The sun., 1907-04-14
CREOLE REGIME is PASSING.
NEW ORLEANS NOW IN A STATE
or TRANSITION.
The Thlngs That Made II PICTURESQUE Dis
appearing in the Advance OF the city
tr Commercial Prosperity changes in
INC French Quarter In Recent Years.

II Commercial Prosperity changes In
the French Quarter I'm Recent Years.
Nrw ORLEANS, April l2.-Life in the
ou..n, old town established by Jean Bap-
,..le Lee Moyne Bienville in 1918 is to-day
I'm a state Of transition so energetic as to
sgescst the tumultuous. 1t is passing
llYiIlv from the conservatism which dis
luruished it for almost two centuries into
llaturmoil of other American cities.
IS ether this be regarded as good or
n.I depends largely ON the point Of view;
nut whatever the Judgment the change
u.s. inevitable and the philosophy of the
sour * to make the best of the situation.
,lun # the results Of the transition over
shich the iudicious may grieve is that all
Va, faults Of the old life and but few of
uz virtues are going into the new.
Within the next five years the town will
ll1e come SO completely under the in
eooucn of the so-called spirit of the age
,nar the ideas and customs. the gentle
courtesy and transformations hospitality
which invested it with such a peculiar
,narm are likely to exist only in printed
story and the memories OF those saddened
relics OF the old regime who feel that they
lae superiluOus on the stage. Tho inva-
SION Of the established order and the demo-
urrn Of time hunored institutions would.
rorhlps, have proved less shocking to
'rlPv had il been less sudden and ruth
'ass hut it began scarcely more than a
,acade ago and the revolution in some
.ustances was almost violently rapid.
therefore il the older citizens. the un-
m.uci part of the bygone regime living
more IN the past than the present. view
with misgiyings and regret the kaleido-
sropic change which ID destroying things
hey have cherished so long, they should
no plrdoued an occasional sigh. They
have noted that with the onrush Of COM
nercidlism there has been n moral decline.
and in social intercourse a lessening OBJ
scrvance of the amenities which cost moth
ing, but 10 so much 10 brighten and enhance
~" pleasure Of human existence.
The chiyalrous respect which the humblest
voman commanded without the asking,
which made every man her protector against
insult or violence and insured her safety
when alone upon the streets and in public
rlaces, Is one of the cardinal virtues chat
0rogress has left to the past. 1t is but a
hort cry to the time when no man. whether
banker, merchant, mechanic or laborcr,
could retain his seat in a crowded street
car and allow a woman to stand without
experiencing a feeling Of establishment
Ia this year of our Lord the name of women
strap hangers is legion, and their tribe
steadily increases in New Orleans-once
= old. but now so modern.
With the steel skyscrapers which are
threatening 10 blot out all the towns ancient
and historic features have come the honk-
ng automobile and the vulgarity of the
newly rich. The fakcr has followed the
factory and both flourish nightly.
But in the changing order have disap-
leared many OF the characteristics that
gave to the old town, enveloped in its scmi-
foreign atmosphere, the pioturesqueness
which delighted the stranger because there
was nothing like it to be found in any other
American city. Things that were fragrant
with the romance and history of the CEN
ruries are fast being obliterated by the
new dispensation.
Even the scenes in the French market,
once 20 attractive to the sightseer. are
now not unlike the scenes that may be
witnessed in the markets of any large
Northern or Western town. The mixture
of nationaties is less striking and less
n'cresting than formerly it was, and what
parted forever.
On Canal street one looks in vain to-day
for the famboyant head handkerchiefs OF
he venerable negro mammies who were
wont to sell pralines and lie interestingly
about their acquaintance with Gen. jackson.
Death has not claimed all these once familiar
figures Of the boulevard. but they are
numbered among the victims of change,
aud the places where they used TO sit on
heir squatty three legged stools, wrapped
NJ royal hauteur, are occupied by nom
dascipt pedlers of the hot tamale.
Most Of the little French restaurants.
~ one time so numerous in the Creole quar-
ter and each with a clublike clientele.
ave passed with the praline women. These
""freshingly clean dispcnsaries of good
living with their white slnded floors. tables
# spotless linen over which the inevitable
."1t bodied carafe, like a notionless senti-
mol. stood unceasing guard, while the adOred
Napoleon. in time stained engravings on
be well held the bridge at Lodi or ragged
n the smoke and flame of Austerlitz. are
.eirc eliminated 10y the competition Of
iHa short order chophousc. which is
cheap but not clean With these Testau-
rants will perish the incompatible Creole
cuisine which pleased some of the worlds
most noted epcures
Tho old Creole quarter of the town has
'7lt The destructive impact Of the now life,
"lh the result that il has lost much Of it's
Trench flavor and later will lose it's French
architecture. Already many of the dtowsy
80 houses with their romantic interior
'.IrtyarGs. have been converted into such
mhply things as factories for the manu-
fa"turc of pickles. tin cans. boxes, harness
and other products
Where once the French language only
W., spoken in the shops and in the streets
Therc from the gallery of nearly every
hpu-e dangied and Huttered in the passing
"ni little red signs bearing the words
'hambres garnies louer." is now heard
no English tongue. The wave of COM
""rcnalism II submerging the Creole quar-
tor The oh quarter, rich in material
'or the artist aad the writer. is doomed.
Even the Creole type is changing. The
leophile of to-day bears but slight re-
'""biance TO the AUguste of decade OF
--o ago. Whether or not Ire has bene-
#"I morally or spiritually by the process,
the fact remains that Theophile has been
Nw"ricauzed
7 he modern impulse has entered his
'"ms and with little thought for the past
i' las joined in the general rush for those |
'r"asureS which arc not laid up in heaven
80 are highly prized on earth Yet IL |