Omaha daily bee., 1886-11-28
The Carpenters OC Paris.

| The Carpenters of Paris.
| lCopUrig'h 1886 bU James Gordon Bcnnctt.l
PARIS, Nov. 2I-New York Herald Cable
Special to the BEE. 1.-THE Partisan car
penters are far more intelligent and far more
industrious than the masons They number
altogether 1000, of which $50 are boss carpen-
tiers, or patrons" Ten years ago the num-
Der was much greater, but the rapid increase
in the use of iron and steel for cornices.
stalrcases and many other contractons that
were formerly made of wood has displaced n
| great many wood workers and the number of
carpenters in Paris steadily decreases every
| year.
POWERFUL SECRET SOCIETIES.
A remarkable feature of the trade is the
secret societies into which the carpenters are
divided. The most important of these are
the fraternity of Compaghons du Devoir OF
| Compagnons Peasants. This society is the
most ancient IN origin and its traditions are
similar TO those of the other. Some of the
mysterious murders of Paris are credited by
| the police to the execution of some of the
secret laws of this powerful fraternity
Formerly the chief grand lodge of
the Devoir was at Lyons. This lodge,
which was burned down a quarter of cen
tury ago, contained the sacred codes and
| antique archives of the order many of which.
| 1t Is claimed, were handed down from the
| carpenters who worked in the construction
| OF Solomon's temple. Since the destruction
| OF the ancient lodge at Lyons the grand and
| Worshpped masters of the order hold their
meetings in large building in the Rue
| q Allemange, in the northeastern quarter of
Paris, between Belleville and La Villette
Another powerful secret society, that orig
mated according to its own traditions, 700
years ago in the secession of group of car
penters from the Devoir, is called the Com
| pagnonnage de la Lberte. Its chief lodge is
| on the left bank of the Seine, near the east.
ern extremity of the Boulevard Saint Ger.
main. The different degrees of this brother
hood are similar to those of the Devoir, ex-
cept that their names are changed. For in
| stance, the grade that corresponds to the
| chiens in the Devoir are known in the Iiberte
| as loups-wOves. These societies have diff
ferent signs and grips, that are, of course,
known only to the initiated. During the last
| century these two rival brotherhOodS used to
| nave pitched battles in the streets of Paris,
| but now their hatred is confined to chasing
any interloper of one society from the work
| shops of the other. 1t is rule that all Paris
to the right of the Seine is the realm of the
Devoir, while all Paris to the left of the
Seine belongs to the Liberte.
During the last few years another society,
| less tanatical than the two above mentioned
| has been formed, called the Federation of the
Carpenters of the Seine, the headquarters of
which is NO. Rue de Metz, near the Care
de l'Est
| FAIR SAMPLE OF A PARIS CARPENTER.
During the past week | have visited the
| lodgings of over three hundred carpenters
belonging to all three of these societies. The
lodgings that | visited are situated in the
Belleville, Nilette, Pantin and Montrouge
| quarters OF Paris. The lodging inhabited by
Jean Courot and his family, al No. 43 Ave
nue. de Laumiere, near the Buttes Chau-
mont, Is fair sample of the home of an
average Parlsian carpenter of industrious
and thrifty habitN The house is large, well
built OF limestone, five stories high, and con-
| talns fifty lodgers, married or unmarried. and
| mostly all carpenters. Courot--nicknamed
| Courtes Jambes by his cOmpanions-belongs
to the Dey0lr fraternity, and has wife and
two children lie pays $50 francs rent for
two unfurniShed rooms and kitchen in the
nth story. The windows look out upon
small court yard The bedroom is about
twenty feet square and contains three beds.
Courtes Jambes and his wife, telicie, sleep
in one bed, and the children-one a boy of
fourteen and the other girl of nine-sleep
in the others. The beds are of iron, strong
and solid, with good hair mattresses and
coarse put clean cotton sheets and brown
wOolen blankets. Several chairs and two
Washstands, with plenty of water and soap,
were in the room, and over the bed of the
couple hung a cheap woOdcut of st. joseph,
the patron saint of carpenters.
The other room is about. twelve feet square,
and is used as sitting room and eating
room. On round table in the middle room,
covered with red table cleth, was a chea-
petroleum lamp. In the corner, on shelf
were a few books an old Roman Catholic
prayer book, and hand book on carpentry,
and the inevitable Petit Journal. Courtes
Jambes Is strong, r0bus man of about
torty-hye, with large head of black,
curly hair. He has a long body and very
short legs hence his nickname.
His wife, Felicie is buxom,
motherly-looking woman of about forty-fiye.
asked her what it cost the family to live in
such coy little fiat. She said: "Oh Mon
sieur, about francs day; and we have pot
au-feu twice week" During my visit |
found everywhere proof that the carpenters
are most industrious, sober class, over
half of them being married. They
have three meals day. Breakfast
at 9, consisting OF soup, bread
cheese and a glass OF vinordnaire, at
O'Clock, bread and cheese and in the evening
after work, good hearty dinner of stewed
meat aud vegetables, cheese, bread and saad
washed down with a pint of yinordinare.
The average price per head of these meals
are; Breakfast, frame, so centimes; lunch,
80 centimes, and dinner, franc, IS centimes.
OTHER PRoMINENTs INTERVIEWED.
Among the prominent carpenters in Paris
thai have talked with are NJ. An Dijean,
Carton, Renard, Lefeyre, ToHrnieT, Ferrand,
Babine Krayy, Pinot, Ratier, Chaput Dubet,
Gil!ard and Gonot, who all live in comfort
able apartments in the rue Picanas, rue