The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-05-24
Curious Sensations and Sights ON IA
New Partisan Institution.

New Partisan Institution.
Paris Correspondence London News.
On the south side of the river the Ex-
position buildings stand upon three sides
of what in London would be called a
square. Trapezium would be the right
word, but square is the more popular.
The longest side, measuring three-quar-
ters of a mile and containing the Avenue
of the Nations, is formed by the river.
The next longest is formed by the Champ
de Mars Palaces, and the third and short
est by the palaces of the InValides sec
ton. The fourth side. open to the city,
is bounded by the Avenue de la Motto
Picquet. 1t is obvious that under ordin-
airy circumstances a visitor intending to
pass, say, from the Invalides to the
Champ de Mars must, without specially
contrived means of communication, ira
verse a large block of streets avenues
and boulevards. The rolling platform,
"trottoir roulant,' is the special contriv
ance. II is not a detached structure like
a railway train, arriving at and passing
certain points at stated times. In the
"trottoir roulant' there is no break. In
engineers language, 1t is an endless"
floor. The "trottoir roulant" Is a narrow
ribbon of a floor raised thirty feet above
the level of the ground, ever and ever
gliding along the four sides of the square
IA wooden serpent with its tail in its
month.
The rolling platform is about two and
a quarter miles in length. There are ten
entries to 1t and as many exits from it,
distributed over the river face, along
the Champ de Mars and the Invalides.
1t never stops for passengers; you step
on to 1t or off 1t as you do on or of a
London bus In motion, but with the inn
portant difference that the rolling plat
.yAN
of your shoe soles, and that its rate or
motion is slower. AS 1t turns the corners
of the huge trapezium, or swerxes right
ward or leftwaro al some point on one
of it's Sides its motion resembles the sim
uous crawl of snake.
Thirty feet overhead, supported upon a
forest of scaffolding, are laid the steel
rails upon which revolve The dwarf wheels
of the ''trottoir roulant." Upon the two
and a quarter miles of more or less idly
curious humanity-a ribbon OF humanity,
as French journalist calls II. Multitades
! of Parisians, provincials, Americans, COCK
neys, Germans, but principally the first
| two, glide over head on the back OF this
| sinuous monster. 1t is odd to witness,
| when a shower comes, the sudden shiny
| apparition of the long ribbon of umbrellas.
| The monsters voice sounds increasingly
the day long. and half the night Some
| times it resembles the din made by the
| lids of twenty million Brobdingnagian ket-
| ties from which the steam is escaping,
| sometimes the roll of the massed drums
| of the entire French army. At other times
| ii concentrates itself in a high-pitched,
fierce iron screech.
How does this Internal muttering. groan-
| ing growing, rafting, screechtng affect
the dwellers of the Avenue de la Bourbon
nails, the Avenue de la Motto Picquet the
| Rue Fabert, in front of whose third-story
| windows the "trottoir" rolls past with its
| load of humanity? In London, where poo
| pie make fuss about organ grinders and
| the tambourine girls of the salvation
| Army, it would fancy, cause an insur-
| rection. But l have heard of no wild
| protest in Paris-not a wrathful face have
| / seen in all those half miles OF
| windows. What shopkeepers and profess
| sional people have done is 10 seize this
| rare opportunity of Advertising them
| selves. The most striking advertisement
is the figure of doll meant for a newly
| born baby, stuck in a window, bearing the
| sign of Nine. Poussin. Accoucheuse."
That baby of flannel and sawdust, with its
| prensture'y wtdeawake smile, everlasting
| ly holds out its spuds of arms to the rib
| bon of humanity that glides past everlast-
| ingly alike
For the man Of business intent upon
prompt transfer from this TO that region
OF the exposition, and the idle locker ON
| caring most for the summer air and a
| smoke, the "trottoir roulant is a eonve-
nient, comfortable and ingenious device.
| In the first place, the aerial structure Is
not all mobile. II - divided into three n
| gitudinal parallel sections, The first station
airy, the second moving at the rae {
about three miles an hour the third at
about six. If you want TO make the cir
cult quickly you stand on the third, and If
you are in a great hurry all you have to
do is 10 stride ahead and so add your in
| dividual movement to that Of the "trot-
toir roulant." II you want 10 take Il ca ~
and look leisurely about you, you simply
step down two inches 10 the second sec
| ton or II you want to come to a dead etop
| the two inches 10 stationary strip. You
| will often do this in order TO adm r, some
street view, or glimpse OF the suulit river,
or beautiful building IN tho Avenue of the
| Nations, or on the opposite bank OF tho
| Seine the cluster of steep rooted old Pa-i 4.
| Going on the "trottoir rcuant' is essy
as walking. but for all that scores of peo-
| pie come 70 grief quite harmlessly end
comlcally when first they try II. In Cock
| ayne not one person gets face
| to the rear out OF an ON
nibus, or attempts 20 enter II with
! his silly back turned toward the horses.
! Many Try II on the "trotloir roulant" 1t
is great fun. A stoudsh, jolly locking wo.
| man has done II, and the rssult IL that
she has cannoned against somebody who