Los Angeles herald., 1909-06-28
GOBELIN TAPESTRY
ART MAY BE LOST
FRENCH GOVERNMENT FEARS
SECRET MAY VANISH
Artists Object to Small Remuneration
and Are Leaving Mandatory.
Other News from Capital
of France

/ object the propagation of the French
/ language, held its annual congress in
/ the great amplitheater of the Sorbon-
ne, under the presidency of Nj. Loubet,
/ the former president of the republic,
and NJ. Paul Deschanel delivered an
address upon the work of the society.
He referred to the strength of the
French element in Canada and to the
recent celebrations at Quebec, as well
as to the work of the Alliance Fran
caise among the people of the United
/ States of America and at the American
I universities. Describing the French
/ language as the patrie spirituelle of
the nation, he nevertheless desired for
/ it an ampler mission, and, in spite of
| the ambitions of Volapuk, Esperanto
and other artificial languages, he be
/ lieved that French might more and
more become the common medium of
communication between the different
races of the civilized world.
/ L is feared that France is in danger
of losing the secret of the manufacture
of the famous Gobelin tapestry. Sew
eral members of the chamber of depu-
ties have expressed the belief that such
will be her fate unless the state in
! creased the salaries of those who are
engaged in their production. The Gobe-
lin factory where these wonderful tap
/ GSlIltS dI6 IllduG Is passing llOuSll IL
crisis. Many of the artists dissatiS-
fed with the miserable pittance doled
out to them by a parsimonious govern
ment, already have left the country
and have gone to America, and 'others
refuse to fill their places, as the remu
neration is so poor. The dearth of
skilled artists is being felt severely, and
members of the chamber contend that
unless a radical change is effected the
| 8, J;14r,
date. Already the tapestry shows a
marked falling off, both in quality and
quantity. Three years ago the govern
ment undertook to remedy the evil by
drawing up a more liberal scale of pay
ment for the employees but though this
scale was approved, no attempt has yet
been made to put it into force.
Will Not Solve Problem
1t seems scarcely possible the present
legislature will be able to solve the
problem of electoral reform before the
elections of 1910 are held. There are so
many ills of first rate importance be-
fore the two houses that the questions
of proportional representation and
scrutin de liste, which the deputies are
naturally enough inclined to avoid just
before an election-as calculated to in
troduce a disturbing factor which might
upset InelE electoral
fair to be indefinitely postponed. Con-
sequently some interest attaches to a
modest bill of partial electoral reform
recently laid before the chamber by a
large number of deputies.
| The proposal is to suppress all con-
stituencies with population of less
than 10000 by the simple expedient Of
amalgamating them with the smallest
neighboring constituencies; if this am
algamation resulted in a constituency
of a population of less than 100000 it
would on the present electoral system
have one member, and if its population
exceeded 100000 it would have two
members.
According to the present system, at
the next elections eight districts will
have the right to an additional mem
ber, owing to an increase of popula-
ton, while two districts will lose a
member. 1t has been understood, since
the increase of the parliamentary sal
ar to $4,000 that the government would
do something to relieve the taxpayer by
decreasing the number of deputies
delicate as such a measure would be
and the abolition of constituencies with
a population of less than 10000 would
have the effect of reducing the number
of deputies by nineteen, rs well as of
abolishing the inconsistency of the con-
stituency of Barcelonette, with 3443
electors. having the same voice In the
country's affairs as the third constit-
uency of Nantes with over $4,000, to
take an extreme case.
Strike Is a Failure
There is little doubt that the result
of the recent postal strike has been
exactly the reverse of what the gov
ernment of France intended that 1t
should be. The strike was a failure.
A number of men have been punished.
But preparations are now being made
to give French officials the right to
combine. This right may be disguised
under the high-sounding titles such as
"the statute of functionaries"; it is,
nevertheless, a sort of magma charta
for French government servants, and,
however it be presented, the govern
ment servants themselves undoubtedly
look on it as their reward for having
disorganized the inner life of the
country.
The latter-day Partisan is fast losing
the quality of politeness for which
Parisians have until now been so just
ly renowned. Nowadays, rudeness and
violence are the best methods of OBJ
tanning satisfaction in Paris. 1t is a
lesson which people of all classes are
having forced upon them. The postal
officials showed their weakness and
their strength, and the new statute is
the result of their violent action, which
in the broadest sense was an act OF
supreme rudeness to the public. While
they protested politely, no notice was
taken of their claims, just or other
wise. Now that, fguratively speaking,
they have banged the desk with their
fists, they are getting satisfaction
A delicious story bearing on this
method is going the round. There was
some mistake about seats at Paris
theater. The man who had paid for
them and could not get them had used
up all courteous arguments and lost
his temper.
''If you don't give me satisfaction at
once" he said, "I will box your ears. ."
"Why on earth did you not say so
ways ready to do anything 1 can when
man got his seats.
Anxious for Paris Future
Long g-sighted men in Paris feel very
nervous as to Frances future. 1t. is
not only that the discomfort among
the working classes and the lesser-paid
state officials grows every day, but
that a general discomfort with the con-
stitution of France is growing apace,
and that lovers of disorder may before
long lay hold of the feeling against
parliamentary government and turn it
to their uses The French system of
parliamentary government unfortu-
nately has of late years given rise to
political ill-health. Scandal has fol-
lowed scandal Recently.