New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-12-17
FRENCH CONSCRIPTS.
THE Joyous Boys" of Paris added
to Their Number.

Paris, December 3.
With the departure this week from Paris OF
that select band of conscripts jocuarly known
here as Les Joyeux" ("The Joyous Boys') the
uncertainties of life in. more particularly. the
! northern and eastern quarters of the capital
! have been materially reduced. lies JoyeuX,'
mastering 31S strong this year, ALL in eff
feet recruited from the city prisons, for all
/ have done time" for Hooliganism of the worst
/ kind. Some of them thanks to the inadequate
penalties inflicted upon their like by the code
as now administered have a list of offences and
| imprisonments against their names which
bears eloquent testimony to their incurable
iawlessness, and should strike dismay to the
hearts of those persons in authority to be
brought in the close contact with them en-
tailed by life in barracks They gave a slight
taste of their quality at the railway station.
/ whittier they were escorted by a crowd of boon
companions of both sexes. One had managed
to secrete an empty bottle about his person, and
he flung it at the head of one of the police who
was endeavoring to get the riotous band into
line. In the scrmmage that ensued the police
were forced to have recourse to their sabres.
and the timely advent Of body of mounted
gendarmerie completed the rout of The Joyous
Boys" the ringleaders being handcuffed to pre-
vent any repetition of the ARRAY. The appear
ance of the band as they finally took their seats
in the special train which was to take them on
| their Journey sadly belied their nickname Most
of them had celebrated their last night in Paris
by making it one long carouse. and their leave
takngs with their friends across the strong
Gordon of police were of the stormiest descrip-
ton.
But these young graduates in crime are not
drafted to regiments quartered IN the provinces,
in more or less proximity to the capital; they are
Incorporated in the battalons serving in tho
I1;c 1oPA friC NKrhA
service are alike of the hardest. Thus suddenly
transported from the city cutters. in which they
have grown to a perverse and precocious man.
hood, to- the wide horizons Of sandy desert which
characterize those African possessions of France,
to be henceforth perforce ranged among the law
enforcing body. these Conscripts give less
trouble to their superior officers than might be
expected. In those battalions breaches of dis
cplne are treated with a severity calculated to
daunt the boldest, and many a refractory youth
has. after his two years military service on the
hated African stations, developed into a useful
ctizen-sometimes a Colonist. The system has
proved successful en- the whole, but there are
many who would like it abolished. Such per-
claim that the undesirable recruits thus
taken from the criminal class, would be better
drafted in small groups of twos and threes In all
the regiments, where the great majority Of re-
spectacle men would humanize and civilize them
more effectually than the rough discipline pro-
vided for them in Africa can be expected to do.
Standing almost alone of their kind. they, on
the other hand, could have demoralizing eff
feet upon their comrades in the barracks and
the unenviable reputation which clings to any
man who has served in the African battalions
at present recruited, making colonial service
stigma instead of an honor would be quickly
lost. There is no sign, however. at present that
any alteration will be made by the new Minister
Of War, NJ. Berteaux. and Les Joyeux' have
accordingly gone the way of their predecessors.
All told, this years conscripts total seventeen
thousand more than last year. but these figures
will be considerably reduced by the second
medical examination to which. In obedience to
order just issued by NJ. Berteaux, all re-
cruits will be subjected they reach
their respective barracks. All who show symp-
toms of constitutional delicacy tuberculosis be-
ing especially aimed att, also men whose
physical development would unfit them for the
fatigues of service. are TO be vigorously elimi-
mated from the army, and this measure will. 1t
is estimated. have the effect OF returning about
six thousand men to their homes.
But while serving in the African battalions
is tantamount-to most of the mems thinking
to serving in the oldtime galleys, life in bar
racks at home is not particularly easy or agree
able. No kind of means of recreation have
hitherto been officially provided for these young
recruits. and the internal arrangements OF the
barracks are of Spartan simplicity. The mill
tary service has been fixed to begin in the
tumn, in order that the harvesting operations
throughout the country may not be interfered
with, and also that tho may become in
some sort acclimated to their changed condi-
tons before winter sets in. The first of Octo-
Der usually sees the installation of tho con-
scripts, though this year, by exception, their
departure has been delayed. Starting thus in
the middle of a cold spell. they deserve sympa-
thy. So rudimentary are the arrangements for
heating the various barracks that those men
who from the scantinesS OF their wardrobes or
pocket money cannot afford to put their clothes
out to be washed may find themselves compelled
to break the ice before they start their
weeks wash. From hardships such this, the
African battalions are at least preserved. 1t is,
however, probable that the conscript of the
future will be better housed than his predeces-
sors, for several improvements have been pro-
posed at headquarters, including the provision
of libraries and recreation rooms for the use OF
the men. Nothing could, of course make con-
scrption popular; it can never be other than an
moment. but the burden of it will be materially
lightened when the conditions OF service are
made less hard Q. L b.