Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1900-08-06
PARIS LETTER.
Paris, France, July 18th, 1900.


that the Paris Exposition of 1900 is
failure. Some ground, no doubt, ex-
lists for tie idea. Tickets issued by
the government at 20 cents apiece are
now purchasable for from II to Is
cents according to the daily demand,
so that one must conclude the de-
mand is not nearly SO great as it was
expected it would be. And this is
true. Government sold to bankers
and other retailers exactly 100000
tickets at 20 cents apiece; the bankers
and retailers sold them in turn to the
public; SO that both the gov eminent
and the retailers have not lost in the
transaction. The public has, or
rather the public is not availing it
self of it's tickets, but is reselling them
for what they will fetch in the ticket
market that is held every morning
in the Bourse. To this extent the
public may be said to be loser and,
in so far as the public is not going to
the Exposition, the Exposition may
be said to be a failure. But consider
little, 100000 tickets used would
mean an average attendance for six
months of about $50 900 people day.
That is very large-an unreasonbly
large number to expect to attend,
ton failure because, as is the case,
the average daily attendance is only
100000 On certain occasions, fine
Sundays especially, the attendance
has touched, or very nearly, 100000,
but for the whole period of the show,
April Is to November Is, the average
daily attendance is very unlikely to
be more than 100000. How can a
show that draws this number of peo-
pIe-36 millions be said to be fail
ure, even if failure is to be judged by
numbers? 1t is right to say however,
that a great many of the att1 actions
and amusements are 10 osing money
serves them right for offering an
educated public in all cases costly,
and in several cases, indecent enter
tainmeuts. For the Exposition's
public is better educated than those
of the expositions that have proceed
ed it, and being so, they re quire
better class Of article for their money.
The fact is the old and lavish bly,
spending tourist is no more. Money
is too hard to earn nowadays for it to
be lightly spent, and if that is not so,
people who have money to spend,
spend it on more beautiful and utili-
tartan things. This [ believe, is the
one great lesson of the Exposition
[ mean the elevation in popular taste
all over the world. Go into the
United States section, or into the
German section, nay into the charm
ing little pavilions OF Norway or Fin
land-out Of the way places one
might think-and nothing is so strlk-
ing as the high standard shown in
both comfort and art. France alone
seems to have stood still, as super
fetal, sensuous, and garish as of old.
This appeal to the eye and the
senses is in no way NJ ore remarkable
than in the luxury and brilliancy and
costliness of the preparations Paris is
making, and has made as I write, for
celebrating the great French national
Fete day, the French Fourth it may
rightly be called, the 18th of July, the
anniversary of the taking Of the Bas-
tile, the inaugur alton Of the reign of
Liberty, Equality, and fraternity.
Republican France does not cele-
brate her Fourteenth as republican
America celebrates her Fourth.
France does not recall to the mind
of her rising generation imperishable
examples of men like Washington
and Lafayette, no; France lights bon
fires and hangs ont flags and dances,
while Paris spends incalculable sums
on flooding the streets with electric
light and putting up all sorts of arch
es and in short, making the city like
some gorgeous transformation scene.
1t is undeniably beautiful-fairy- like
magical if you will, bnt is it the
way to read on the one chosen day
of the year, a solid and abiding les
son of national patriotism? Patriot
ism?
Be it admitted however, that
France is great in some things-for
two of them, her women and her ac
tors. The true Frenchwoman is,
deny it who may, an epitome of all
the virtues and no more can Or need
be said of her. In acting, too, the
French are pre- eminent; the pity is
that only small proportion of for
eigners understand French we'll
enough to perceive it. I had the