Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1900-04-05
RESORTS FOR PARIS POOR.
Mean CaraVansaries Where the Needy
Can Eat and Sleep.

The municipal authorities are talk
ing special measures to cope with the
suffering caused by the present in
tense cold. Owing to the facts that the
workhouse system does not exist in
France and that there is no exact
equivalent in Paris to the common
lodglng-houses of London, the shifts
Of the outcast population to provide
themselves with a nights shelter are
very different in the two capitals.
For such of the destitute as possess
few sous there are two principal re-
sorts. The more luxurious is the
Algie dor, sort of beggars' caravan
sary, installed, by the irony of fate, in
the spacious and ancient building
that was once the mansion of De la
Raynie, who in his lifetime was the
sworn enemy and terror of all yaga-
bonds. This establishment is kept by
Well-known character, NJ. Andre
BelVal, who is feared by his clients on
account of his herculean strength, but
liked for his good nature, which often
leads him to give cSedit to old custo-
mers. For pence night NJ. Belval
provides each conner with a bed to
hlmself-an appreciate luxury. The
ground floor is strictly reserved for
the old and infirm, and is known to
the habltues as the senate" It is
preceded, curious.y enough, by a court
lTFNn
as the high court" M. Belval is re-
nOWned for the strictness with which
he keeps order No quarreling is FL
lowed in the dOrmitories At the first
signs OF a disturbance the giant pro-
prletor is on the spot and the CELEBRITY
with which he evicts recalcitrant Gus
toners is said to be sight to wit
ness.
still more famous establishment
is that of Fradin in the Rue Saint
Denis. In three-storied house. sup
plemented by two Easements, nearly
a thousand ragged and forlorn in
dlvlduals are accommodated every
night IN winter. They pay 4 sous, or
tWo-pence, for either a bowl of SOUP,
a cup OF coffee or a glass of beer, and
the right to sleep as best they can,
huddled together at the tables or
stretched on the floor. Those who
visit this inferno in the course of a
Summing expedition through Paris
carry away with them the recollection
OF an odor that it may be hoped has
no known equivalent The business
done by Fradin, who is proud of re-
ferring to the big dowry he proposes
to give his daughter, is most profit
able, and it is surprising that there
should be practically no rival es-
Enlistment. The oft-described 'Pere
Lunette" used to be conducted on
much the same lines, but it has great
ly fallen in prosperity, if not in repu-
tation-which would be difficult-and
has degenerated into a mere cafe of
the lowest class, though it is still
shown to ingenious tourists as a typi-
cal "dOsshOuse."
The official arrangements for giving
a nights shelter to the absolutely
DSlAAi1iSCC al 2 vel y IuduSQudlS. l06r6
are only four night refugees main
tanned out of the public funds. Those
however, who are able to obtain ad-
mittance are we'll treated, as thew
are given a good bowl of soup and a
bed similar to that of the French
soldier. A bath is obligatory on all
applicants for shelter, and they are
given a sort of uniform to wear while
their clothes are disinfected. To SUD-
plement these refugees the authorities
are issuing gratuitous lodging tickets.
the recipients Of which are chartered
in the low-class hotels The flaming
brasiers which were a picturesque
feature of the populous districts of
Paris on winter nights are to be sun
pressed this season, the municipality
having decided, for reasons that are
not very apparent, that they do little
good. This did not seem to be the
opinion of the shivering unfortunates
who used to crowd round them.-Pall
Mall Gazette.