The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-10-16
HOUSEKEEPERS IN
 NO END OF TROUBLE Prices of Provisions Are Soar
 ing Out of Sight THE WORKMEN PROTEST The Aeroplane Has Demonstrated It's Usefulness in Warfare-Is valun-
 bIe for Reconnoitering Pur-
 p0ses-Paris Notes
THE WORKMEN PROTEST

ble frame of mind just now. The price of provisions has been steadily rising for years, and at the present moment we arc confronted with something like crisis. The cost of all sorts of edibles is soar ing higher than ever, and there is for modest purses an alarming rise in the price of the cheaper wines, and this in spite of the abolition of the octroi du- ties on the juice of the grape. or what ever passes for 1t. The socialists, talk ing advantage of the situation, are call ing upon the working class to make n determined stand, and are exclaiming that 1t must no longer suffer itself to be exploited by the artful bourgeois Every bourgeois, by the way is currently represented by the socialist as being worth a mint Of money, although he, poor soul, being under the obligation of making some kind of decent appearance, often denies himself comforts which the average ouvrier has got into the habit of regarding as indispensable.
 An enterprising statiscian has just made . calculation of tho quantity of tho food consumed in tho French capital in 1 his researches, he tells us that Parisians contrive to get through 155,2o0 tons of beef. mutton and veal. ss.4oo tons of pork, nearly eo,oO0 tons of horsefesh and 14o0 tons of meat obtained from the don key and the mule. So much for the item of meat. As for poultry, the figure amounts, according to his estimate to 10000 tons. while game, on It's side. dis appears at the rate of 400 tons. Fish attains the respectable figure of 23.0oo tons, and this without prejudice to the item of oysters and musseis, which reach grand total of 5000 tons. Nor as 1t would seem, can snails be regarded as an altogether negligible factor in the programme. Vegetables of all sorts and sizes claim attention to the extent of 1S00O tons. 5000 tons of which are de- voted to mushrooms, and the fruit figure Is even higher, 1t being calculated at 19000 tons. Cheese, by the way, runs fruit and vegetables very near, the year
 y consumption of that commodity being estimated at more than 17.000 tons; while butter claims 1900 tons, and eggs H.0Oo tons.
 Our statistician concludes that Paris ex- pends $60, 100000 on the commodities mem toned, and this without reference to bread, of which vast amount Is con- stunned, and to wine. which is regularly drunk in most households. I should think that his calculation of quantity and ex- pense is under, rather than over the mark.
 The aeroplane has demonstrated Its use fulness in warfare. In the recent man oeuvres held by the French army its usefulness for reconnoitering proved in- valuable and 1t is safe to say that no army of the future will be complete with out a corps of aeroplanes. To give an example of the important part played in battle I will cite a case that occurred in the recent manoeuvre.
 General Picquart, commanding the Reds had concentrated all his efforts on his right to prevent the advance of General Meunier, who Is considered as one of the strategists in France. It was no easy matter to meet such an opponent General Picquart went to the front himself to direct the movements. The Blues were attempting a dangerous move for him, enveloping the reds in vast sweeping circle.
 He did not know that this was only a feint, and that in a short time the real force of the enemy would have come down on his left with overwhelming numbers.
 
 eminence near Dameraucourt, when an automobile drove up, and Lieutenant Sido a member of the aviation corps jumped out. He had just made reconnaissance with M Menard in biplane. The wind had been very strong. and the rain had been pouring down. In spite of this, they had been able to get good view of the enemy's position. They had seen great massing of troops to the left, and he Colonial brigade. of which Lieu tenant Sido himself was member, was stationed at Previllers, and formed the nucleus of General Meunier's troops on that side. General Picquart at once direct his main forces to his left. The result was that the stratgetic move of General Meunier was met on even terms, and at the conclusion both armies re- mained on their positions, neither side having scored a decided advantage.
 The Paris librarians are in despair, for the sale of books in France Is diminish ing to quite an alarming extent have been trying by inquiries among the larger booksellers to find the reason of this fall ing of. and everywhere have been the sams reasons are given me. Frenchmen and French women the women even more than the men, read newspapers and peri odicals a great deal more than they read them some years ago. and the reading of books has declined in proportion. The nroportfon Is a large one, for where family used to take in one newspaper and one periodical they take in three and four.
 Then sport occupies the French far more than 1t did a few years back. The bi- cycle. the motor car, lawn tennis. and games of all kinds have caused con siderable falling off in the. sale of books, saw the librarians. But the worst enemy of all has been the over-production Of more or less worthless novels.
 "people read detective stories now in- stead of classics,' I was told. We sell . sew Dumas here-the Three Musket- eers." for instance-and Balzac sells still. Eugene Due is quite forgotten. and George Sands books are used to wrap m butter nowadays except, perhaps, sMauprat,' which is still bought occa- sionally."
 The chamber of deputies costs consid- erablv over two million pounds every year. At least that Is what the chamber has cost France for the financial year which is just over. The deputies them selves draw 5000 salary. This makes for the b51 deupties $1.743,00o . year.
 Then there is the upkeep of the cham her. There are the shorthand writers, the ushers, the conscierges. the librarians, who draw between them $90.000 and who get in addition, $26, 600 year divided up among them for housing fees. The reason of this is rather curious one. When parliament was held at Versailles the ser wants of the chamber had to go out to vercailes to live and the house indemni-