Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-01-22
CNyLD LIFE IN PARIS
PHYSICAL AND EaET--AI cuLTuRE
CARED FOR.
Holiday Colonies-Interest of the Gov
ernment in the Little
People.

Paris Correspondence of the New York Tribune.
From it's cradle the child of the people is
the special care of the French government
Even the choice of a foster mother-that
characteristic and indispensable feature in
the life of the country-is in the hands of
the mayor on whom ii devolves. from the
moment of the childs birth. to set in motion
set of complicated machinery having for
| its sole object the securing to the infant OF
| the best conditions obtainable for the phys
| ical development of the future citizen.
From the age of three years. when the CHILD
enters upon it's nine obligatory years Of
school life physical and mental culture go
hand in hand The way in which the
| French republic fulflls its duties to the
| humblest of it's children is perhaps moro
complete and more thorough than In any
| other administration in the world. Nothing
| is left TO private charity or private efforts;
every contingency has been foreseen and
| provided for. 1t is the perfection of the
Napoleonic system of Capitalization.
For administrative purposes Paris like
| every other French city. is divided into dis
tricts ACCOMPLISHMENTS. each having its
| free school (Ecole Communale), with its in
| fants school, here known by the charming
name of Ecole Maternelle CMotheriy SCHOOL,.
Parents. however, are not obliged to send
| their children to the local school: they may
| select any one they prefer. popular
| school is that of the Eighth Arrondlssei nent
1 in the Pare Monceau quarter. one of the
wealthiest districts in the capital; drawing
| the bulk of its pupils from the petite pour-
geoise, the small tradespeople in compare
lively easy circumstances, this school
| counts really necessitous children in its
ranks.
Special School Fund.
| Attached to every school is a special
| fund entirely devoted to supplying Great
| ure comforts to the needier scholars This
| fund is part of the general school endnw-
| ment, but it is often swelled by contribu-
tons from private sources. 1t is common
| occurrence for couple wishing to be mar
| ried on Sunday, or on some legal holiday
or at an unusual hour to send sum. vary
| Ing from 30 to 100 francs, to the local school
| fund, and the money. administered by Sc
lect committee. presided over by the mayor
| Is put to excellent advantage.
| In different localities it is obvious that the
| needs of the children vary considerably. A
| glance round the fine class rooms of the
| school OF the Eighth ACCOMPLISHMENT will
show only rows of neatly and adequately
| clothed scholars. The directress of this
| school, when recently called upon to dis
| tribute some thirty-two pairs of boots
| found difficulty in finding recipients who
| would not take offense at the gifts BY
selecting mothers of large families, she
| was able to dispose of twenty-eight pairs.
| Very different are the conditions in La
Nillette Here the teeming Slums send up
swarms of ragged, half-starved children to
the schools, and the special funds are in
this reimbursement, at the approach of
winter, often strained to the utmost. Tia
first necessity for these children is a nour-
ishing meal. such their homes are una
bic to furnish, and in their schools, accord
ingly. canteen is installed in which, for
| % confines g cents), every child may have
| a plentiful meal of soup lentils beans, rice
| or potatoes. Twice a week at least the pot
au-feu is put on and then each child gets
| a good slice of meat, with broth and vege-
tables. In the Park Monceau School there
| is no canteen, but the scholars from a dis
tance bring with them little baskets con-
tanning bread, wine and simple dessert,
| and by special arrangement with the con-
cierge each child may have a slice of meat
! with vegetable. prepared for it at the price
of 40 centimes q cents) apiece. and thus q
good meal is obtained at small cost.
| The School Year
| The school year is less broken in France
! than in America. Christmas and the New
Year bring festivities in their train to
| the school children of this country, and the
| long summer vacation is therefore all the
more appreciated. In the summer the spe-
| cial fund is put to the purpose which most
appeals to the pupils. Every spring a large
percentage of children are sent either to
| the country or seaside for twenty-one glo-
| rious days. without centime of expense to
| the parents. The principal of the school
| makes the selection of the subjects for this
browning treat, and all through August and
September troops of pale-faced, delicate
| looking children sent to the beautiful
| and bracing highlands of the Orne and else
| where, to lead healthy open air life. Each
| batch of children is accompanied by a re-
| SpOnSible mistress master, and as If by
magic the white faces and thin cheeks are
| filled out and tinted by the invigorating
! breezes. and the languor engendered by
| close streets and the continent of city life
| is soon blown away
These holiday colonies COLONIES de va
N ba fotI,
erwise deserted during the two holiday
months) of different healthy districts, those
Offering the greatest advantages of situa-
| ton being naturally chosen for the purpose.
! In the forest of the Jura, the boy colonists
| chop wood, dig. weed and hoe with all the
| zest that the Paris gamn alone can bring
to such unwonted pastimes. In the green
| pastures OF the FosgeS the girls feed poul-
| try, learn to milk cows, make hay and help
! in garden and orchard. Those who are sent
| to the sea add fishing to the farm work. but
| wherever they spent those tWenty-one
| days pass all too quickly and linger in the
memories of the little ones through all the
| hard dull days of winter that follow The
| great doings in the holiday colonies form a
topic of conversation which never wearies.
Imagine the feverish anxiety and the burn
| ing of heart that precede the publication of
| the lists of the chosen for this wondrous
treat. Only certain little citizens of the
United States on the eve of Tribune fresh
| air excursion could perhaps even dinly real
lie what this journey means to the little
faflSlan. TO De taken suddenly away from
| the sordid misery of the little room in a
dirty slum and lodged in a great airy col
lege, in the midst of some of the finest
scenery in this beautiful land of France
where every hour of the day is filled with
pleasure of new and hitherto undreamed
of description. where the meals succeed
each other with surprising regularity as
novel as it is agreeable-these three weeks
spent in the holiday colony SAVIOR of en-
chantment The whole educational system
of France is based on the laws promulgat-
ed by Napoleon from 1906 to 1908 Napol-
cons conception of educa ton was to mold
the youth of the community into his own
political system, and schools were al
lowed except those regulated or controlled
by the state. No room was left for private
awards or munificence. Napoleon tolerated
no schoolmaster who was not under his own
imperial orders, but he planned out his
scheme a broad, liberal basis and re-
quired that the scholars in needy circum-
stances should be sent each year once at
least to the country. The Napoleenic sys-
tenn which embraced sort of official fresh
air curriculum, is practically the same to-
day as in 1903, and. on the whole. works
well and gives good results. especially for
children.