed ol young women and girls who are engaged in stores, factories, ollicos, studios, etc. How many among them aro iiblo to return homo for dejeuner? How many can leavo business P The most fortunate, thoso whoso pay permits, go to a restaurant; the others, soated on a bench iu tho neighbouring gardens or park eat as beat they can! Poor things! And when tho weather is unfavourable, it is under a porch that they munch a crust of bread. It is obvious that this state of things exposes to grave dangers those comprised in the former class equally with those of the latter. First, a word as to the moral danger."

What follows in tlio Abbe's article must, wo think, prove strange reading for Americans. He continues:

"Tli,e young woman goes to a rcs T taurant. Ido not speak here of corlain restaurants which sho may visit, either intentionally or mistakenly, or it may bo from sheer waywardness to find a dejeuner of tho best, paid for by 'some one' only too happy to offer it; no, I refer to tho ordinary, 'respectable' restaurant. Many a young woman who ■ would not for all the world enter a restaurant of the first

class would have no hesitation in visiting one of the latter kind. But even here there is danger. All the more readily on, account of her, artlessness, and with no ulterior motive, our young visitor will ere long form an acquaintance which in the nature of .things is most likely to end in her ruin. There is tho moral danger of

the restaurant, it is needless to say that the dejeuner on bench in the square or the garden is at least as hazardous. The . moral danger that

surrounds these young women is oh vions."

Passing to the material side of the question, the Abbe shows'that in the "respectable" restaurants either the oharges are too high for tho slender purses of many of the young woman clients or the cooking —often greasy, to say the least—renders what would otherwise bo, wholesome food unsuitable to the.physiological needs of these young and delicate customers. And wha,t of tile number of young women who, by reason of their meagre wages, are obliged to feed on tho remains of the previous day, brought by them to tho city in the littlo square basket which is the inseparable companion of many of those one sees each morning wending their way to their daily labours?

.' After', their dejeuhor the young women (the Abbe calls them inidinottes")—both those who visit restaurants and those who make their repast elsewhere—have some spare moments. How do they spend them ? "The pious among them spend a few moments, in a near-by church. Tho... others remain, to .chatter with each' other, awaiting on the sidewalk the hour for resuming work, This is sufficiently 'dangerous,.-.'^'Some. saunter to. (he stores to 'feas't/'on the display of. goods there. This is.still more dangerous.' Others ' again—and their case is no bettor—devour the unwholesome : femlleton of a., journal or.some disreputable romance from a cheap, library,"

. To remedy this condition of things, which they considered indicated the existence of a real evil, certain charitable people of Paris decided provide establishments of two kinds for the exclusive use of girls and women—restaurants and re-' chauds. The latter are thus described by the Abba: ' ..'.,:""'■ ;

"The rechaud is a hall furnished with tables and seats (benches •or chairs), a certain number of chafingdishes (French, rechauds, hence the name), with gas and water turned on. Utensils, such as dishes, casseroles, etc. are also supplied. . The young woman, on entering, pays ten centimes for the use of these and of the gas and water. . She unpacks ( her provisions and prepares them herself. Having made her dejeuner, 6he washes • the

things she has. used. Some of the rechauds ssll vegetables and desserts, even tea and-coffee, to their customers; but no wine is 601 d." , .

Of the restaurants for women the Abbe cites as typical the "Stanislas" in the Palais-Royal, founded in memory of the late P. Stanislas du Lac. This has been open for two- years; in the first it supplied 40,000 meals; in the-second, 60,000. As between the restaurant and the rechaud the Abbe. seems to be of the opinion that the former is preferable. As he puts it, ,f it- is a case of the exigencies of the purse versus the exigencies of the stomach."

"Arriving at the rechaud fatigued from her work, the young' woman, after, preparing and partaking of 'her summary repastj has no time for rest. Moreover, in the matter of cooking, she is no- cordon bleu; and her provlr sioni, bought at' retail,' are often inferior of quality. On the other hand, tho restaurant, buying at wholesale, serves her with food of good quality, well prepared, and in.the long run at about the ; same cost as her indifferent, self-prepared meals at the rechaud. No man is admitted to the restaurants, which have for their object, besides the furnishing of wholesome food, the provisions of a means whereby young women may escape the moral dangers of the general restaurants—a place which they may consider exclusively their own shelter and home. Adjacent to the dining-room is a waiting-room, where the young clients may rest before and after dejeuner, anff whore tho better class of journals and magazines are placed at their disposal," ' .' . ■

The AW>b claims that "the restaurant fqr women is a moral preservative and support for the young workers; it affords them the-means of effecting a useful economy, and at the same time of conserving their health," The movement js making good headway; the Abbe gives the names of eight or ten' restaurants already included in the enterprise; and others are being acquired, Among tho latter is one which is i probably known to those readers of the "Review" w.ho are iamiliar with Paris-the popular establishment of Tavernier the elder, in the Palais-Royal.