Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-11-02
IS PARIS IN DECLINE:

| A Traveller Thinks It's GlOries Are
Merging in the Greater France.
| From the Chicago Times Herald.
Paris is no longer Paris to France" said
J. w. Chalmers. You would not believe it
until you could witness with your own eyes
the changes that have taken place. The
true Partisan is so jealous of his city and
it's fame that he will not let any more of
this truth leak out than he can help, but
Paris Is on the wane. The French people
no longer consider that Paris is France.
The national spirit has grown, spread out,
so permeated every district that in place of
Paris has arisen the greater France was
in Paris three years ago And this time, in
comparing, noticed with surprise the decay
OF the city, how much it was being neglect
ed by the authorities, the dying of the trees
the disorder or the great boulevards, the
general shiftlessness present everywhere.
Much of this decay is unquestionably due
to the difference between republic and
monarchy. the old monarchy spent money
lavishly on Paris. 1t was the gilded cage
for the court. When Paris laughed, all
France laughed, and when Paris wept, the
nation bowed its head. You know how Vic
tor Hugo makes this plain in 49,
THE republic, with different purpose from
that of the old government, has bent its
energies to the building up of the nation. 1t
has mapped out policy for the internal
Strengthening of the state in which Paris
plays only a small part. 1t has a colonial
policy of which the average Partisan knows
little and cares less. It has diverted the
revenues of the state from the maintenance
OF palaces, the building up of pleasure gar
dens, the decorating of statues to enlarging
the army. increasing the navy, building
highways all over the country and encourag-
ing the Industrial arts. Before such a prac-
teal course as this Paris has had to bow its
head and see much of it's prestige with the
people of France themselves depart
l.ha 90 has haa,, "a
forced to comment upon it. Three years ago
| would not have believed it possible You
feel it in travelling through France outside
of Paris. Other great cities are rising there
Paris. They have interests ntertwined with
those of the government. They are develop
ing with the nation into that new France
which is certainly prodigy. So marked in
France is this fact of the decline Of Paris
that, although the exposition of 1900 is to be
held in that city, yet there are two other
cities of the nation arranging to have great
eXpositions in the same year and entirely
Independent of the one at Paris They are
getting up these two expositions without
even rejecting uponith fact that Paris is to
have one also. They think theirs will be
fully equal to the one at Paris, and they
are not in the least interested in the one
to be held there.t
Isn't that strange? No nation in Europe
presents that spectacle-its principal city.
once the heart of the nation, receding to a
secondary position, while above it, above the
memories of the commune, of the first en-
pre-. of the Napoleons. of the Girondists
rises the magnificent form of the nation. and
that d republic. l was touched to a degree
L can hardly explain by the extraordinary
nature of the phenomenon"