The Birmingham age-herald., 1902-10-30
.GEN. WHEELER TALKS
 OF FRENCH PEOPLE.
Says They Have Finest Soldiers
 Outside United States
LIKES THE NUNS SCHOOLS
He Says France Is Divided Into Two Parts, One Being Paris and the Other the Rest of
 the Country. f

Courtland October 2S.-1Speeial.) )-Brig- adler General Joseph Wheeler, United States army, retired after an absence of more than a year, paid his friends in Courtland a visit today.
 For eighteen years. General Wheeler represented this. the Eighteenth district in congress and no district ever had a more capable, careful or painstaking representative.
 He has just returned from France and talks entertainingly of the French man. euvers On this subject he says:
 T was very much impressed with what I saw in France. and particularly with the French soldiers. They are the finest soldiers on earth of course, the Ameri- can army being excepted. France seems to be divided into almost two separate nations the people of Paris constituting the one, and the rest of France the other. In Paris the people are small, the vast majority of them beng communists, atheists and socialists. The laboring class have one half of every Sunday as a holiday and it is then that they get up their demonstrations. l witnessed the demonstration against the Nuns schools In my opinion these schools are very good institutions. The laboring class send their children there to be cared for during the day and returned at night to their homes.
 Describes the Demonstration.
 ''rhe way these demonstrations are got ten up< is about as follows: One faction would get up crowd and march through the streets shouting. Paris is a very noisy city and nothing amounts to anything unless accompanied with much noise. An other faction would then get up counter demonstration and march with shouts to meet the first body. The polieN would then take a hand, and being on horseback, would rush their steeds between the contending factions and drive them back.
 "The people of the district lying out side of the city of Paris are, the major ity large, well formed and intelligent. They are devout Catholics and as I stated before, the finest soldiers I have ever seen with the exception of the Ameri- cans. Unlike our soldiers, those of France do not occupy tents at the maneuvers. They are quartered In houses in the small towns near the scene. from two to five being assigned to a house, except the monasteries where very often as many as five hundred sleep. They rest on straw spread on the floors, and arise in the morning in time to march from five to ten miles to the scene of action.
 Going Back to Europe.
 "One cannot see Europe in a few months and I intend to go back there again next year. I want to go to Water loo once more and on horseback go over the country the way the armies went. I want to see exactly the difficulties they had to encounter and the manner in which they surmounted them. had a most enjoyable trip and shall repeat it next year"
 Gen. Wheeler will spend the winter at his home in this county, giving his at tention to his large farming interest, which he has somewhat neglected since he has been in the army the last time He goes from here to Jackson county to take part fin a grand democratic rally at Scottsboro tonight.