The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1910-01-27
Relief Measures Hopelessly
Delayed BY Red Tape
of Government.
FLOODED SUBWAYS
CAUSE OF DAMAGE
Thousands OF Poor, Frenzied With
Grief and Shivering in Freez-
ing Cold, Await Food.

PARIS, Jan. 2z.-Paris-the al
ways festive, volatile, m1provident
PaTis-faces the crisis Of her history.
The, worlds famous mart of pleas
ure and plenty faces the pinch of
munger. Famine staIss her in the
face; pestilence threa' ems her throat
with the black grip Of death. Paris
iilds weathered many storms and she
( has conquered, but now Il IS all dff-
/ fersnt. The reign Of the BOurbOns
never witnessed such miserable sac
rifice, such hunger, and such pitiful
! imPOtency Of the Peopie to help OF
! protect themselves.
Always TesOurCeful, Paris has
taken care Of herself But now the
/ city IS powerless; II faces destruction
and the mask Of finality shows at
every hand.
Unless private charities meet the
urgency Of the desperate situation,
starvation for many is believed IN
evitable.
The government is acting with
/ its usual deliberation in sending out
/ supplies and every bit Of relief Il
furnishes must first be passed upon
/ by a long list of functionaries-
POOR IN DIRE STRAITS.
One has only 10 90 to the St.
+ Sulpice Seminary, former church
property that has been converted
into a refuge for the hood victims.
TO see TO what dire straits the poor
have been reduced. Hundreds Of
ragged women and children, and q
few old men, crowd the building
They are buddIed together on the
floor, and eat their dole Of soup
and bread with an avidity that
shows Tat the relief came 10 them
none to- soon Similar scenes are
witnesse< in other Of the improvised
hospitals
The Pantheon viii not be avail
able for two DAYS vet as a refuge
for the destitute 1t viii be neces-
sary TO heat the Pantheon, as it is
far colder utshin its great stone
walls than oussidt. and 1t is freez-
I ing outside.
No Relief for Hundreds.
While the condition OF the hundred
who are being cared for after a fash
lon by the city Is desperate. If fe IN
fniteIy better than the plight OF those
who hsve not yet been furnished any re-
lief Many OF these latter are so craze-
by the loss OF their property that the.
cling 20 their ruined homes or wan
der aimlessly il unfreGuented places
! The police are constantly picking -rp
such and sending them 10 the relief
/ stations
The soldiers and police are fo-cib.y
l ejectiug everyone found on houses thar
/ are deemed unsafe
Thermometer Below Freezing.
[ wlth the thermometer below -ba f-eaz-
ing point, and the relentless river seina
7 continuing its devastating progress to
/ ward the top OF the retaining walls
Paris awoke today to what nav prove
the most terrible day il her history
I aside from the crisis presented by war.
What the end Of the unprecedented
food viii be no one can say, but IL is
enough TO know that never before has
the gay capital been so soreIy smitten
IN physical way.
BOuIevaTds Washed Away.
Miles Of her boulevards. one OF the
city-s chief sources Of pride. have been
washed away; many OF the most no
table structures in the city. 10 see
which travellers have been wont to come
/ from the corners Of the earth, have al
ready suffered heavy loss and are in
danger Of collapse: 5000 ars homeless
and subsistiBg on scant provisions FUR
nished by the city: the Industrial life Of
+ the city is completely suspended. and
+ the one thought in the minds Of the
I people Is the fmminence OF a stagger-
[ ing calamity that may yet come If the
Seine continues its rise
Paris Now Sobered-
For once Paris has been sobered. The
CAV rood that permitted the people 10
look upon the flood in its early stsges
as q spectacle for their entertainn ent
has departed. and grim fear is nov IN
the hearts Of everyone and plainly writ
ten in the faces Of ali.
Every subway in Peris-and Paris has
and another thar aHx other sllx - Las,