The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1866-05-01
Debauehery In France

In work from the pen of NJ. Jules
Simon, entitled LIE 1FaUdtI, which has
just appeared in Paris, appear the fol-
lowing statements of the condition OF
the children of workingmen in some
parts of France: ,tls5 -
"Even in France there are towns
where women rival men In hablls oi
intoxication. at Lille, at Rouen, there
are some so saturated with 1t that their
infants refuse to take the breast OF
sober woman. Inthe mountains of the
Yosges infants drink eau-deTyie. On
Sunday, in the churches, the mir is lit
erally infected with the smell of eau
de-vie made from potatoes. In those
mountains there are no more frequent
causes OF idiocy and imbecility, for In
general the dwellings are healthy, ana
the water is excellent. The great mis-
fortune is that the children of habitual
Clrunkards are idiots, so that the punish
ment follows from generation to gener-
alton, from the guilty and degraded
father to the innocent children. In the
manufacturing towns the mayors are
Obliged to take measures against the
cdbdrets that supply eau-de,vle to emil cnll-
dren, for there are druukardS OF fifteen
as there are laborers at eight; and, NOR
ally and physically, they present a
melancholy spectacle. Can 1t be this
precociouS debauchery and the conse-
ouences of it which oblige the War De-
partment to lower the regulation height
for the service2 What Is done to COM
bat the evil?s A few sermons which are
not listened to; few municipal ordt-
nances that are not carried out; pathetic
exhoTtationS which nobody pays atten-
ton to, are not sufficient to absolve so
ciety, which allows the pestilence to
spread as if it were an inevitable con-
sequence of industry.
"Instead of preaching and publishing,
a cure should be applied, and for that
the cause of the evil should be known.
No one can believe, no one VIII ven
ture to say that, the wretched people
who hauntthe ic.house to ruin and
to poison themselves have any excuse
for so doing, Yet think of the Twelve
hours that these men spend IN their
workshops-twelve long and weari-
some hours, without any recreation,
without even the pleasure of seeing
their work finished under their hands;
for the Sartisan is n nero piece of ma
chinery, and feels no interest i'll what
he produces. After those twelve hours,
so exhausting, so monotonous, 1ol1ow
him, in the snow aud frost, when he
Quits his shop. Mount the crazy and
rotten staircase leading to his room.
Enter with, him into the frightful dog
hole, where his meal is scarcely ever
ready, for his wife is at work like him
self; where he never tastes wine, be-
cause wine is too dear; where he cannot
breathe, because air fit for breathing is
dearer still than wine; where he has no
furniture, for during illness and stop
page ofwork his furniture is sent to
the pawnbroker; and where he finds
neither fire, nor covering, nor sleep
Doyou know many men, even among
those who are most eloQuenton drunk
enness, who would resist the attraction
of the pleasant taproom, well lighted,
well warmed, with its glittering pots,
its dusty bottles, its guy companions,
and all the semblauce of happiness,
which hides from him the want of real
happiness2" a5a-f -,
NJ. Simon notices the efforts made by
the cooperative associations in Eng
land, Germany and France for the i'm
provement OF the habitations of the
poor. London, he says, is of all places
in the world the city where most has
been done in this way.