Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-06-16

*
They SPOT Americana Every Time.
! from the beginning of the world that car
built for forty people should be made to
| hold forty-one. Generally the American
stands his ground; sometimes he is put OF
| by force. In either the natives have
| a very good time and tell each other that
ices Yankees are the most extraordinary
people on the face Of the earth.
Keep Our Ambassador Busy.
1t seems likely that before the closing of
| the exposition the United States embassy
| will have to do a good deal of intervening
on behalf of American citizens who have
got themselves into trouble through their
| inability to master the intricacies OF French
I custom Already the embassy Is kept very
busy attending to the large daily crowds OF
callers Some of these come out of mere
curiosity to see how the nation Is housed In
France. Others are in quest of all sorts OK
Information. sometimes of kind which. to
the carefully concealed disgust or the poHte
officials could just easily be obtained
from a hotel clerk or a directory. Others
come in all good faith and patriotism to
pay their respects to the stars and stripes
| on little bit of United States territory. AS
a matter of fact, it is worth while noting,
| a good citizen of the United States has not
far to go to find an opportunity OF taking
off his hat to the flag Paris Is all a-futter
with bunting in honor OF the exposition. ana
| of all the flags of foreign nations absolutely
none Is more in evidence than the stars ana
stripes.
II it were not for the Anglo-Boer war the
union jack would probably run the star
spangled banner pretty close; but as things
are we knock the Britishers out all the
time. Many of the main thoroughfares
give a genuine Fourth of July effect. This
is not only where there happen to be estab-
lshed some of the big American insurance
companies machinery firms which are
making such Roadway in the French cap
| ital The American flags are hung out by
all the big French firms, too-a delicate
recognition of the fact that the good Amer
| lean dollar Is a substantial item In the
prosperity of the city.
Very Few Children.
One curious remark has been made by
observers of the exposition crowds. 1t is
that Americans seem to have so far brought
| with them fewer children than any other
people. The English drag wagon loads OF
| boys and girls about with them wherever
they go. and little dark-eyed Latin foreign
ers are very conspicuous everywhere: but it
is rare to see small Americans in the wake
of their elders. Jocose French people ex-
plain the curious fact by the supposltion
that there not any children in the
United States; that Americans, who do
everything else much more quickly than
the other nations get through their grow
ing up also at the same unheard OF rate
Perhaps the true explanation would be
worth looking for.
1t must not be thought that It is only
rich Americans who are here for the expo
sition. OF course a considerable number
of American workingmen have been in the
city for some time-ma1y of them for more
than year-engaged in various ways about
the exposition buildings. putting up ma
chinery for their employers or working like
hosts of other foreigners at whatever kind
of work they could get colored man.
who left New York eighteen months ago
in a spirit of adventure determined to SEQ
the exposition or die in the attempt got
work at once as kind of general handy
man at good salary. He has learned to
speak French quite fluentiy and will get
himself naturalized French subject as
soon as the law permits. He says that a
colored man in New York is lust black
Niger" while here, on account of the
French African colonies. the people treat
him with great respect. and. II he likes. he
can make them believe that he is the son
Of dispossessed native chief.
An inexpensive Vacation.
But. besides those who have been en-
gagged on the great show, there are Amer-
can workingmen here who have just come
over to enjoy themselves until they have
spent all their money. And despite all
that is said about the rise in prices. they
do not find 1t too hard to make out" A
group of four workingmen from Denver ar
rived a week ago and the other day they
were telling at one OF the United States
substations in the exposition how they man
aged. They had been saving for more than
a year to spend a month in Paris. When
they arrived they found 1t impossible to
get hotel accommodations within their
means up to the home standard. But they
were sharp enough to reflect that prob
ably unfinished apartments had not gone
up much in price. They found. just
twenty minutes walk from tire exposition
gates. "lodgemcat" of three large airy
rooms. with kitchen. in the sixth story
OF stylish house. According to the Paris
fashion. they were Obliged to take it for a
minimum of three months. The price
$50 francs, or $50. They bought the strict
necessaries of furniture for $25. Total re-
suit they well enough lodged-as well
as hundreds of students-for three months
at the cost of $50 in ali. or about $13 per
man. Not bad for strangers In Paris In
exposition times-even though they are only
staying month
Things have como up in consequence Of
tkc exposition. of course, but even now.
with little gumptton. a man can live more
cheaply In Paris than on the same scale
in the average American city. The prices
that horrify Europeans seem reasonable
enough to the average American.