Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1896-11-26
PARIS SIDEWALKS.
Threatened Removal of Open Air Cai
Table and Shop Shows.


Table and Shop Shows.
Paris is just now excited over the pros
pect that something will be done to clear
the sidewalks on the main streets of the
| membranes with which they are blocked
by the cafe proprietors and other trades
men. The municipal council has made
very small beginning at the most inoffen-
sive end by ordering the women who sell
newspapers in the kiosks to take in the lit
tie tables on which they spread their wares.
The cafes, however, the chief offenders
whose tables and chairs extend to the edge
of the sidewalk and even into the roadway
at times, forcing foot passengers to walk
out into the middle of the street, have so
far been left untouched. The reason for
this is that the city draws large revenue,
amounting to millions of francs, which it
is unwilling to lose, from concessions to
private individuals of the use of the public
pavement.
The concessions are made according to q
fixed tariff, which varies in proportion to
the business Importance of the streets for
which they are granted On the Boulevard
des Capucines and the Boulevard des Ital-
lens. in the peighborhood Of the Grand
Opera, the central point Of Partisan life,
the tax Is rs francs for each square meter;
on the Avenue du Grand Opera 1t is 80
francs; on the Rue des Helder, which
leads to the Care ST. Lazare, the busiest
railroad station in the city, it is 80 francs;
on the Avenue des Champs Elysees, 25
francs; in the St. Honore quarter, the
Boulevard St. Germain, the Boulevard
st. Michel, the main thoroughfare Of
the Latin quarter, it is 20 francs, and it
| was down to francs and even franc for
out of the way streets. The commission
naires and bootblacks pay the full tariff, the
newspaper dealers, flower sellers, cake and
milk venders pay half tariff, and the fruit
sellers, whose stands are in the roadway
in front of the theaters, only during a per-
formance, pay quarter tariff. The second
hand dealers In books and coins along the
river quays pay 5 francs meter Spaces
| from foot to foot and half wide are
let to merchants who wish to display their
| goods outside their stores, while the cafe
permits for the space on the sidewalk, on
which chairs and tables may be placed; the
"terrasses," as they are called, are made
out for strips varying from two to ten feet.
| A section OF the law which Is never enforced
requires the sidewalk to be kept clear on
| public holidays such as the Fourteenth of
July and Shrove Tuesday.
From the cafe terrasses and display
| spaces for stores the city of Paris derives a
revenue of l, 300, 900 francs year. 1t gets
$4,000 francs for the right to let chairs in
the Bois de Boulogne, the Champ Elysees,
and the other public parks. Small stands
in the public streets yield 1876, 600 francs
and the columns on which the theater post
ers are displayed 20, 600 francs, while still
other sums come In from the grants fol
| penny In the slot machines, for the illumi
mated advertising spaces on postoffcs
boxes, and so on. The newspaper kioskl
have been ATTACKED first BY the city au
thorities, because they are more immediate
" subject to Its authority, the city having
reserved the right to establish regulations
| for their nanaaamank.. Thara ara ahoui