The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-01-28
BON M.1RCHE AND LOUVRE.
Happy Hunting Grounds of American
 Shoppers in Paris.

chopPOiS III "'ASs
 From the New York Tmes.l
 The Bon Marche and Louvre are the happy hunting grounds of American shoppers. The Louvre they perhaps know best, 1t being nearer their Paris haunts, and reputed more chic. But the Bon Marche is not neglected, since two hundred and fifty English interpre- ters with difficulty suffice. The French have never forgotten the old unsavory reputation of the Louvre, a reputatio won in the days when, as there was a passage through the shop to the apart ments of the Hotel de Louvre, 1t be- came resort for intriguing women. That is of the past; still to-day 1t draws so large a custom from the fast set that autocratic French husbands sometimes forbid it their wives, a pro- hibition not always respected. Besides | this moral shadow under which the | Louvre rests, it is less obliging than the Bon Marche. Its clerks are apt to be disagreeably insistent and, if ones pur- chases are not equal to their expecta- | tions, impertinsnt; a natural result Of their being largely dependent for re- muneration on a percentage Of their sales, new clerks receiving only that percentage and two meals the working day.
 The Bon Marche is the shop favored l by the Faubourg St. Germain and a multitude less aristocratic, but emil nently respectable. in the days of the founders-the Boucicaut, husband and wife-the establishment won much good will by their numerous charities. M Boucicaut came from the people, of which he was proud, continuing to the end their friend. His wife, who, after the death of her husband and son, un- dertook the management of the great enterprise, was also faithful to her past. At her death her fortune was distributed among numerous French charities, ''LAssistance Publque" be- ing tha principal legatee. Husband and wife considerably ameliorated the condition of their employees. Public opinion has forced the Louvre to insti- tute most of these ameliora at!ons.
 l Both houses have free medical at- tendance, saleswomen receiving for confinement from the Bon Marche one hundred francs; workWomen, sixty francs. Savings of employees are re- ceived by the Bon Marche to the amount of three thousand francs, with l interest at six per cent; by the Louvre to the amount of five thousand francs at four percent. Both have pension systems, the Bon Marche putting on lthe list last year forty-four men and women. They receive from six hun dred to fifteen hundred francs. The Louvre manager recently declared that he expected to abandon the sys- Item, the pension being, in his opinion, either insufficient or unnece essary.
 In 1876 M. Boucicaut set aside a capi- tai which is to-day 2,142930 francs Employees who have been with the house participate in the earnings of that sum. These participants benefit in the entire earnings of the house ac- cording to their positions and years of service. Language classes were also stated by M. Boucicaut, the best pupile being sent abroad to perfect themselves at the expense of the Bon Marche Since the death of Mme. Boucicaut the Bon Marche has been administered by three directors and a council of fifteen
 chosen from the heads of departments
 The management continues the chari
 table tradition, more, perhaps, for ad
 vertisement than for love.
 Every afternoon at half-past three one may visit the kitchens of the Bor lMarche, the dining rooms and room.
 rented to unmarried women. The Bor
 Marche feeds all it's forty-two hundred
 employees. The Louvre feeds many
 but not all. On entering the Boi
 Marche kitchen one first remarks th'
 nine enormous boilers, three of then
 holding each eight hundred liters of ex , cellent soup. Next, grid-irons capabl of broilng at a time three hundred
 steaks; a stove for the cooking of eggs ; ten thousand being used when omele is served. There is also an ingenious , arrangement for the frying of six hun ! dred kilograms of potatoes. Coffee ii made in separate kitchen; three hun dred filters may be had in forty min utes. The grounds are sent to the poo houses. Each Of the forty-two hundred employes is entitled to two meals ; : day. For breakfast, meat-there beint
 a choice-vegetabl and dessert. Flo dinner, the same, with the addition O . soup and salad, no matter what tn season. The men are given a half-lite of wine or a bottle of beer at each meal but the women are not limited. Thos } of the men employees living in the hous l rooms being rented to unmarried me1 are served soup for a first breakfast All women employees have right t soup, coffee or chocolate. Drivers ant
 deliverers have three full meals a day
 After the kitchens, the stables ar
 shown, delight for all those who suf
 fer at the misery of the Paris workin,
 horse. The Bon Marche and Louvr
 horses are the sleek bourgeois of tn
 Paris animal world. Last are shown tn
 rooms rented to unmarried women
 These bear the mark of philanthropy
 Though good-sized and well-kept, on feels that the renters are inmates.
 Shopping in these large establish
 ments at first seems impossible. One i tbewildered by the extent, but if no
 bargain day it is very easy with "Nu mero" A 'fNumero" is a numbere,
 card on which are detachable slips
 each bearing the number. At eacl
 purchase the clerk takes a slip ant
 pastes it to his check. The shoppin:
 finished, one may pay at the desk or ol
 delivery. An American with mucl
 shopping, even though speakin,
 French, does best to take an interpre
 ter. One meets with more considera
 ton, and it is a great saving of tim rtr h 4c IN1 1ls1 sy,