Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-08-12
'F0NDAESS FOR BADGES
No Frenchman Too Lowlyto
Have a Decoration.
CIR Axe FOR RIBBONS
MEANING OF THE DIFFERENT
coLoRED DECORATIONS.
In France Ono Can Be Arrested for
Wearing a Red Ribbon in
His Buttonhole.
CRAZE FOR RIBBONS
Special Correspondence Of The Star.

Special Correspondence Of The Star
PARIS. August /. 1908.
In France you can be arrested for wear
ing red ribbon in your buttonhole
For that matter article 2o9 of the penal
| code Furnishes with Imprisonment the per-
son who is convicted of Illegally wearing
any decoration, French or foreign But
|. when the ribbon is red, the crime is graver
for the red ribbon is sacred 10 the French
Legion of Honor.
There are, however, foreign decoration
that are red, and these can be obtained
legally With ease on payment Of a sum.
therefore the same law ordains that when
the ribbon OF the foreign order happens to
be red IN whole or great part, you must
attach 10 it the cross or emblem of the
foreign order.
Furthermore 10 Frenchman may wear any
foreign decoration without authorize ton
from the president of the republic given on
the advice of the chancellor of the Legion
OF Honor and after payment Of his dues
therefor.
You would think that all these sage pre-
cautions ought to keep French decoration
wearing pure; yet there were never in the
history of this decora tion-struck people so
many individuals with ribbons in their but
tonholes as at the present hour, and never
Olo auS flDDOT-inefcnaNtS do better
business ms is because France, though
republic, has more sorts of honoriic deco
fatlons and makes greater use of them than
any other European country.
Not counting the military medals OF ST.
Helena us2D, the Crimea 1856, the Bal
tic, bearing the profile of Victoria of Eng
Ian QS0D,- the Valeur Militaire of Sardinia
usos). Italy ds59>, Mexico 1s62p. China
$500, Tonquin 0SS3), Dahomy 1S92) and
Madagascar QSS5 and 1850, without which
the costumes Of decrepit museum guards
aged bank-runners and whlte-w hiskered
customs inspectors would be incomplete,
the French republic recognizes thirteen
sorts of civic and military excellence, apart
from the great orders Of the Legion Of
Honor, the Agricultural Merit, the Military
Merit, the Academic Palms and the Life
Saving Medal.
Medals for Long Term of Service.
Lowest in grade-yet most curious of all
are the honor medals founded by the min
lister Of commerce in 1886, to be adjudged
by their employers to all such French
clerks, employees and workmen who have
worked thirty years consecutively in the
same establishment. They are in gold, sill
yer or bronze, according to the lberality
OF the employer who pays for them. He
acquisitions them from the French mint,
and mere collectors cannot procure them.
One side bears the effigy of the French
public. while the other has the words Min
fstry of Commerce and Industry with The
device Honor and Labor"
The old husband of my janltress wears
such a medal suspended by a tricolor rib
bon disposed Observation-Disclosures TO confound
1t with the military medal or the posts and
telegraphs; and-will you believe it?-such
is the desire to mount a grade, even il
legally, the dear old man pins on his rib
bon vertically every morning in the fond
hope that it will be so mistaken
All the same he is "decOrated.' He Is
a monsieur decore;' and you had better
believe 1t gives him standing in the Rue
Deves. For example, the ash and garbage
men never dispute with him; the policemen
make him kind of half-salute, and the
postmen and employees treat him with re
spect to this extent that If he and l ask for
stamps at the same moment it is he who
will be waited on first.
The ministry of public works bestows
similar decoration on It's old clerks, While
civilian employees of the army and navy
become entitled to it by force of years of
service. Their name is ''Anciens Ser
viteurs;" and they get jobs as janitors,
bank runners, watchmen and museum
guards with great facility.
Minor Decorations.
In the same way the ambulance service
municipal and military, holds out a white
ribbon and red cross to Its faithful en-
ployes. The prisons service rejoices in
green ribbon with oblique yellow bands
The forestry department has a green rib
bon with a yellow border. The customs
service rewards acts Of courage and lives
of faithfulness with a ribbon of striped red
and green. Primary school teachers accept
unwillingly their own violet ribbon with
yellow border, but they covet the more ele-
waiting academic palms. And if any gov
eminent clerk should prove too stupid or
lazy to fall into special category there Is
always ready for him that vague honor
medal given for good services
OF course, there is a special object to all
this. The higher the decoration the surer
you may be that 1t is given as buffer to
protect the Legion of Honor from ,he
clamoring millions. Thanks TO the pride,
riches and high tone of the better class of
French farmers, the agricultural merit is
now decoration of very great honor in
deed. Yet It's original object when 1t was
created in 1888. to content influential
hayseeds while refusing them the coveted
red ribbon.
Every January and July. when the new
nominations to the legion are discussed, the
government is in despair. For each red rib
bon at Its disposal there are twenty appli-
cants backed up with influence-and these
are apart from more brilliant candidatures
necessary to the prestige of the order, the
contingent of the army and navy and the
Just pretensionS'' of practical politicians.
You see. the law of 1896 limits the civilian
element of the Legion of Honor to 12,01o
chevaliers 1000 officers $50 commanders.
so grand officers and 20 grand crosses-fn
all ID, 800 members.
They haves not actually arrived at this
legal limit. The actual civilians number
12s STA members, but each year the number
mounts, In spite OF deaths.
Difficult to Obtain Red Ribbon.
Now, you begin to see why there are so
many purple ribbons worn in Paris. The
AN ACCoMMoI