The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-09-27
TURN OVER
 TREASURES Catholic Things of Art
 Taken. RESULT OF THE SEPARATION Municipalities Are the Recipients of Fine Paintings. French Disestablishment of the Church Has Caused stimulation to the
 Faith and Activity
 Continues.

ollie churches of Paris that were af- fected by the Separation Law have been forced to turn their pictures. statuary and windows over to the care of the municipality and ali this wsalth is now as much the property of the city as It's parks.
 A commission of artists and curators of the various galleries has completed an inventory of the treasures of those institutions into which the State two communicated" as lav propertv. The Inventory was made peaceful and in great contrast to the violent scenes that accompanied the seizure of the church. es when the law was put into effect.
 The last inventory vas made in 1875 when M. Clemenceaua who is now the premier. was President of the Repub- lie. It was made as result of the damage done in the siege and the Com mtine when many of the documents that showed the origin of the art treas ures. including all that dated during the first Empire. had been destroyed in the Hotel de Ville. However. it was possible to identify moot of those that had been given to the city since 1S16 but they were only a fraction of the to- tai. for since 1870 all municipal grants toward beautifying Paris had been ap- piled exclusively to the layman's side of life.
 It has been well established that from 1s1e to 1878 the city spent about $1.- 700, 900 in decorating the churches hav- ing provided them with 1,267 paintings, 604 sculptures and 360 windows. The recent inventory was able to turn up documents that gave to the city 1.134 paintings. FTP sculptures. 578 windows and vast quantity of old tapestries.
 The lay authorities will be expected to give better care to their vaiuables than the church officials have been able to bestow upon them. The chronic peril that has surrounded all objects of art, not alone those in the churches but in the galleries as well. has been ascribed to the irreliEious sentiments inculcated by the Government. The lonely curate with his feeble sacristan has had little chance of holding out against the outlaw who has felt that he was simply robbing outiaws, that being the general aspect of the ease.
 Vigilance is the only protection and the Government Is coming to realize the fact The guard of armed soldiers has been withdrawn from the pawnbrokers' shops and municipal guards have re- placed them. It may vet think of res lnforcing the venerable sacristant in his viEifover the church treasures and so preserve the splendid religious art of France.
 The seizure of the church treasures has not resulted in any diminution in activity among the Catholics. Theirs Is still the religion of the country and on all sides there Is evidence of the fact that the church Is growing. There are still as many children taking the first communion and there Is real re- nalssance of faith among persons of older growth. The statistics compiled within a month show that never since the really good days of the church have there been so many male communi- fe nf ha been to stimulate the faith of those who are with the church In its strug- gles. only those who have been indif- ierent for years having dropped away.
 From one point of view. the French clergy rejoices that separation has been brought about. It means that the priests are no longer functionaries of the State. It means thot the church can no be longer regarded by the am bilious peasant as 8 comfortable ca-, reer for his son. The recruiting of the clergy may sometimes become prob lem but not this year. for the seminar fists are as numerous as ever in Paris at least.
 Financially the church is having a greater struggle than it likes. Three distinct sources of income have been cut off. It was formerly the custom of the state to give certain stipends to the church Then there was the rent
  cathedrals. In one large congreEation at a penny a chair this amounted in a year to over $10.000. This has been stopped on the theory that the prop erty is now that of the State and must he used free by the people. A third source of income was the renting of draperies and hangings for first class funerals. There Is no more of this In France for all outward show by the church has been prevented.
 The church, therefore. has to depend now wholly upon voluntary offerings. Tn one way this would be beneficial, but in France 1t is not for the reason that the people have never had the idea of free giving implanted among them. It is hard now to impress the peasants with the fact that the priests are not State paid as hev have been in years past. They require the offices of the clergy, but so far they have been more or less unwilling to Dav for the work.
 Of course. this Is speaking of France as a whole. It Is dangerous to speak in generalities for the characteristics of each region are so varying. Mar seilles and It's vicinity cannot be com pared with Brittany or Dunkirk with the Haute-Savoie for the temperament of the people is not the same. A pros porous religious population attached to the church often finds it hard to part with its money. Again as In the De- partment of the Dronne. where the peas- ants are all poor, they give freely ac- cording 10 their means.
 The church schools are being main fainad aa usual Thev ara ra1nrdad