Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-03-26
CURRENT PARIS TOPICS
Protest Against Revolving Re-
ports of Executions.
DEATH SCENES PICTURED
Comfortable Exile of Naval Officer
on Devils Island.
POOR PAY OF SEAMSTRESSES
French Women Exercised Over the
Prospect Of Growing Stout-Re-
form in Navy Sought.
POOR PAY OF sEAMsTREssEs

PARIS. March 23.-It Is satisfactory to
hear that the revival Of the guillotine in
France has been accompanied by a de-
crease of crimes Of violence in the cap
ital, but there has been a storm OF pro-
test against the way in which certain Of
the papers reported the executions. 1t
would almost seem. indeed. as II the OPP
ponents of public executions were endeav-
oring to hOrrify the public into action,
for on no other grounds can some Of the
reports in reputable journals be justified
In spite Of the vigilance Of the authori-
ties. too. photographs Of the executions
are being circulated. and cinenatograph
films are asserted to have been offered
for sale in the United States. Fortunate
ly the disgraceful scenes which accom-
panied the first two executions were not
repeated at the third one. though the
occasion was made a pretext for q holi-
from all parts.
German Colors In Paris.
A little group of Germans was walking
down the Avenue des Champs Elysees
the other afternoon. A journalist was
just behind them and could not help
overhearing some OF their conversation.
They were not talking secrets. but were
speaking Of the day on which one Of the
three had. thirty-eight years ago, march,
ed down that avenue under arms. Sud-
denly they stopped short with exclama-
tons of astoishment and pointed to .
lamppost In the center of tho avenue
but that is." said each OF them. 1.-The
German nag"
1t seemed a pity to undeceive them, so
the newspaper man passed on. But the
fact Of the matter Is that the German
colors, black and white, are to be seen
on many lampposts in the main streets
Of Paris. They do not commemorate the
siege, but are merely a sign to all who
drivers OF those vehicles that passengers
may get in and get out there. OF course,
black and white form good contrast.
but 1t has probably not occurred to the
French authorities what these two colors
mean. and that they are to be seen on the
frontier posts Of Germany.
In a Comfortable Prison.
UIlmo. the naval oflcer who sold. or
rather tried to sell. secrets of the ma
tional defense to Germany. and falling
this. tried to blackmail tho French adj
mirality, has been sent to DEVILS Island.
and Is to work out his time. or rather
live 1T out, In tho same hut that Dreyfus
occupied. His is a curious punishment.
He IL not altogether isolated, for his
jailers are allowed to talk to him, and all
the punishment he has Is moral. The hut
comfortable there. 1t is hard to realize
that he is prisoner. and not In COM
mand Of a few men In some distant CO.
lonial post. He wears no penal uniform.
helmet. His room Is furnished with plenty
Of books, pictures hang on the walls, and
white mosquito curtains shut in his bed
at night. He keeps his own larder, which
is well provisioned by his frien6s. and is
allowed to spend s. a week for extra ra-
lions. Not only that. but Ullmo has
special cook all to himself Outside his
hut are chickens, which he feeds every
day. and he has now applied for leave
to keep goats and pig or two. for his
He gets up very late. passes the morn
ing ordering his meals and feeding the
chickens. lunches at IL. sleeps till and
then goes for his daily walk. He walks
to a little wood Of cocoanut trees, through
which again he reaches q bench On the
west side Of the island. On this same
bench Dreyfus sat for long hours dream
ing of his rehabilitation. when. after four
years Of torture. he was allowed out DE
yond the palisades. which have now dis
appeared from round his hut. At night
Ullmo Is locked into his hut, reads dimes
and plays cards with his jailers. He re-
ceives a box Of books from his friends
are carefully examined before they are
given to him. and for the precaution OF
the locked door at night, UllmO might
easily forget that his exile Is not a vol
untary one.
Starvation Wages.
Some of the horrors of the sweating
system in France are exposed by the
Comte de Nun of the French Academy
in an article published in the Figaro.
or 217 seamstresses from whom particu-
lars were obtained in the course of an
oficial inquiry, per cent were found to
be earning less than cents an hour, As
per cent less than cents-that Is to say
IL they worked ten hours q day they
made 30 cents in the one case and so
cents in the other. Out Of that they had
not merely to provide themselves with
food. lodging. warmth and clothing. but
also to pay for thread. needles and the
chimes.
But a ten-hour day is far from being
the rule among these victims OF starva-
ton pay. The case Is mentioned OF a
woman who worked seventeen hours a
day for the equivalent OF cents an hour.
She rose at o'clock and went to bed at
IL o'clock at night because she had house,
Sundays. After deducting the cost OF
thread. needles. machine and lighting
her net earnings came to slightly under
p cents a day. and she had a daughter.
Their food cost 10 cents a day. with 10
cents worth of horsefiesh every other
day. 1t is in the report that they were
small EATERS
To Prevent Stoutness.
DIR I,abhp well Enoun nhyc